Early Senate Career
In 1972, Domenici successfully ran for a position in the U.S. Senate and became the first New Mexico Republican to be elected to the position in 38 years. He was aided by his Hispanic-sounding surname with many New Mexico voters and the Richard Nixon landslide win over Democrat U.S. Sen. George McGovern at the top of the ticket. Domenici polled 204,253 votes (54 percent) to 173,815 (46 percent) for Hobbs real estate company owner Democrat Jack Daniels.
One of the first issues that Pete Domenici concerned himself with was waterway usage fees in spite of his state lacking any waterway capable of commercial traffic. The idea behind a waterway usage fee was that the Army Corps of Engineers built dams and other expensive waterway projects, which the barge industry got to use for free. A waterway usage fee would charge the users of waterways with a fee that would then be spent on upkeep and the construction of more waterways. In 1977, Domenici set himself to the task of enacting a waterway usage fee. After a long two-year battle with stiff lobbying on both sides, the waterway fee was finally passed along with a new lock and dam project (the rebuilding of Lock and Dam 26.) Reporters attributed the passage of this fee to, in no small part, Domenici's legislative skill. The legislation was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
The issue greatly assisted Domenici at home, where the railroad industry was big (railroads competed with barges, and they long wanted to end the "free ride" issue.) The railroads donated $40,000 to Domenici's campaign, and the barge industry gave a small sum to his opponent. He was reelected in 1978 with 53.4% of the vote over Democrat Toney Anaya, a former New Mexico Attorney General. The 6.8% victory margin would be Domenici's closest election in his Senate career.
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