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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico Rep. Martin Heinrich seems to be faring better in his first race for re-election than are many of his freshmen Democratic colleagues who represent similarly marginal districts.

Heinrich is leading Republican opponent Jon Barela in most polls, and according to Heinrich, it's because he's been able to communicate his accomplishments in his first term effectively and has zeroed in on constituent services on issues like credit card reform.

"If you look back at President Bush, nobody agreed with his policies, but you understood that he was doing things that he believed was right," Heinrich said in an interview with RealClearPolitics on Wednesday. "And what I try to do is tell my constituents that this is what I believe and this is why I made that vote. And I think that that makes more sense to people generally than trying to triangulate some political position."

A House Democratic leadership aide told RealClearPolitics that like most freshmen and sophomore members, Heinrich set up a strong constituent services operation, but noted, "He's done a better job than most of our new members at not getting caught up in the Washington echo chamber."

Asked why he thinks some of his colleagues are facing more difficult races, Heinrich said, "I think Democrats are always challenged to have a unified message, and it's in part because our strength is our diversity as a party, but our weakness is also the fact that because we're so diverse, we have a hard time getting on one page on message."

Unlike some of his Democratic colleagues, Heinrich has campaigned on his support for health care and has plugged the bill's passage by pointing out some of the benefits in the bill that are tailored to his district.

He pointed out that the Indian Health Care Improvement Act had been in limbo for 12 years but that he worked to get its provisions into the comprehensive health care bill. The provisions affect 30,000 of his constituents who get their health care via the Indian Health Service in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Having learned from recent campaign playbooks that bash congressmen for their Washington ties and absence from their districts, Heinrich's campaign literature notes, "Since taking office last year, Martin has come home to New Mexico 80 out of 83 weeks." The exceptions were the weekends of President Obama's inauguration, a CODEL to Afghanistan and the final health care vote in March. The brochure goes on to note, "Martin's casework office has helped 1,946 constituents and counting."

Heinrich put a large focus on his New Mexico district offices and casework right after his election in 2008 because he said his city council background taught him the importance of putting a premium on working with residents directly on issues like trash collection and pothole services, and it was natural for him to move those skills into his congressional office.

He focused on casework specifically after credit card reform was passed because he said his office got a higher-than-average concentration of calls on that issue.

"I could tell it was something that was, maybe it wasn't true nationwide, but here, it was really important to people," Heinrich said. He explained that because income levels in his state are far lower than they are in bigger states, New Mexico residents are more negatively impacted by credit card problems and the issue resonated most with his constituents.

Heinrich figured that it could be the same on a national level for other Democrats but said, "Maybe people are just missing that. Nobody polled it."

He added, "I got more local media when we were fighting that battle with credit card companies and we were talking about individual cases. It was easier to get the local media to cover that than many of the aspects of the health care debate, because I think it really resonated with a lot of my constituents."

From credit card reform to health care reform to his work with the Kirtland Air Force Base, Heinrich said he's not backing away from what he's helped to pass in Washington. He's airing TV ads based on his record and less on his opponent.

"I'm proud of what I've been able to accomplish for this district," he said. "As you saw, I'm one of the only candidates around this year that has some ads up saying what we've done."

Heinrich visited Barelas Senior Center on Wednesday afternoon and was approached by a constituent who complained about congressional pay raises given the current economic climate.

"Congress hasn't had a pay raise since I got there," Heinrich told his constituent.

RealClearPolitics rates the race as a toss up, but Heinrich has held leads in recent polls.

The Democratic leadership aide noted that the demographics in Heinrich's district favor him more than the demographics in some of his colleagues' districts, but Barela noted in an interview on Tuesday that the district is a quintessential political bellwether, as is the state.

There is a highly contentious open gubernatorial race in the state this year that currently favors the Republican candidate, but Democratic Sen. Tom Udall won his open race over former Republican Rep. Steve Pearce by a 22-point margin just two years ago. Next cycle, the presidential race could have an impact on the next Senate race, when longtime Democratic incumbent Jeff Bingaman will be up for re-election.

After tumultuous back-to-back cycles that gave way to turnover in New Mexico's entire congressional delegation with the exception of Bingaman, will the Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman complete the turnover and open the door for Heinrich to seek higher office should he be re-elected this year?

"He's running. I know. That's a fact. He's running for re-election," Heinrich said of his state's senior senator.