GOP Sen. Domenici retiring after 6 terms

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Domenici has acknowledged calling Iglesias, but says he didn’t pressure the prosecutor and was following up on constituent complaints about the slow pace of an investigation into fraud and kickbacks in a courthouse construction project.

With Domenici’s retirement, Republicans must defend 22 of 34 seats on the 2008 ballot. No Democrats have announced retirement plans.

Senate Republicans lost their majority in 2006. Democrats control the Senate with 49 seats plus the backing of two independents. Republicans hold the other 49 seats.

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Domenici’s retirement scrambles the 2008 elections in New Mexico. Top Republicans and Democrats are considering whether to jump into what will be the first open Senate race in the state since 1972.

“Obviously, it makes ’08 much more exciting in New Mexico than it was, and it was already looking like it would be pretty exciting,” said Lonna Atkeson, a University of New Mexico political science professor.

Bush praise for Domenici
On Capitol Hill, Domenici was known as a deficit hawk for his budget-balancing work in the 1980s and ’90s as chairman or the senior GOP member of the Senate Budget Committee. He also watched closely over New Mexico’s interests and used a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee to steer money to federal installations in the state such as Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.

Bush, in a statement Thursday, praised Domenici as “a skilled and determined legislator”, citing his work on national energy policy, lowering taxes, balancing the budget and reducing government spending.

Domenici once said that his service on the Budget Committee was a highlight of his career. He helped assemble an agreement with President Clinton in 1997 for balancing the federal budget. But he gave up the Budget Committee and moved to the Energy Committee after the 2002 elections to become its chairman. An energy measure signed by President Bush in 2005 provided tax breaks for energy companies and renewable energy development. It didn’t include a proposal for oil drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge, which Domenici had supported along with Bush.

Among the potential contenders for Domenici’s Senate seat are Republican Reps. Wilson and Steve Pearce and Democratic Rep. Tom Udall. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid are other Democrats eyeing the race.

Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson said Thursday that he remains focused on his presidential bid.