Republicans chances of picking up a New Mexico Senate seat slip further away, polls suggest

Democrats are looking increasingly likely to retain their Senate seat in the upcoming New Mexico elections, with the latest poll on the race showing incumbent Martin Heinrich with a larger advantage over Republican challenger Nella Domenici.

The survey, conducted by Emerson College and The Hill among 965 registered voters between August 20 and 22, shows Heinrich with 49% of the support, compared to Domenici's 37%.

It's a much larger lead than previous studies, where the incumbent had a lead oscillating between the mid and high single digits. The previous one, from Redfield & Wilton Strategies among 453 likely voters, showed the incumbent with a 6-point lead, 42% to 36%.

The smallest margin was recorded in a Republican-commissioned study in late June, where Heinrich still had the lead, albeit a 4-point lead one: 46% to 42%.

In 2018, Heinrich won reelection with about 54% of the vote in a three-way race against Republican Mick Rich and Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Domenici was recently at the center of a controversy in the state over the cancelation of an interview on a popular Albuquerque-based radio show because her campaign disapproved of the questions submitted in advance.

T.J. Trout, host of a show at KKOB, a commercial AM radio station licensed to Albuquerque, said he was not "trying to make you look bad" in reference to Domeneci's cancelation, who has been labelled in the past by Democrats in New Mexico as "No Answer Nella" for her refusal to answer tough questions in her quest to unseat Heinrich.

"I'm just asking you honest questions that independents and Democrats want to know the answers to," Trout said in his radio show.

In response, Domenici's campaign manager, Noah Jennings, said that the GOP candidate is focused on much bigger issues facing the state of New Mexico than Trout, who spent part of his show by conducting a mock interview of the Republican candidate.

Despite her family's ties to the political world, Domenici has never held public office and this is her first political campaign. Since announcing her candidacy in February, Domenici has highlighted her concerns about inflation, crime, border security and childhood well-being.

Domenici and Heinrich will have a chance to address the people of New Mexico in two debates that are scheduled for October. One of them will be co-sponsored by the radio station KKOB.