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After at least 15 polls in the last two days showed her trailing Barack Obama in New Hampshire, it’s somewhat of a surprise that Hillary Clinton is ahead of Obama with 26 percent of precincts reporting. Clinton has 25,859 votes, or 40 percent, to Obama’s 22,476, or 34 percent. John Edwards is in third with 10,892 votes, or 17 percent. Bill Richardson remains in fourth with 2,918 votes, or 4 percent. Continue Reading
The networks have declared John McCain the winner of the New Hampshire GOP Primary, and Mitt Romney has congratulated him on his victory. With 22 percent of precincts reporting, McCain has more than 14,000 votes, or 37 percent, to the second-place Romney’s 10,600 votes, or 28 percent. Mike Huckabee is in third with 12 percent, and Rudy Giuliani is in fourth with 9 percent. Continue Reading
Gov. Bill Richardson is at 4 percent in New Hampshire with 9 percent of precincts reporting. If he keeps that pace, he’ll win twice the support he had in last week’s Iowa Caucus, but it still won’t be enough to give any momentum to a sinking campaign. Hillary Clinton is currently leading with 37 percent of the vote to Barack Obama’s 36 percent and John Edwards’ 16 percent. Continue Reading
As voting wraps up in New Hampshire, officials are predicting record turnout, suggesting that the unprecedented energy that existed in Iowa last week exists in the Granite State as well. Many polls just closed, and the rest close at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, but lines around the state are very long, and those who are in line when the polls close get to vote, no matter how long it takes. That could delay final results in New Hampshire. Check back throughout the evening for updates. If you’re not by a television, you can watch MSNBC’s coverage online by clicking here. Continue Reading
Is there a chance Gov. Bill Richardson will drop out of the presidential race tonight if he’s slaughtered by voters in New Hampshire? Speculation is beginning to grow that it’s a possibility. Still, most sources I’ve spoken with expect the governor to stay in the race until the Nevada Caucus on Jan. 19. But there are definitely signs that the campaign is winding down. Continue Reading
In my view, the story from Monday evening’s Las Cruces City Council District 6 candidate forum wasn’t the candidates. It was the 150 people who showed up to hear the candidates. At a time when we’re seeing record voter and caucus-goer turnout in the presidential election, I was pleasantly surprised to find an overflow crowd show up to the Methodist Church on Morningstar Drive to hear the council candidates. There wasn’t this much interest in November in forums for the regular city election that included races for mayor, municipal judge and several council seats. Too see this sort of interest in a forum for one open council seat in a special election was exciting. Continue Reading
House Speaker Ben Lujan said today he will support changing a law that limits ballot access for some major-party candidates during the upcoming 30-day session. “Yeah, I will support any possible way of getting more people to be able to participate in the process,” Lujan said. “The more the merrier.” Under the previous law, Democrats and Republicans could get on the ballot by receiving the votes of 20 percent of delegates at their party’s preprimary nominating convention or, if they failed to do that, by submitting petitions containing enough signatures to qualify. The 2007 change, approved unanimously by lawmakers and signed by the governor, got rid of the second provision, and was designed to increase the power of those who control the major parties. Third Congressional District candidate Don Wiviott is suing to challenge the law, and a number of legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez of Belen, Minority Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales and Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa, are proposing changing the law to provide an alternate path to the ballot – changes that would take effect immediately because of the preprimary conventions that will be held in March. Continue Reading
For months, Gov. Bill Richardson has been in fourth place in New Hampshire polls, and two small communities whose residents voted in presidential primaries shortly after midnight place him in that position as voting in the rest of the state begins this morning. With residents of the hamlet of Dixville Notch and town of Hart’s Location casting votes already, Barack Obama is leading with 16 votes to three votes apiece for Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Richardson has one vote. Obviously, that’s not a significant enough sample to give any clues about what’s going to happen today. Polls open at 4 a.m. Mountain Standard Time in most of the rest of the state, and the last polls close at 6 p.m. MST. Continue Reading
Karen Trujillo is, thus far, the top fundraiser among candidates vying to be the next District 6 representative on the Las Cruces City Council. The first of two reports from each candidate was due on Thursday. You can view the reports by clicking here. Trujillo, a real-estate broker and president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, reported raising $9,555 and spending $9,600.50. She had a number of contributions of $250 or less, many from prominent members of the Las Cruces business community, and a $3,500 contribution from her husband, who is also her campaign treasurer. Continue Reading
A former Democratic state senator says he plans to run as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici this year. Tom Benavides has not formally announced his candidacy, but his campaign manager, Michael G. Horanburg, confirmed that Benavides is running. Benavides was a state senator representing Albuquerque’s south valley from 1967 to 1970 and 1985 to 1995. Since then the Catholic has been lobbying the state Legislature for approval of various pro-life bills. The other Republicans in the race are U.S. Reps. Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of the Interior has rejected a proposal by the Jemez Pueblo and Santa Fe art dealer and developer Gerald Peters to build a casino in Anthony. In a four-page letter dated Jan. 4, Carl J. Artman, assistant secretary for Indian affairs, wrote that the casino would not significantly improve the unemployment rate among members of the pueblo and might encourage reservation residents to leave their homes and travel 300 miles south to find work, so the “negative impacts on reservation life could be considerable.” Although the decision means the casino cannot be built, a spokesman for the Jemez said there may be an opportunity to improve and resubmit the application. You can read the department’s rejection letter by clicking here. The spokesman said a statement from the Jemez was forthcoming but the pueblo had not received the letter. Continue Reading
Bill Richardson on Saturday gave a debate performance a Washington Post blogger said may have been his best. Unfortunately, it won’t help him win the White House at this point. Neither will a second newspaper endorsement the governor picked up over the weekend. “Will Richardson’s strong performance matter? Probably not,” Chris Cillizza wrote. Continue Reading
The vast majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site do not believe the Legislature will approve heath-care reform during the 2008 session. Of 109 voters, 77, or 71 percent, said the Legislature won’t approve such reform, while 32, or 29 percent, said it will. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading
The leaders of both parties in the New Mexico Senate announced today that they will attempt to overturn during this year’s legislative session a law approved last year that makes it more difficult for some major-party candidates to get on the ballot. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez of Belen and Minority Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales have pre-filed Senate Bill 1, which would repeal the changes made last year. “It’s important that candidates continue to be allowed other avenues for getting on the ballot,” Sanchez said. “The system we have had for many years was working well. Restoring the original language is the right thing to do because giving voters choices is what it’s all about.” The bill won’t go anywhere in the 30-day session unless Gov. Bill Richardson allows it. Continue Reading
By Vicki Nisbett Not surprisingly, growth was the main topic discussed at the Las Cruces City Council District 6 candidate forum held Thursday at the Doña Ana East Mesa Community College. Candidate Lawrence Joy, 45, missed the opening introductions, saying he was detained because of business. The other candidates vying for the city council seat Ken Miyagishima vacated when he was elected mayor are Patrick J. Curran, 76; Berchard Ray Shipley, 64; Sharon K. Thomas, 67; and Karen Rachel Trujillo, 32. The election is Jan. 15. Continue Reading