Obama will return to New Mexico on Monday

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will return to New Mexico on Monday, his campaign announced today. It will be his third general-election season trip to the state. The campaign said additional details will be forthcoming. Obama’s campaign said earlier this week that almost every scenario that would give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency requires that he win New Mexico. Obama has made the state a priority: He’s already opened 24 campaign offices here and plans more, and he has visited New Mexico twice since he won the primary. Continue Reading

Richardson may still be in the veepstakes

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There’s speculation today that Gov. Bill Richardson hasn’t been added to the list of speakers at the Democrats’ presidential nominating convention because he’s among a handful of people still being considered for the vice-presidential spot on the ticket. Then again, maybe convention organizers just haven’t figured out when to put him on the program. As a former presidential candidate and the most high-profile Hispanic Democrat in the nation, many argue that Richardson is an obvious convention speaker. But he’s still not on the program for the convention being held in Denver from Aug. 25-28. Continue Reading

Why all the fuss? Domenici already endorsed Pearce

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There’s been a lot of attention in the past few days on today’s event at which retiring U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., will pledge his support for his party’s nominee for the seat he’s vacating. Republican Steve Pearce put out a news release on Monday stating that Domenici “will be endorsing my candidacy for his seat after a long and distinguished career.” “Please join me… for this historic occasion for our state,” Pearce said in the release. The Associated Press was quick to put out a story quoting a Domenici staffer as confirming “that the longtime senator will announce his backing of Pearce Thursday in Albuquerque” and stating that Domenici’s “support of Pearce comes nearly three months after he endorsed Pearce’s rival” in the primary. Even the Washington publication The Hill wrote about today’s event, stating that Domenici “is set to endorse Rep. Steve Pearce’s (R) candidacy for his seat more than three months after Domenici endorsed Rep. Heather Wilson (R) over Pearce in her unsuccessful primary bid.” The implication of the articles is that Domenici hadn’t previously pledged his support to Pearce. Political blogger Joe Monahan wrote just that in a Wednesday posting: “Some e-mailers pointed out that Pete’s nod will come over two months after the primary and claimed it shows he remains unexcited by the Pearce candidacy,” Monahan wrote. Continue Reading

Senate Dems undecided on governor’s session plan

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Senate Democrats still haven’t decided whether they’re on board with Gov. Bill Richardson’s plan for the special session that begins Friday. That’s according to Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, who announced today in a news release that his caucus will “wait until they receive confirmed revenue figures… before deciding on how best to meet the needs outlined by Governor Bill Richardson in the upcoming special session of the New Mexico Legislature.” Richardson, who had already scaled back his health-care proposal to try to build consensus around it, announced Tuesday that he will also scale back his tax-cut package after new revenue estimates revealed a dramatic drop in the amount of new money that will be available. Several weeks ago, forecasters projected that the state would have a $392 million windfall for one-time expenses and another $392 million for recurring expenses. On Tuesday, the governor released a new revenue estimate that said, because of falling oil and natural gas prices, the state will have a $225 million revenue windfall for one-time expenses and $351 million for recurring expenses. But Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told The Santa Fe New Mexican that another preliminary estimate showed the windfall revenue for one-time expenses had fallen to between $100 and $150 million. Continue Reading

ACORN registers 65,000 New Mexicans to vote

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ACORN turned in its 65,000th voter-registration application of the year to the Bernalillo County clerk on Tuesday. In a news release, the group claimed that shattered all previous records for voter-registration drives in New Mexico. “Working families are going to be heard in this election,” ACORN member Maria Penado said in the release. ACORN has focused its voter-registration efforts this year on minority voters in Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Valencia counties. The majority of registrations were in Bernalillo County, the release states, but about 10,000 were from Doña Ana County. Continue Reading

Richardson asks supporters to pitch in for Teague

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Gov. Bill Richardson is asking supporters of his unsuccessful presidential campaign to donate to Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Harry Teague. Richardson made the pitch today in an e-mail sent by the Teague campaign to addresses in the e-mail database of the governor’s now-defunct presidential campaign. Saying that Teague is the Democrat with the best shot in a generation of winning the 2nd District seat, Richardson wrote that he is “a special candidate.” That’s because Teague started working for $1.50 an hour when his father became ill and has built from that beginning a company that employs 250 people and treats them well, Richardson said. “I know that Harry will go to Congress and fight, everyday, for New Mexico families so that everyone who works hard gets good wages, health care and quality education for their children,” Richardson wrote. Between now and Sept. Continue Reading

Obama hits McCain in TV ads; N.M. GOP hits back

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is out with two new television ads this week attacking Republican opponent John McCain. Meanwhile, the state GOP is out today with a radio ad attacking Obama. Here’s Obama’s newest 30-second ad, which is airing in New Mexico and other states: And here’s an ad released earlier this week in which Obama, after complaining about McCain’s ads attacking his celebrity, attacks McCain’s celebrity: Meanwhile, the Republican Party of New Mexico’s new radio ad attacks Obama as lacking solutions to the energy crisis, inexperienced and out of touch with the values of New Mexicans. Click here to listen to the ad. Continue Reading

