To win N.M., Obama needs to come back to Cruces

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Because it was closed to the public, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s Memorial Day visit to Las Cruces did little to help him win over southern New Mexico Democrats who will take a hard look at Republican presidential candidate John McCain before deciding how to vote in November. If Obama wants to win New Mexico – one of the most important swing states in the 2008 presidential election – he’ll have to return to the Las Cruces area at least once to hold a public rally and give voters a chance to see him in person. Hillary Clinton won New Mexico’s Democratic presidential caucus in February, but it’s the reason she won that’s important to the November contest between Obama and McCain. Obama narrowly won northern New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District and the Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District, but Clinton easily won the more conservative 2nd Congressional District in southern New Mexico by several thousand votes, which propelled her to a statewide victory of 1,709 votes out of about 150,000 cast. In Doña Ana County – the most populous county in the 2nd District and a Democratic stronghold – Clinton easily won by about 1,200 votes out of almost 9,500 cast. Continue Reading

Bush helps White, state GOP raise $317K

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A fundraiser hosted by President Bush today in Albuquerque raised $317,000 that will be split between the state GOP and the campaign of 1st Congressional District Republican candidate Darren White. At the noon event, Bush praised White’s understanding of national security issues and applauded his record as a law-enforcement officer, according to a release from the White campaign. Bush also called White a “proven vote-getter.” White was re-elected as sheriff of Bernalillo County in 2006 with 64 percent of the vote. U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici also spoke at the fundraiser, where he praised White’s independence and integrity. Domenici noted that White resigned from his job in former Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration after the governor came out in favor of drug decriminalization. Continue Reading

Pearce, Wilson announce new endorsements

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce has picked up a number of endorsements in recent days in Farmington, while his primary opponent, Heather Wilson, has announced other endorsements, including those of two U.S. senators. Pearce has received the endorsements of state Sens. Bill Sharer and Steve Neville and Reps. James Strickler and Paul Bandy, all from Farmington. He was also endorsed by San Juan County Commissioner Keith Johnson, former Commission Chairman Jack Fortner and former House Minority Leader Richard Cheney. Continue Reading

GOP Senate candidates to debate twice this week

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Republican U.S. Senate candidates Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson will face off twice this week in debates, with the first head-to-head contest held tonight. Tonight’s debate, sponsored by KOAT-7 and the Albuquerque Journal, will be broadcast by the Albuquerque TV station live beginning at 9 p.m., and will also be streamed live on the Internet. Click here to watch the debate online tonight. You can also submit questions to be asked of the candidates by clicking here. The second debate, which will be held on Friday, will be broadcast on TV and radio stations throughout New Mexico. Continue Reading

Wiviott unveils another TV ad attacking Luján

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Democratic 3rd Congressional District candidate Don Wiviott continues spinning primary opponent Ben R. Luján’s record in his newest TV ad, another assault on the frontrunner. Here’s the ad: The ad refers to Wiviott’s previous negative ad, which accused Luján of missing 13 of 14 meetings of the state Telehealth Commission while being paid $90,000. The new ad then attacks Luján for taking trips to Miami, Reno and San Diego at taxpayer expense, and says that’s why Democrats are supporting Wiviott. As the Luján campaign has already pointed out, while the accusation that Luján missed the meetings is true, being a member of the commission is something Luján does as a volunteer, not in his paid capacity as a member of the Public Regulation Commission, so the two are not connected. Wiviott’s new ad also gives no context for the taxpayer-funded trips. Continue Reading

Obama holds town hall with veterans in Las Cruces

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama focused on veterans during a Memorial Day event in Las Cruces that appeared to be designed more to get attention from the national media than it was to earn him support in southern New Mexico. Obama addressed a wide range of topics in response to questions asked during the town-hall meeting at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, but his preceding speech was focused entirely on those who have served in the military. “We all, every one of us, hold in reverence those who have given this country the ultimate measure of devotion,” Obama said. “… This sense of service is what America is all about.” Here’s video of Obama’s speech, courtesy of his campaign: You can also listen to audio of Obama’s speech by clicking here and of the question-and-answer session by clicking here, courtesy of KSNM-AM 570 News. Designed for a national audience The picturesque event was held in the courtyard at the state’s Western-themed museum. Continue Reading

Congressional candidates increase self-financing

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Three of New Mexico’s congressional candidates have upped the ante again in recent days by increasing their own self-financing. In the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary, Aubrey Dunn Jr. reported on Friday that he has loaned another $85,000 to his campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. That brings the total he’s loaned his campaign to $537,435.17. In the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, Ben R. Luján reported on Thursday loaning his campaign another $150,000, according to FEC records. That brings his total self-financing to $200,000. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll pick Wingenroth in magistrate race

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Kent Wingenroth will win the Doña Ana County magistrate judge Democratic primary. Of 136 voters, 96, or 71 percent, said Wingenroth will win, while 29, or 21 percent, said Maria Rodriguez will win. Six voters, or 4 percent, said Frank Rivera will win, and five voters, or 4 percent, said Francisco Ortiz will win. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Luján, Heinrich leading in ABQ Journal polls

