New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is one of many testing the waters for 2008 by making the obligatory visit to New Hampshire. Richardson, a competent and respected Cabinet member in the Clinton administration, is attempting  to create a Western regional primary for the Democrats in 2008, that would provide some advantage to him if he ran, given his Hispanic background and the large and growing Hispanic population in the 8 state region. 

Realistically, Richardson might be a solid contender for the VP slot on the Democratic ticket,  as some of the most competitive states in the general election are in the Southwest.  In 2004, John Kerry picked North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate, ostensibly to make the New England patrician Kerry more competitive in the South, and in small town, rural America. It is hard to see how Edwards contributed in either area, as Bush ran the table in the South in 2004, as he did in 2000, and swept rural America by large margins.

But Richardson as the VP candidate might have helped in New Mexico (a 1% Bush win), Nevada (a 2% Bush win), and Colorado (a 5% Bush win). These 3 states, with 19 Electoral College votes among them, would have put John Kerry in the White House, had they all gone Democratic.

Richard Baehr   6 15 05