"this will be a second tier race at best"
Unfortunately, I think Red Dog is right. We could have made this a first-tier race had Congresswoman Wilson or the state senator who ran for governor in 2002 (Sanchez?) run, but Pfeiffer faces rather long odds here. Still, one never knows when lightning will strike, and had the GOP run better candidates in New Mexico, Nebraska, California, North Dakota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Connecticut in 1994 we could have gotten 60 Senators by January 2005. Pfeiffer will at least keep Bingaman honest and could pull off the upset if we have a better-then-expected Election Day 2006.
Don't sell this guy short. One, former Democrats who join the GOP are usually better at politics than lifelong GOPers. Two, it looks like he may run on immigration, a powerful issue. Three, he's from a Rat area. Four, he has actually held public office. Five, he's a Vietnam vet. And finally, give the man credit for running against an incumbent. Lots of Republican officeholders who would be strong candidates don't take the risk.