Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Susana Martinez, shown here in 2010.
With Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poised to win a number of important state primaries on Tuesday, solidifying his position as the GOP frontrunner, N.M. Gov. Susana Martinez isn’t saying much — at least publicly.
Martinez and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who head up the Republican Governors Association, “convened fellow governors for an unusual conference call to discuss how the primary was unfolding — and Trump was a central topic of conversation,” Politico is reporting.
From Politico:
“At one point during Monday’s call, which lasted around 30 minutes, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to discuss last week’s bombshell decision to back Trump. According to two sources familiar with the call, Christie mounted a detailed defense of his endorsement, explaining that he’d known the real estate executive for over a decade and had grown confident in his ability to lead the country.”
Meanwhile, a reporter for the Associated Press asked Martinez if she would support the GOP’s eventual nominee and reported receiving no response.
That’s not new. After a GOP presidential debate last week Martinez also declined to endorse any candidate.
“I think there’s a lot of excitement in the Republican Party right now,” KRQE-TV in Albuquerque quoted the governor as saying. “There’s a lot of excitement that is being brought by the candidates. I think at the end of the day the field is starting to narrow, and as it narrows we’ll eventually have a Republican candidate that can win.”
It’s increasingly looking like that will be the controversial Trump, who “is poised for sweeping nationwide wins on Super Tuesday” in a “romp,” Politico reported. That realty has top Republicans “split between those ready to accommodate and others starting to panic,” the news organization reported.
Meanwhile, ahead of New Mexico’s June 7 primary, Republican primary voters were split in a recent poll. The survey, conducted by Research & Polling Inc. for the Albuquerque Journal, found Ted Cruz at 25 percent, Trump at 24 percent, and Marco Rubio at 19 percent.
Meanwhile, a separate survey of likely Democratic primary voters in New Mexico conducted by Research & Polling for the Journal had Hillary Clinton at 47 percent and Bernie Sanders at 33 percent.