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Two polls conducted for the Albuquerque Journal find that Ben R. Luján has the edge in the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary and Martin Heinrich has the edge in the 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. In the 3rd District, Luján led his closest opponent, Don Wiviott, 29 percent to 23 percent in the Journal poll, which was released today. The article on the poll said Harry Montoya came in third, Benny Shendo Jr. was fourth, Jon Adams was fifth and Rudy Martin was sixth, but it did not give percentages. The survey of 500 registered Democrats in the district who said they were likely to vote was conducted Tuesday through Thursday and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent. Meanwhile, Heinrich was leading his closest opponent, Rebecca Vigil-Giron, 34 percent to 23 percent, according to the Journal poll. Continue Reading

Obama’s Cruces event won’t be open to the public

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What Barack Obama’s campaign previously said would be a public visit to Las Cruces by the Democratic presidential candidate on Monday will instead be a closed event attended by Gov. Bill Richardson, the media and some local veterans and their families. Though the Obama campaign has released the location of the event to the media for planning purposes, its news release also states that the venue is “not for publication or broadcast.” Details on the event had not been previously released, except for the statement that it would be public. Being certain that many people will be disappointed, I asked the Obama campaign for comment on the change to a private event. “Senator Obama and Governor Richardson are commemorating Memorial Day in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” said Obama spokeswoman Amy Brundage. “Senator Obama will be discussing the importance of keeping our sacred trust with our nation’s veterans with local veterans and their families.” That’s about all I can tell you, except that I plan to cover the event, which is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. Check my site later Monday for complete coverage. Continue Reading

Heinrich attacks Bush in new TV ad

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While President Bush will visit Albuquerque on Tuesday to raise money for First Congressional District Republican candidate Darren White, White’s likely Democratic opponent in November, Martin Heinrich, is up on TV today with a new ad attacking the Bush presidency. Here’s the ad: “For the past eight years, George Bush has left middle-class families in the dust,” Heinrich says in the ad. “I’m Martin Heinrich, and I’m running for Congress to take us in a new direction.” The ad is a response to Bush’s visit, according to Heinrich’s Web site. Continue Reading

Despite attacks, Newman pledges to stay positive

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Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Monty Newman is promising to run a positive campaign despite negative attacks from two primary opponents, Aubrey Dunn Jr. and Ed Tinsley. The attacks have come as Newman has become a more credible candidate in recent weeks. He’s being backed by the National Association of Realtors, whose political action committee has spent $1 million to promote Newman’s candidacy. “Rather than telling you why you should not vote for someone else, I’m going to tell you why you should vote for me,” Newman said in a news release from his campaign. “I am a conservative Republican. Continue Reading

NMSU’s Martin recommended for LSU job

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The Louisiana State University Chancellor Search Committee today recommended that New Mexico State University President Michael Martin be the next leader of LSU’s main campus in Baton Rouge. LSU President John V. Lombardi must now decide whether to recommend that the Board of Supervisors hire Martin, which he could formally do at their next meeting on June 5. “We were handed a difficult task by President Lombardi,” the search committee’s chair, John Hamilton, said in a news release announcing today’s decision. “But I am confident that we found the best candidate for the job. Dr. Martin would be a fine choice to run this university.” The members of the committee voted unanimously to recommend Martin, according to the news release. Continue Reading

Shendo shows he’s not ready to be a congressman

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Earlier this week at a forum in Farmington, 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Benny Shendo Jr. set fire to the race by publicly accusing primary opponent Ben R. Luján of being gay. Shendo did it in the context of hinting that, because he’s hid his sexuality to appease his parents, Luján is someone who won’t stand up for New Mexicans. “You say that you stand up for the people of New Mexico,” Shendo said, according to video posted on YouTube, “and I want to know how you can stand up for the people of New Mexico if you can’t stand up to your mom and dad about your lifestyle.” Luján stumbled through a response and said he wasn’t sure what Shendo was talking about. Luján, like the rest of us who are involved in New Mexico’s political system, has probably heard the rumor that he’s gay. But no evidence has been presented publicly and Luján says it isn’t true, so it’s nothing more than a rumor. Continue Reading

Udall has $2.9 million on hand for general election

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall is heading into the general election with almost $2.9 million on hand, according to a news release from his campaign. Udall raised $728,211 between April 1 and May 14, according to the news release detailing his latest Federal Election Commission filing. By contrast, Republican candidate Steve Pearce raised $357,000 and Heather Wilson raised $291,106.48 during that period, so Udall continued his trend of besting the combined fundraising efforts of both GOP candidates, which he has done throughout the primary season. “We are extremely grateful to all of Tom’s supporters for their enthusiasm and generosity,” Udall campaign manager Amanda Cooper said in the release. “They are helping ensure that Tom’s record of doing what’s right for New Mexico is resonating strongly throughout our state.” Udall reported total expenses of $435,170 and finished the period with $2,876,030 on hand, according to the release. Continue Reading