Grisham has already defied expectations

Democratic 1st Congressional District candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham has beaten fundraising expectations. Now in the midst of a heated three-way race, she’s under attack over her past leadership of the N.M. Department of Health.

This is the second of three profiles of the Democratic 1st Congressional District candidates.

Michelle Lujan Grisham has already defied expectations in her fundraising efforts for the open 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House. Now, she hopes to use her experience in both elected and appointed office to beat out two others in this year’s Democratic primary.

Grisham entered the race in August of last year later than her opponents – former Albuquerque mayor Marty Chávez and State Sen. Eric Griego. Grisham told NMPolitics.net one of the first challenges was raising enough money to be competitive, especially since, she says, some political watchers may have initially sold her short and “didn’t assume it was going to be a three-way race.”

She received early support from the Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF), an organization that supports female candidates from both parties.

“She’s the whole package,” said Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President/CEO of WCF and She Should Run Foundation. Bennett said the organization supported Grisham because of her experience and potential to effectively campaign in the primary race.

Although women may face challenges getting elected to office, Bennett said they tend to do well as incumbents because, “women legislators write more legislation, score higher on constituent service, bring more money home for their district.”

Grisham has been quite competitive in fundraising. At the end of March, the most recent reporting period, Grisham had raised about $532,171 and had $344,496 cash on hand. Griego had raised more – $709,795 – but had slightly less available – $321,831. Chávez had raised $553,827 and had the least cash on hand with $201,433.

Fundraising success makes any candidate more competitive, said Timothy Krebs, associate professor of political science at UNM, because “future fundraising is a function of whether your previous fundraising beat expectations.”

Defining Democratic values

While raising money, the three candidates have also debated who would best represent the values of the Democratic Party in a general election.

Griego has often been touted as the progressive candidate in the primary race. He has received endorsements and support from progressive groups in New Mexico and national groups like Moveon.org.

Grisham rejected the idea that she is less progressive than Griego, saying, “the notion that one candidate is more progressive than another is really nonsense.” She pointed to her support of women’s reproductive health and advocacy for LGBT equality at the state level as examples of her progressive, or liberal Democratic, credentials.

Candidate Chávez has also staked a claim for representing core Democratic values in his campaign, pointing to his endorsements from environmentalists and activists who support his record advancing sustainable development in Albuquerque.

Health-care advocacy

Grisham is currently a Bernalillo County commissioner. She previously served as the N.M. Secretary of Aging and Long Term Services for 14 years and was head of the Department of Health during Bill Richardson’s administration.

The candidate says she is a strong supporter of health-care access who can use her background negotiating health-care issues while dealing with federal reforms in Congress. When asked about recent debates on birth control and reproductive health on Capitol Hill, Grisham said reproductive health is tied to economic issues, because, “if you don’t address family planning, we are creating poverty.”

In the primary, some have questioned Grisham’s leadership when Fort Bayard Medical Center, a state-managed nursing home in Silver City, was investigated in 2005 by the Department of Justice. Federal officials found that the facility was providing “inadequate medical care” and misusing “dangerous psychotropic medication” in ways that did not meet guidelines national guidelines. The federal government sued the state.

Grisham said she started immediately working to address patient-care issues at Fort Bayard after taking over at the Department of Health. She said the state replaced staff and she got her nursing home administrator’s license and directly took over the facility in the interim.

Earlier this week, the Grisham campaign cried foul about a pamphlet passed out to voters that was paid for by an out-of-state PAC, Progressive Kick, that criticized her leadership of the Department of Health.

Joshua Grossman, executive director of Progressive Kick, said he watches races around the country and has found that the two-party system in the United States means “we have diverse views smushed together under the banner of the Democratic party.” Grossman says his organization decided to support efforts to push Griego forward in the primary because it believes Griego will best represent the interests of average Americans in Congress.

Griego told NMPolitics.net he was not aware of Progressive Kick or the organization’s activities. As an independent expenditure PAC, now commonly called a Super PAC, Progressive Kick is not allowed to coordinate with candidates but can spend money for or against candidates across the country.

Grisham said she hopes voters will see that she has taken responsibility for “decades of government problems” and she was “not afraid to be the name on that effort.” The consent decree that outlined the investigation findings at Fort Bayard did recognize that the state was making progress at Fort Bayard while Grisham was head of the department.

The general election

The House seat is open this year because U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, is instead running for the U.S. Senate seat that was previously held for three decades by Democrat Jeff Bingaman. The seat was previously held for five terms by Republican Heather Wilson, who is now running against Heinrich for the open Senate seat.

If Grisham wins the Democratic nomination, she would face Republican Janice Arnold-Jones in the general election.

In the primary, Grisham has often spoken about the demands of caring for both her children and elderly parents after the death of her husband in 2004. She said the challenge of juggling both time and money are something that female voters can relate to and would set her apart in the U.S. House, saying “It’s those realities that make you a very effective policy maker. I will be a very effective congresswoman.”

Grisham predicted that in the general election she and Arnold-Jones would focus on the nation’s spending and values in “significant debates about the power of women and families and making sure it’s fair.”

The primary is June 5. Early voting is already underway.

Sarah Gustavus is a freelance reporter based in Albuquerque. She’s currently finishing up a master’s degree in media and communication in London. E-mail her at sarahgustavus@gmail.com.