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SANTA FE, N.M. - For Democrat Diane Denish and Republican Susana Martinez, Democratic governor Bill Richardson has become a flash point in the open race to succeed him in New Mexico.

Martinez, the Dona Ana County District Attorney, has tried to cast Denish as a close disciple of Richardson, pointing to the Democrat's eight years in his administration as lieutenant governor. Meanwhile, Denish has taken pains to show her independence from the unpopular incumbent. Denish has tried to flip Richardson's public persona onto Martinez by suggesting that Martinez has national ambitions like Richardson once did.

Denish told RealClearPolitics on Wednesday that she has a "totally different style" than Richardson does.

"I'm not a flash, very high-profile," Deninsh said. "My whole focus is on New Mexico, always has been, always will be. He has had a much different focus than that."

Richardson waged an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2008 and was later selected by President Obama to serve as Commerce Secretary. Richardson withdrew his name from contention after a lengthy investigation began into a company that conducted business in his state.

According to a poll conducted by Research and Polling Inc. for the Albuquerque Journal, Richardson's job approval rating was hovering at a dismal 33 percent. The survey sampled 400 likely voters from Aug. 23 to Aug. 27 and had a margin of error of five percentage points.

Richardson's predecessor, two-term Republican former Gov. Gary Johnson, recently has indicated his own interest in running for president in 2012.

"That just raises the point: We've had a lot of people in New Mexico who've been governors who want to do something else," Denish said. "He's out running for president. Our governor ran for president," she said, referring to Richardson.

"You read about my opponent - they're talking about her going on to the national scene," she added. "I don't want to do that. I want to be New Mexico's governor. That's my focus."

Indeed, Richardson's national focus has irked voters in New Mexico, and it's been a bit of a drag on Denish's candidacy.

According to John Herrera, a manager at the Santa Fe restaurant, Ore House, "A lot of things went to his head." Herrera complained about the size of Richardson's entourage whenever he has visited the city and how it has negatively impacted traffic flow and the ability of patrons to get to his restaurant.

Herrera said that he is a member of the Green Party but usually votes for Democrats. This year, however, he said he'll cast his vote for Martinez because he's so fed up with Richardson.

Around the corner from Ore House, Republican Tim Franklin works in a shop that caters to tourists and said that as Energy Secretary during the Clinton administration, Richardson used to visit his shop with a large entourage in tow but never bought a thing.

"I think he's been in politics way too long," said Franklin, who doesn't plan to vote in the governor's race this year.

"I think they haven't talked about any issues. It's all character assassination," he said. "Diane Denish is sweet and grandmotherly but incompetent. But Martinez comes across as a pit bull. I wish there was a third candidate."

Denish hit Martinez for her Texas roots in a recent TV ad and told RealClearPolitics on Wednesday, "I know what New Mexico needs because I'm a native New Mexican. Some people think that's not important; this year it's important."

Of Martinez, she added, "She grew up in Texas. People are looking for somebody who's steady at the wheel who has a commitment to New Mexico."

Martinez responded with a spot on Wednesday, which said that she chose to live her entire adult life in New Mexico. She went onto suggest that Denish's candidacy simply offers a continuation of Richardson's governorship.

Denish hasn't been able to change the subject, so she's tried to turn the tables on Martinez.

In another new spot, she says, "Susana Martinez is confused. She thinks this race is about Bill Richardson. Let's be clear. This race is about you - your jobs, schools and families."

And in the interview on Wednesday, Denish said, "My opponent really wants this to be about Bill Richardson. But it's not, it's about families and their jobs and their futures together."

She added that Martinez has "made a point of making it about the past and going after Gov. Richardson on a regular basis because she doesn't really have any proposals to get us out of this tough economy except to side with the same people who drew all of us into this economy."

Peter Ortega, proprietor of The Camera Store of Santa Fe, still likes Richardson and pointed out that he was elected to two terms, but he acknowledged that Richardson is no longer very well-liked in the state. However, Ortega does not think that Martinez's attempts to bring down Denish through pointing out her ties to Richardson will work.

"It's just like when Democrats tie people to President Bush because it's ‘more of the same.' I don't think it will do much," he said.

Nevertheless, he thought at the beginning of the year that Denish would win but was surprised to hear from friends who work for Richardson in Albuquerque that Martinez has a strong and devoted following and is ahead in the polls.

Martinez leads Denish by eight percentage points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.