Gov.-elect Susana Martinez (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
In a further sign of her rising national star power, Gov.-elect Susana Martinez was chosen by her Republican peers on Thursday to be on the Republican Governors Association’s leadership team.
According to The National Journal, Martinez will be an at-large member of the leadership committee.
There’s lots of new diversity among GOP governors, and they were quick to tout it at Thursday’s meeting. From The New York Times:
“There was plenty of fanfare here for Ms. Haley and Ms. Martinez — and not just for their fiscal ideas. Mr. Pawlenty introduced them in a panel discussion, ‘The New Face of the G.O.P.,’ the group’s not-so-subtle way of highlighting a burst of diversity in its ranks. With Mr. Jindal, an Indian-American, and Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, there will be two Hispanic and two Indian-American Republican governors.
“… Later, Mr. Pawlenty called Ms. Martinez and Ms. Haley ‘clear stars’ in a new class of governors that reflected ‘different walks of life.’”
Martinez continued to downplay her status as the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor anywhere in the United States. From The Times:
“Ms. Martinez… said that she embraced ‘the responsibility of doing this right’ as a role model for young girls who may follow in her footsteps.
‘Still, she seemed exasperated at the discussion of identity.
“‘I have said over and over again that being a woman and being Hispanic is only one of the small steps,’ she said. ‘Turning New Mexico around is what is going to be historical.’”