Republican Nella Domenici had the strongest fundraising quarter of any Senate candidate in New Mexico’s history, her campaign announced Friday.
In an emailed press release, Domenici’s campaign revealed that she raised $2.9 million through her campaign and joint fundraising committees in the second quarter.
This is “the largest fundraising quarter of any U.S. Senate candidate in New Mexico political history,” the campaign said.
Domenici, who looks to unseat Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), begins the third quarter with over $2 million in cash on hand.
“The momentum is growing, the movement is building, and our state is ready for new leadership,” Domenici said. “New Mexico is at a tipping point and I’m grateful to all of those who are rallying behind our campaign to demand more for our state and our nation.”
Domenici demonstrated before President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance that she was in a highly competitive race with Heinrich.
An internal poll, conducted by 1892 and jointly commissioned by Domenici’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, found she is in a statistical tie with Heinrich at 42.2 percent to his 45.4 percent. Another 9.7 percent were undecided, and Heinrich’s 3.3 percentage-point lead fell within the ± 4 percentage point margin of error.
That poll also found that former President Donald Trump was within 2 points of Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head race in New Mexico, at 47 percent and 49 percent, respectively. In a six-way race, Trump was just one point back in a state where Republicans have not carried in a presidential election since 2004.
This was mirrored by a pre-debate Democrat internal poll referenced by the New York Times on Friday that showed Trump three points back of Biden in the Land of Enchantment.
For reference, Trump lost the state to Biden in 2020 by nearly eleven points after twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried the state by more than eight points in 2016.
Domenici’s release also states, “Democrat polling post-debate shows Republicans flipping New Mexico.”
The announcement comes as the left worries about typically blue states like New Mexico, Minnesota, and Virginia turning purple, the New York Times noted.