The probable defeat of the Senate minority whip could shift the balance of power in Santa Fe
With all votes counted except whatever provisional ballots are deemed valid, it appears increasingly likely that state Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson is going to lose, and that could mean a shift in the balance of power in the Senate — and in
Democratic challenger Steve Fischmann currently has a 505-vote lead over Rawson, R-Las Cruces. Fischmann has 12,853 votes, or 51 percent, to Rawson’s 12,348 votes, or 49 percent.
That led Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, to call Fischmann a senator-elect in a news release, and for Gov. Bill Richardson to call him a newly elected legislator in a statement released by his office. But Fischmann said he’s not ready to declare victory.
“We’re feeling very good about the numbers, but I’m a pretty cautious guy, so I’m not declaring anything,” Fischmann said. “We’ll see how the process goes, but it sure looks like it’s rolling in my favor.”
Rawson, who has served in the Senate since 1987, has not responded to requests for comment. Fischmann said he has not heard from Rawson.
Williams said
One other potential factor is
Williams said he doesn’t have updated numbers on how many who requested absentee ballots didn’t vote in the election. Rawson and others raised concerns in the days leading up to the election about would-be voters being disenfranchised by the situation.
But it’s not clear that provisional ballots or would-be absentee voters would help Rawson. Historically, Democrats have tended to grab the lion’s share of provisional ballots. And, statewide, absentee ballots tended to swing to Democrats in this election. In this race, 1,523 absentee ballots that were cast went to Fischmann, while 1,154 went to Rawson.
A change in leadership?
Rawson is one of two Republican senators trailing in close races. Sen. Steve Komadina of Corrales is also on the ropes, trailing John Sapien by 53 votes. In addition, Republican Sen. Diane Snyder of
Which brings up the Senate’s leadership. The president of the Senate, Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, upset many Democrats last week when he denounced in a robocall negative attacks against Rawson.
Sanchez, in today’s interview, said he doesn’t know what will happen to
“I certainly wish he would have talked to us about (the robocall) before he did it, but he didn’t,” Sanchez said. “… I’m sure those things will be talked about in caucus.”
Sanchez, who backed Fischmann and contributed financially to his campaign, said he feels good about the “dramatic swing” in the Senate based on Tuesday’s results.
“I look forward to working with Steve Fischmann and other newly elected legislators,” the governor said. “I see an opportunity to engage in honest dialogue and once again break the gridlock that has plagued our progress on a few very important issues.”