Doug Turner
Republican Party of New Mexico officials are notorious for taking sides in primary elections, damaging the strength and credibility of the party in the process. Unfortunately, this year is no exception.
On Sunday, GOP Chairman Harvey Yates took sides in a TV ad fight between two of my opponents in this race. His involvement breaks our rules, shows a bias and betrayed the neutrality Republican Party officials are supposed to respect.
Party officials simply must trust the wisdom of GOP voters to do what’s right and not intervene in a way that supports one candidate over another.
By taking sides in a primary, party officials lose the credibility they need to unite the party behind the single candidate selected by GOP voters on June 1. These are the same kind of practices that fractured our party and sowed disaffection among voters during the last decade.
By opening this window for the rise of the tax-and-spend Democratic Party, Republican infighting aided the loss of every congressional seat in New Mexico by 2008. It’s time we put an end to this kind of politics and regain the high ground once and for all.
Candidates should defend themselves
Politics can be brutal. In an election like this one, the only way we can see how a candidate will run in the general election or govern once elected is by evaluating the quality of the campaign and the ability to remain strong in the face of adversity.
By acting as a referee in the mudslinging, Chairman Yates has done a disservice not only to the party but also to the candidates by denying them the opportunity to defend themselves by themselves. If the factual content of a negative ad is false, it must be up to the candidate in a primary election to set the record straight.
For instance, when an anonymous opponent launched a false recorded telephone “push poll” against me, I came to my own defense.
If the mudslinging among the two GOP candidates looks bad now, imagine what it will look like when the big-government, status-quo Democrats begin taking shots in the general election. When that happens, no chairman will have the ability to play referee or to coddle our candidate.
Yates’ decision could have encouraging consequences
Throughout this state there are people working within the party who are dedicated and loyal, and who fulfill their duties with the proper primary neutrality to properly serve the party. I applaud them for their service and urge them to push forward.
Ironically, the decision of some party officials to publicly abandon their duty to remain neutral could nonetheless have encouraging consequences.
Motivated primary voters are an especially wise bunch and will show their dissatisfaction for insider politics at the ballot box by voting for a candidate who is outside the entrenched political system and who is willing to do what is right, rather than manipulate the process.
The opportunity for Republicans to take back the governor’s office means we must look at June 1 with an eye to Nov. 2. We must support a candidate who can campaign effectively against entrenched Democratic opponents without the personal baggage or a reputation for mudslinging.
As Republicans, it’s time we had a candidate who stood solely and proudly on the principles we believe in. If ever the stage were set for Republicans to vote for a candidate who is outside the political machine, it is right now.
Turner is a Republican candidate for governor.