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In the close House race in Albuquerque that ousted Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Thomson, Republican Conrad James had a little help from some new friends: so-called vapers.

The electronic cigarette enthusiasts, upset by what they termed Thomson’s “anti-vaping” views, stirred up some last-minute interest in James’ candidacy.

He won by fewer than 400 votes, according to unofficial returns, reclaiming the District 24 seat in the Northeast Heights that Thomson won from him two years ago.

Thomson co-chairs the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee, which has been discussing the regulation of electronic cigarettes and other vaping products.

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Vapers are trying to fend off regulation such as classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products – which Thomson supports – taxing them like tobacco, and banning or restricting flavors.

After a mid-October meeting of the committee that drew dozens of e-cigarette supporters, Gregory Conley – a New Jersey activist and research fellow with the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank – decided to focus attention on the Thomson-James race on social media.

Conley contends the subsequent phone calls and small donations from vapers across the country, along with a week he and an industry representative spent in Albuquerque phoning voters and knocking on their doors, played a part in James’ narrow win.

A review of the GOP candidate’s campaign contributions after mid-October shows a flurry of small, out-of-state donations totaling about $650 that Conley believes are from vapers. James also got a $100 donation from a Rio Rancho e-cigarette company.

James, who raised at least $125,000 for his race, did not return calls from the Journal for this story. Thomson raised at least $176,000.

Thomson, pointing to the Republican win of state House seats that has given the GOP its first majority in 60 years, doesn’t think vapers made any significant difference in her race.

Advocates claim that e-cigarettes – battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution and create an inhalable vapor – are “harm-reduction products” that help cigarette smokers quit.

Critics say they’re new and untested and lack standardization, and some suggest they could addict young people.

“My gut is that they’re probably not as dangerous as regular cigarettes, but we don’t have the science to prove that, and I go on science,” Thomson told the Journal .

The federal Food and Drug Administration is proposing to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products.

The Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee at a meeting last week, which Thomson did not attend, endorsed a bill to tax e-cigarettes and another to prohibit sales to minors. Vapers say they support the minors bill but will be at the 2015 Legislature to fight the tax proposal.