Dunn triggers Millionaire’s Amendment with new loan

By |

Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Aubrey Dunn Jr. loaned his campaign another $150,000 on Friday and triggered the Millionaire’s Amendment that triples contribution limits for his opponents. Dunn has now loaned his campaign $452,435.17, according to Federal Election Commission records. Any U.S. House candidate who loans his campaign more than $350,000 triples contribution limits for his opponents from $2,300 to $6,900. Dunn’s newest loan further complicates a wide-open primary that has seen the National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee spend almost $600,000 to promote Monty Newman, who has also loaned his own campaign $100,000. Another candidate in the GOP primary, Greg Sowards, has loaned his campaign $325,000, and candidate Ed Tinsley has loaned $200,000 to his campaign. Continue Reading

Voters in poll say Yolanda Lucero will win clerk’s race

By |

Yolanda Lucero won last week’s non-scientific poll on this site asking who would win the Doña Ana County clerk Democratic primary. Of 222 voters, 92, or 41 percent, said Lucero would win, while 81, or 36 percent, said Lynn Ellins would win; 36, or 16 percent, said Rita Torres would win; and 13, or 6 percent, said Martha Ann Lucero would win. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Martin says he has not decided to leave NMSU

By |

“We feel terrible,” were the words New Mexico State University Board of Regents Chair Bob Gallagher used today to describe the board’s reaction to news that President Michael Martin is considering taking a job in Louisiana. But nothing has been decided, Martin and Gallagher said today at a news conference at which they formally announced that Martin, as I reported on Thursday, is the sole finalist for chancellor of Louisiana State University’s main campus in Baton Rouge. Martin will travel to Louisiana on Monday for two days of on-campus interviews. He could be offered the job as soon as a week from today. During today’s news conference, Martin said he’s not looking to leave or being pushed to leave. Continue Reading

How will the Democratic wave affect N.M. races?

By |

Democrat Travis Childers’ Tuesday victory in a special election in a conservative Mississippi U.S. House district has Washington Republicans reeling and pundits considering the possibility that other GOP seats – even New Mexico’s right-leaning 2nd Congressional District – are more vulnerable than previously thought. It was the third time this year that a Democrat won a special election for a U.S. House seat in a district that historically favors Republicans. The others were in Illinois and Louisiana. U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., wrote in a memo to colleagues that the losses are “canaries in the coal mine, warning of far greater losses in the fall, if steps are not taken to remedy the current climate.” “The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than it was in 2006,” Davis wrote, according to the New York Times. House Republicans lost 30 seats, and came within a couple of percentage points of losing another 15, in 2006. Continue Reading

New poll has Pearce leading Wilson by three points

By |

Steve Pearce has a three-point lead over Heather Wilson in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, according to the first poll of the race to be released publicly in months. The new poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for KOB-TV in Albuquerque, has Pearce leading 49 percent to 46 percent. The survey of 439 likely Republican primary voters was conducted Monday through Wednesday and has a margin of error of 4.8 percent. The last polling released publicly was in January, when an internal state Republican Party poll had Pearce up three points, 38 percent to 35 percent. The new poll shows that, with three televised debates to go before June 3, the race remains highly competitive. Continue Reading

McCamley begins running his first TV ad

By |

Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Bill McCamley will begin airing his first TV ad Friday, a 30-second spot called “Gravy Train.” Here it is: “There is a special-interest gravy train in Washington, D.C. Money from big oil and drug companies comes in one door, and taxpayer giveaways go right out the other,” he says in the ad. McCamley talks in the ad about health care and gas prices before saying that he “will not rest until things change in Washington because it is time, finally, to put the middle class ahead of the special interests.” The ad will begin running Friday in the Albuquerque television market, which covers the entire district except Doña Ana County. The campaign touted in the news release the fact that the ad was produced by the firm Fletcher, Rowley, Chao, Riddle, which also created the TV ads for Democrat Travis Childers, who won a surprising victory in a conservative Mississippi House district on Tuesday. “This ad not only highlights why Bill is running, it clearly shows the passion and energy that he is going to bring to the general election and to Washington in January,” McCamley campaign spokesman Mike Ward said in the release. “Voters want to see a candidate who stands up for them against the special interests, and this ad focuses on how Bill will do just that.” As I’ve disclosed in the past, I’m friends with McCamley. Continue Reading

Martin named sole finalist for LSU chancellor job

By |

New Mexico State University President Michael Martin was named today the only finalist for chancellor at Louisiana State University’s main campus in Baton Rouge, and he’s expected to visit the campus next week to interview for the job. University officials in Las Cruces have called a news conference for 10 a.m. Friday at the Fulton Center to discuss the situation, and Board of Regents Chair Bob Gallagher is expected to announce that the university will allow Martin to interview for the job. The announcement that an LSU chancellor search committee had narrowed the field of finalists from 11 to one was made today in a news release after the committee unanimously voted to invite Martin to campus for a series of interviews next week. “(Martin) would be a very strong leader for our campus,” Jack Hamilton, the search committee’s chair, said in the release. “He’s worthy of this place and I hope he decides to come. Continue Reading

