The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)
For comparison with the proposed changes throughout this article, you can look at existing districts by clicking here.
One reason Republicans haven’t seen much work from Democrats during the current redistricting special session is that Democrats have been negotiating behind the scenes to draft plans they hope can pass with or without Republican support.
Looking at the Democrats’ redistricting plan for the state House of Representatives, you can see that a lot of behind-the-scenes work has taken place.
For example, look at House District 53, which is held by Republican Rick Little from Alamogordo. Little unseated Democrat Nate Cote in last year’s election largely because of overwhelming support from two precincts in Otero County.
Cote has already stated his intention to try to retake the seat next year. And in the Democrats’ redistricting plan, those Otero precincts are no longer in District 53.
You can see hints of some possible wrangling among Democrats as well. Much of Rep. Rodolpho “Rudy” Martinez’s District 39 is taken away by Rep. Dona Irwin’s District 32 in the proposal, and the new Martinez district would stretch all the way from the Arizona border into Doña Ana County – making it the eighth House district located wholly or in part in the state’s second largest county.
That’s probably not favorable for Martinez, who under the new plan might face a primary challenge from a Las Crucen.
There’s lots of shifting in Albuquerque. Perhaps most notable is the moving of House District 26 – a seat currently held by Democrat Al Park – from the east side of Albuquerque to the west side. Park doesn’t plan to seek re-election next year, so moving his district to accommodate a growing population on the west side was a no-brainer for Democrats.
A redistricting plan for state Senate seats has yet to move past any committee, but one Democratic proposal moves Republican Carroll H. Leavell’s District 41 away from Eddy and Lea counties and into the Albuquerque metro area.
It doesn’t change much in Doña Ana County, except to give Sen. John Arthur Smith’s District 35 some precincts there, creating the potential in the future for another state senator from Las Cruces. It also takes some Republican-rich precincts in Sierra County out of Democrat Steve Fischmann’s District 37.
Congressional and PRC redistricting
There’s work on the congressional front too. Rep. Joseph Cervantes has introduced a congressional redistricting bill co-sponsored by many Southern New Mexico Democrats that makes each congressional district more competitive. It takes Democrats out of the left-leaning Third Congressional District in the north and moves them into the southern 2nd Congressional District, and moves some Republicans from the 2nd District to the 3rd.
The left-leaning, Albuquerque-area 1st District moves north and east but, even though it moves toward Santa Fe, it also becomes more competitive.
The Senate Democrats’ congressional redistricting bill is moving forward as well, and should be discussed by the full Senate today. It’s a fairly status-quo bill that doesn’t dramatically change the political layout of any of the three districts. You can read about two Senate committees’ Sunday discussion of the bill here.
The Senate Democrats’ Public Regulation Commission redistricting bill shifts voter registration percentages toward Democrats in three of five districts – including both held by Republicans.
The same bill is making its way through the House as the Democratic caucus’ bill, and Republicans there aren’t happy about it.
Still lots to do
There’s lots to still be worked out among Democrats. The House doesn’t yet have caucus unity behind congressional or PRC redistricting plans. They may not be able to unify behind a congressional plan, since there’s lots of division over whether to make the southern 2nd District a safe seat for Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce in exchange for keeping more registered Democrats up north.
And, as Capitol Report New Mexico told us this weekend, the House Democratic caucus may not have the votes to pass its redistricting plan for the state House of Representatives. Some 35 of 36 Democrats signed on to the plan, but one – Rep. Sandra Jeff – and independent Andy Nuñez don’t appear to be on board. Without them and the Republican caucus, the Democrats’ bill would die on a tie vote.
Democrats would like to send redistricting plans to the governor by Friday, which requires her to act on them before the session is currently scheduled to end on Monday. If they don’t send the bills to her by then, she doesn’t have to act on them until after lawmakers have adjourned.
Expect lots to happen this week, both behind the scenes and in full view of the public.