Tom Udall in 2014 NM Senate debate

On Jobs: AdWatch: Protect jobs at military bases & national labs

"I'm Tom Udall, and we're not allowed to film campaign ads at military bases and national labs. But I can show you who will work there in the future. Our saving Cannon Air Force Base and its thousands of jobs means now it will be there for them when they grow up. And protecting Sandia labs and Los Alamos from budget cuts means all of those jobs will be there, too. I'm Tom Udall, and I approved this message because this is the best part of my job."

On Technology: FactCheck: Los Alamos budget stable but Recession cost jobs

In March 2012, Los Alamos National Laboratory announced that 557 people would leave their jobs under a voluntary separation program. The lab earlier had announced that they needed 400 to 800 fewer employees to reduce the likelihood of involuntary layoffs due to a budget crunch. This was just over four years after 450 LANL workers voluntarily left their jobs.

A spokeswoman for Udall said that the senator "has fought hard for stability at LANL despite hard budget times." According to figures supplied by Udall's office, the lab's budget was $1.8 billion in 2011. Without stimulus funds, the LANL budget went down to $1.6 billion in 2012. But by 2013 budget year, LANL's budget was back up to $1.8 billion and currently is $1.9 billion.

On Principles & Values: Lost campaigns in 1982 and 1988 before winning in 1998

AMONG TWO-TIME LOSERS:
• Rep. Steve Stockman, R-TX, elected in 1994, lost primary in 1990, general election in 1992.
• Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, elected to the House in 1998, lost primary in 1982, general election in 1988

THREE-TIME LOSERS:
• Rep. Paul Broun, R-GA, elected in 2006, lost general election in 1990, primary in 1992, Senate primary in 1996
• Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-HI, elected in 2010, lost primary in 2006, special elections in 2003 and 2010
• Rep. Collin Peterson, D-MN, elected in 1990, lost primaries in 1982 and 1988, general elections in 1984 and 1986.
• Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-VT, elected to the House in 1990, lost general elections for the Senate in 1972 and 1974 and for the House in 1988.
• Rep. Juan Vargas, D-CA, elected in 2012, lost primaries in 1992, 1996 and 2006.

On Government Reform: Nuclear option: Allow confirmation of Obama's appointees

"I'm just so encouraged now that we're going to be able to--without filibusters--put people on the courts in an orderly way," Udall said. Filibuster reform has long been a marquee issue for Merkley (OR) and Udall (NM). Now, they're looking to expand their change to filibuster rules governing legislation--but that's going to be a much harder sell.

Udall recalled that he campaigned on the idea when he was first elected to the Senate in 2008. Once he was sworn in, he said he began thinking "immediately" about how to most effectively go about campaigning for such a radical change in an institution that runs on tradition.

Critics say they led a movement they don't even understand--they have only served in the majority, and don't appreciate ways that the filibuster has been used to benefit the country in the past.

On War & Peace: Chemical weapons are despicable, but avoid Syrian civil war

UDALL: No, I haven't changed my mind. The most important thing here is that what Bashar al-Assad did was a heinous act. It's despicable--women and children dying as a result of chemical weapons. And I think it's pretty clear that he did this. But the big question for the Congress right now is what is the most effective way to move forward. And I think the American people don't want to be embroiled in a Middle Eastern civil war. This is an act of war that we're going to take. We haven't exhausted all of our political, economic, and diplomatic alternatives. We ought to be rallying the world. All the world agrees, you shouldn't use chemical weapons.

Q: The world has not been rallied. Are you not concerned about inaction?

UDALL: I don't think we have inaction. We're doing more than any other country in the region. We have moved effectively there to provide defenses to our allies. We're rallying the international community in terms of humanitarian aid.