SANTA FE - The state Legislature convenes today, and a showdown for power could be the first order of business in the House of Representatives.

At age 75, Democratic Rep. Ben Lujan of Santa Fe County will seek renomination as speaker of the House. Fellow Democrat Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, who has been trying to build a coalition for his candidacy, may challenge Lujan.

Democrats, during a caucus in November, voted to stick with Lujan over Cervantes. But Republicans, the minority party, also can vote for speaker today, and they could determine who wins.

One possibility is that Republicans could back a candidate from their own party and hope the nominee sneaks through as Lujan and Cervantes divide Democrats' votes.

Given the newfound strength of Republicans in the House, it remains an open question whether Cervantes will follow through with a challenge to Lujan if it could open the door to a Republican speaker.

The speaker's job is a pivotal in state politics. Whoever has it decides which bills go to which committees, and whether a bill gets a hearing on the floor.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the chamber 37-33. That is a significant shift from last session, when the the Democrats' edge was 45-25.

Southern New Mexico Democrats such as Dona Irwin of Deming and Andy Nunez of Hatch are in Cervantes' camp.

"He is fair and would be an excellent speaker of the House," Irwin said of Cervantes.

Still, Cervantes probably needs help from Republicans if he

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is to unseat Lujan, the speaker for 10 years. Cervantes has not responded to requests for interviews about his candidacy.

Republicans had not organized behind a candidate by Monday afternoon, said Larry Behrens, spokesman for the House GOP.

"Any member can nominate someone to be the speaker," Behrens said in an email. "None of the GOP representatives has told me who (or even if) they plan to nominate tomorrow. The GOP reps have a caucus later today, but I'm told discussion about the speaker is not on the agenda."

Lujan has been in the Legislature since 1975, when Cervantes was starting high school. Cervantes, who turns 50 on Wednesday, has clashed with Lujan over a seat of power before.

In 2007, Lujan removed Cervantes, an attorney, as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. This happened after a Grants legislator ran for speaker and Cervantes wanted to be floor leader.

The vote for speaker could come in early afternoon. Gov. Susana Martinez has scheduled her State of the State speech for 12:30 p.m., but she said in a statement that the time could change, depending on legislative business.

Santa Fe Bureau Chief Milan Simonich can be reached at msimonich@tnmnp.com or (505) 820-6898.