Ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame loses N.M. race

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame has lost her race in the Democratic primary for an open seat representing New Mexico in Congress. Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez overcame six competitors to win her party's nomination to succeed US Representative Ben Ray Lujan as he runs for the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring.

In her first run for public office, Plame harnessed her fame as a former US intelligence operative whose secret identity was exposed shorty after her diplomat husband disputed U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion. Leger Fernandez was making her first bid for public office as a professional advocate for Native American communities and voting rights issues.

She could become the first woman to represent the state's 3rd Congressional District, a Democrat-heavy district..