Newman airs TV ad as Tinsley attacks with mailer

By |

Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley is out with a new mailer that attacks primary opponent Monty Newman, while Newman is up today with his first TV ad. While many across the 2nd District have already seen the National Association of Realtors’ TV ad in support of Newman, today’s is the first ad from the Newman campaign. Here it is: The ad introduces Newman as the former Hobbs mayor and a small businessman whose son served in Iraq and wife teaches elementary school. Then it focuses on the fact that Newman has taught Bible school for more than 20 years. “We need to bring pro-faith, pro-life values to Washington, and that’s why I approved this message,” Newman says at the end of the ad. Continue Reading

Wiviott’s self-financing tops $1 million

By |

Democratic 3rd Congressional District candidate Don Wiviott has pumped another $100,000 into his campaign, bringing his self-financing to more than $1 million for the primary race. According to Federal Election Commission records, Wiviott’s newest loan was made on Tuesday, and brings the total he has loaned his campaign to $1,090,000. It’s more than any other candidate has contributed to his own campaign in New Mexico this year. Wiviott has said since he entered the race that he will spend whatever it takes to win. He’s in a hotly contested primary race with five other Democrats, the most prominent being Public Regulation Commissioner Ben R. Luján, the son of the speaker of the state House. Continue Reading

Wilson picks up mayoral, newspaper endorsements

By |

Heather Wilson has picked up the endorsements of the Farmington mayor and a Silver City newspaper in recent days in her quest to win the Republican U.S. Senate primary. In endorsing Wilson over primary opponent Steve Pearce, Farmington Mayor Bill Standley said Wilson “is a conservative leader of sound judgment.” “When Heather Wilson votes, she votes for the needs of New Mexicans, and I believe she will continue to do that when she’s elected to the Senate,” he said in a release from the Wilson campaign. “Wilson’s recent work to protect critical funding for rural hospitals, including San Juan Regional Medical Center, is a perfect example of her commonsense, conservative leadership. Heather Wilson believes in low taxes and smaller government, but she also believes in standing up for New Mexicans.” Standley’s endorsement follows that of San Juan County Commission Chairman Tony Atkinson, who put his support behind Wilson last week. “I am very pleased with the support my campaign is receiving in San Juan County,” Wilson said in the release. Continue Reading

Blogger to be seated with N.M. delegation in Denver

By |

Democracy for New Mexico has been named an official blogger for the Democratic National Convention to be held in Denver in August. That means Barbara Wold, who runs the site, gets to sit with the state delegation at the convention and have special access to the event. Wold learned of her selection in a video from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. “I’ll be reporting to you directly from Denver and sharing my experiences and insights day-by-day as the drama unfolds. I hope I can do the job justice,” Wold wrote on her site. Continue Reading

Lyons endorses Tinsley in CD2 race

By |

State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons endorsed Republican Ed Tinsley today in the 2nd Congressional District race. “Ed’s extensive experience with land-management issues, namely within our state’s oil-and-gas and ranching industries, is unparalleled in this primary and marks him as the only candidate in the field who will understand the agricultural and land-trust issues facing New Mexico from the day he is elected,” Lyons said in a release from the Tinsley campaign. Tinsley said he was “incredibly honored” to have Lyons’ support. “Pat’s history of public service to our state, from the New Mexico Senate to the office of public lands, has been inspirational to me,” Tinsley said. “I am glad to have Pat’s counsel on the land issues which represent the lifeblood of the economy of our state.” Lyons and Tinsley were to appear together at events in Roswell, Artesia and Alamogordo on Wednesday. Continue Reading

Republican Hispanic group backs Greer in CD2

By |

The New Mexico chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly today endorsed C. Earl Greer in the 2nd Congressional District race.“He is a man of great integrity, uncompromising morals and solid character,” Dan Garza, chairman of the New Mexico chapter, said in a release from the Greer campaign. “He reflects our proud Hispanic values and we would be very honored to have him represent the Hispanic community and the 2nd District in Congress.” Greer, who is half Hispanic, said he is honored that his “fellow Hispanic Republicans have chosen me as their candidate.” “The RNHA strives to encourage Americans of Hispanic heritage to be full participants in the great American experiment of ‘government by the people, for the people, and of the people.’ I am honored to have the support of such a respected organization.” Continue Reading

Congress needs to tackle oil addiction, not gas prices

By |

Ninety-seven U.S. senators voted on Tuesday to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months, a move they say they hope will help ease the gas-price burden on motorists through the summer months. The vast majority of House members later followed suit in approving the proposal. But the reality is that this was a do-nothing vote following weeks of partisan rhetoric designed to make it look, in this election year, like Congress is doing something to allay the concerns of angry Americans who are watching gas and food prices skyrocket. Meanwhile, substantive legislation that would actually help solve America’s energy and fuel crisis is nowhere to be found. The rhetoric began on April 29 when President Bush publicly blamed Congress for doing nothing about rising oil prices. Continue Reading

CD1 candidate Heinrich to run first TV ad Thursday

By |

Democratic 1st Congressional District candidate Martin Heinrich will begin running his first TV ad of the primary election season on Thursday. Here’s the ad: It’s a simple, introductory ad that identifies Heinrich as “the son of an electrician and a factory worker” who has worked to raise the minimum wage in Albuquerque and clean up the water in the city’s South Valley. “Now Martin Heinrich is running for Congress to fight for new priorities – to bring our troops home from Iraq and focus on families here,” the ad’s narrator states. The ad prominently displays the campaign’s Web address – martinheinrich.com – and includes a well-placed note that Heinrich has been endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal. It’s the first TV ad from any candidate in the 1st District Democratic primary. Continue Reading