This article has been updated.
Gov. Bill Richardson isn’t on stage with President Barack Obama at the president’s town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho. No other New Mexico elected officials are on stage with Obama.
Richardson did meet with Obama before arriving in the Rio Rancho High School gymnasium, according to The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell. And Obama, in his opening remarks, referred to Richardson as “a great friend, one of the finest governors in the country.”
This is their first public encounter since Richardson withdrew his nomination to be commerce secretary because of the ongoing probe into allegations of pay to play in his administration.