Eric Griego and Marty Chavez Congressional Campaigns Staff Up

Yesterday, Roll Call featured a post reporting on recent staff hires by the NM-01 Congressional campaigns of Dems Eric Griego and Marty Chavez as this race starts heating up. It shows that this contest for an open seat, created by Rep. Martin Heinrich's decision to run for U.S. Senate, will be getting a substantial amount of attention nationally, as well as locally. It also points to the fact that these two candidates are taking this race very seriously and are in it to win it.

On Marty Chavez's campaign:

Former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez (D) has signed on Alan Packman as campaign manager. Packman managed Heinrich’s re-election in 2010, helping the incumbent pull off a 4-point win in a tough year for Democrats. Since that election, Packman has served as executive director of ProgressNow New Mexico.

“I’m very excited to have Alan onboard,” Chavez said. “He organized a very strong campaign last year and ran a terrific GOTV effort across the district, especially in the South Valley.”

On Eric Griego's campaign:

Chavez’s Democratic primary opponent, state Sen. Eric Griego, announced a strong consulting team. The campaign will be managed by Ed Yoon, a former regional political director at the Democratic National Committee who ran independent expenditure campaigns in 2006 and 2008 for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

Griego’s pollster is Michael Bocian, a founding partner of Gerstein Bocian Agne Strategies and veteran of the Democratic Governors Association, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. 

Martha McKenna and Jennifer Pihlaja of McKenna Pihlaja, also veterans of the Democratic committees, are the media strategists. Alan Moore and Ed Espinoza of the Mack Crounse Group will serve as the direct-mail and targeting strategists.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham has also now entered the Dem primary for this Albuquerque-area seat, but no word yet on who will be serving on her staff.