Richard Romero's campaign claims Rep. Heather Wilson votes with President Bush 90 percent of the time, which is "100 percent wrong for New Mexico." Wilson said Romero missed thousands of votes in the state Senate and voted against a zero-tolerance bill relating to violence in the school system, which makes him bad for New Mexico children.
Romero denied these claims and said they are "almost laughable."
"We worry because those television ads have an impact," Romero said. "It's just amazing how they distort the truth."
Wilson agreed that truth is distorted.
"Romero takes figures that mislead and tries to spin them to mean something they don't," Wilson said in a statement. "I support ideas - Democrat or Republican - based on their merit and whether they will help New Mexico."
Wilson said the votes Romero counts as being pro-Bush include honoring the life and accomplishments of Ray Charles and voting for bills such as the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act, voting against the draft bill, and honoring the United Negro College Fund on its 60th anniversary.
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The National Journal, which rates the liberal and conservative levels of members of Congress, rated Wilson in the middle one-fifth of all members in the House, she said. "I was the only Republican member of Congress to vote against the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill last year, because it didn't contain enough money for education."
Romero said he missed votes during his time in the Senate, because his duties as Senate president didn't allow him the time to attend every session.
"In a typical 30-day session, there are about 1,000 bills on the Senate floor," he said. "While the bills are being debated, there are times when I'm gone."
His campaign ads do not distort facts, Romero said.
"We say that she does not support overtime pay. She voted that way. She voted against a bonus for the troops. We're not distorting the record. We're just saying that's what she did."
