Valerie Plame leads congressional fundraising efforts

Congressional candidate and former CIA operative Valerie Plame of Santa Fe, N.M., seeks support from local party delegates at the Democratic Party preprimary convention in Pojoaque, N.M., March 7, 2020. Candidates for open congressional and Senate seats underwent the first test of their political might as the Democratic and Republican parties of New Mexico held statewide conventions. The conventions decide the ballot order for candidates in the state’s primary election on June 2.

Associated Press file

×

Congressional candidate and former CIA operative Valerie Plame of Santa Fe, N.M., seeks support from local party delegates at the Democratic Party preprimary convention in Pojoaque, N.M., March 7, 2020. Candidates for open congressional and Senate seats underwent the first test of their political might as the Democratic and Republican parties of New Mexico held statewide conventions. The conventions decide the ballot order for candidates in the state’s primary election on June 2.

Associated Press file

SANTA FE – Congressional candidate and fomer CIA operative Valerie Plame raised the most campaign funds in a crowded field of rivals for the Democratic nomination to New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District.

The June 2 primary is likely to decide who succeeds U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján in Congress as he runs to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Udall. Several candidates for the congressional seat began an advertising blitz in April with spots on Facebook and local television stations.

Filings published by the Federal Election Commission on Friday show Plame raised $579,000 for the first three months of the year. She spent $475,000 and had $690,000 in cash on for the final two months of campaigning.

Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez, who has the broadest backing of party delegates, raised just over $370,000 in the first three months of the year. She spent $157,000 and had $640,000 in cash on hand at the end of March.

Santa Fe District Attorney Marco Serna raised $140,000 for the quarter and spent $217,000, leaving $256,000 in cash on hand.

More will be revealed about campaign finances and spending by independent expenditure groups in the weeks leading up to the primary.

The Federal Election Commission requires an accounting for campaign contributions and expenditures 12 days before the primary election day. New Mexico has a public reporting requirement for independent expenditure groups within 30 days of the primary.

The state Supreme Court this week rejected a petition to limit in-person polling in response to the coronavirus and instead ordered the distribution of applications for absentee ballots to all registered voters.

Among Democrats, the 3rd District seat also is being sought by Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya, state Rep. Joseph Sanchez, environmental attorney Kyle Tisdel and former state elections regulator and Interior Department official John Blair.

Contenders for the Republican nomination – Harry Montoya, Karen Bedonie and Audra Brown – raised less that $10,000 each during the first three months of the year.