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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – chaired by New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Luján – this week took aim at another representative from the state: Republican Rep. Steve Pearce.

The DCCC, which is responsible for recruiting and grooming U.S. House candidates, added Pearce to its initial list of 20 House seats it hopes to flip from red to blue in the 2018 elections. If you follow politics in New Mexico, you know this is no easy task.

Although Democrats outnumber Republicans in New Mexico’s southern 2nd Congressional District, Pearce – a staunchly conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus – has had a lock on the seat since 2002, except for in 2008, when he stepped down to make a losing bid for the U.S. Senate. Pearce regrouped and ran for the House seat once again in 2010 and easily defeated one-term Democrat Harry Teague. The Hobbs Republican has won the seat handily ever since.

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Pearce is flirting with a run for governor of New Mexico, but that’s an uphill statewide challenge in Democratic-trending New Mexico, and my gut tells me he’ll seek re-election to the House. But while national Democrats haven’t yet thrown their weight behind a candidate to challenge Pearce for his House seat in 2018, this week they made it clear they don’t intend to roll over and play dead, either.

They’re already working to yoke President Donald Trump’s rocky start to congressional Republicans. On Thursday, the DCCC targeted Pearce in an email blast calling attention to his controversial support of Trump’s and House Republicans’ alternative to Obamacare, which passed the House but is stalled in the Senate.

“There is no issue more personal than health care, and Congressman Pearce voted to take it away from millions of Americans,” said DCCC spokeswoman Rachel Irwin. “The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis confirms again that the House Republican repeal bill increases your premiums and deductibles, tosses tens of millions of Americans off their insurance, slaps folks over 50 with an age tax, and destroys protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This morally bankrupt bill will cause incredible pain for hardworking Americans, and that’s why its passage will haunt Rep. Pearce through Election Day.”

When I asked for a response Friday, the Republican National Congressional Committee didn’t exactly appear to be shaking in its collective boots.

“The DCCC is falling victim to its own inside-the-Beltway hype, just like last cycle when the Democrats failed spectacularly to make any significant gains,” spokesman Jack Pandol said. “The truth on the ground is Steve Pearce is well-known and respected as a trusted fighter for New Mexico families. We have no doubt Congressman Pearce will continue to enjoy the confidence of voters who have consistently sent him to fight on their behalf.”

Michael Coleman: mcoleman@abqjournal.com