SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A candidate entering the race for an open congressional seat in northern New Mexico is trying to make history.

Karen Bedonie is seeking the Republican nomination for Ben Ray Lujan’s seat in Congress. If elected, Bedonie would be the first Republican Native American woman in Congress.

She is the second Republican to announce. Meanwhile, 10 Democrats, including Marco Serna and Valerie Plame, are vying for the Democratic nomination.

The seat is opening because Lujan is running for Tom Udall’s U.S. Senate seat.