Proposal shifts GOP power to east and rural areas

A challenge to Allen Weh’s leadership of the Republican Party of New Mexico isn’t the only thing happening at Saturday’s GOP convention.

Delegates plan to vote on two proposals that would shift more power in the Republican Party to rural counties and the eastern side of the state. The changes would increase the number of delegates and central committee members to the state party, but award Republican strongholds with an increased share of overall membership.

The proposals, made by State Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, would increase the number of delegates from moderate counties such as Bernalillo and Doña Ana only slightly, but Republican strongholds would gain a significant number of members. Democratic strongholds such as Santa Fe County wouldn’t gain any delegates.

Under the current system, a county gets a delegate for every four hundred votes cast in the last election for the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in that county. Adair’s proposal would keep that in place, but also add “bonus delegates” as incentives to counties:

• Counties would get an additional delegate for each county elected official who is Republican.

• They would get an additional two delegates for each other statewide elected official who won the county in the last election.

The change would significantly shift power in the state party to the east and to rural counties. For example, Bernalillo County would get 161 delegates instead of its current 157. Doña Ana County would get 31 delegates instead of its current 28.

But the smaller Otero County would have more delegates than Doña Ana County. Its number would increase from 15 to 33. Harding County’s delegates would increase from one to seven. Hidalgo County’s would increase from one to 10. Lea County’s would increase from 13 to 31.

Santa Fe County would keep its current 25 delegates, but wouldn’t gain any.

The proposal would apply a similar incentive program for membership on the state central committee.

Pointing out that both national party organizations have incentive programs in place, Adair said his proposal isn’t revolutionary.

“It’s just a positive reinforcement approach,” Adair said. “You want to encourage success. That’s all this is about.”

Adair pointed out that, under his proposals, no county is penalized by losing delegates or members of the central committee, but the counties that do a better job of electing Republicans gain members.

“It’s to encourage local innovations to win elections, that’s all,” he said.

Critics say a shift in power to the rural counties, where conservative thinking is stronger, would move the Republican Party to the right, and say that won’t help the minority party in a purple state.

Republican officials in Doña Ana County made a concerted effort last year to run a more moderate slate of candidates. But their strategy didn’t work. Republicans actually lost two House seats in Doña Ana County last year and didn’t gain any county seats or an open spot on the Public Regulation Commission. It was a shock to many Republicans who believed they would gain one or two House seats, win the PRC seat and might take one county commission seat from an incumbent Democrat.

Doña Ana County Republican Party Chair Sid Goddard doesn’t know how he’ll vote on the amendments, but said his concern is that delegates will only be allowed to vote for or against the proposals. There is no opportunity to propose changes before the vote.

“I’m not particularly pleased that we are just going to have an up-or-down vote,” he said. “We have some questions about it.”

I spoke with a number of other Republicans about Adair’s proposed change, but none were willing to go on the record because of the sensitive nature of inner-party deliberations. Some expressed concern about the party shifting to the right in a purple state. Others said if county parties like that in Doña Ana County can’t figure out how to elect Republicans, they shouldn’t have as much representation as those who can.