GOP group works to ensure victories by White, Tinsley

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The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is working to ensure GOP victories in two tough House races in New Mexico. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., was in New Mexico this week to help raise money for and promote the campaigns of 1st District Republican candidate Darren White and 2nd District GOP hopeful Ed Tinsley. Cole, who heads the NRCC, was in Hobbs on Sunday evening to meet with Tinsley and his team, conduct a newspaper interview and attend a fundraiser hosted by one of Tinsley’s primary opponents — Monty Newman. On Monday, Cole met with White’s team and then, along with White, met with local tribal leaders and conducted a radio interview. Cole said in an interview that he’s optimistic about the GOP’s chances in the races and expects the NRCC to be “significantly engaged” in both, financially and in other ways. Continue Reading

Guv forced to scale back special session plans

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Gov. Bill Richardson will have to scale back his plans for the special session of the Legislature that begins Friday because of falling oil and natural gas prices. All agree there will be less money available than what forecasters projected in their previous revenue estimate. Several weeks ago, they projected that the state would have a $392 million windfall for one-time expenses and another $392 million for recurring expenses. On Tuesday, the governor released a new revenue estimate that said the state will have a $225 million revenue windfall for one-time expenses and $351 million for recurring expenses. Because of that, Richardson announced in a news release that he will scale back his tax-rebate proposals. Continue Reading

Obama needs to win New Mexico, his campaign says

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Top GOP official also talks about the state’s importance in presidential race Barack Obama’s campaign says almost every scenario that would give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency in November requires beating John McCain in New Mexico. That’s why the campaign of the Democratic presidential candidate has already opened 23 offices around the state and is giving attention to rural areas that have never received much attention in presidential races, including Anthony, Raton and Shiprock. Democrat Al Gore won New Mexico by 366 votes in 2000. In 2004, New Mexico flipped red, with President Bush narrowly winning by 5,988 votes. Steve Hildebrand, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, said on a conference call on Tuesday with reporters that the campaign will focus on population centers including Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Cruces, but what’s unusual about the campaign is its focus on and early success in rural areas. Continue Reading

AG sends letter to secretary of state, won’t release it

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The attorney general’s office sent a letter today outlining its opinion on whether the secretary of state should force a nonprofit to comply with the state’s campaign finance reporting law, but it won’t release the letter publicly because, according to the AG’s spokesman, it isn’t a public record. “I can confirm that we did send a letter to the secretary of state’s office today,” AG spokesman Phil Sisneros said. “What we sent to them is our legal advice.” Sisneros said the letter is exempt from the state’s public records act because of attorney/client privilege. The letter is the latest in an ongoing controversy about the status of New Mexico Youth Organized (NMYO). In response to mailers the group sent two to three months before the June primary targeting several lawmakers, including three who lost, the AG sent a May 22 letter to the secretary of state advising it to change the status of NMYO, arguing that the mailers crossed the line between policy lobbying and political campaigning. Continue Reading

Libertarian prez hopeful Barr getting organized in NM

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Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr is getting organized in New Mexico, and Doña Ana County is an early focus of the campaign. The county is one of a handful in New Mexico that has an active libertarian party organization. Dusty Sensiba of Las Cruces wrote in an e-mail that he has been appointed coordinator of the Barr campaign for the county. He’s the campaign’s first county coordinator in New Mexico. Sensiba’s task: Solicit volunteers in Doña Ana County “to help spread our message of small government, personal liberties and less war.” Those who are interested can contact Sensiba at donaana@bobbarrnm.com. Continue Reading

Udall ad, Web site blame Pearce for economic woes

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall is out today with a new TV ad and Web site aimed at blaming the financial woes of New Mexicans on Republican opponent Steve Pearce and President Bush. Here’s the 30-second ad: “George Bush and Steve Pearce. How much are they costing you? Go to MiddleClassSqueeze.com and use this calculator to find out,” the ad’s narrator states. “Steve Pearce voted 91 percent of the time with George Bush. Continue Reading

Debate about debates continues in 2nd District race

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Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Harry Teague is seeking to put an end to allegations that he’s ducking debates, but Republican opponent Ed Tinsley isn’t letting up. Teague’s campaign put out a news release on Monday announcing his “debate and forum schedule.” In addition to two events that have already taken place — one in Mescalero sponsored by the Farm Bureau and one in Las Cruces sponsored by the Association of Commerce and Industry — the Teague campaign said he plans to participate in three televised debates and two forums. That includes a televised debate sponsored by The Municipal League on Friday in Clovis, an Oct. 9 debate on KRWG-TV in Las Cruces and an Oct. 19 debate sponsored by the Albuquerque Journal and KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, Teague claimed. The forums are on Sept. Continue Reading

National groups spar over N.M. CD1 race

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In response to a radio ad currently being run by the conservative Freedoms Watch attacking 1st Congressional Democratic candidate Martin Heinrich, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running a new ad in the Albuquerque area attacking Heinrich’s Republican opponent, Darren White. The theme of the spat is a familiar one that’s on the forefront of most Americans’ minds: energy. Freedoms Watch’s ad, which you can hear by clicking here, accuses Heinrich of opposing exploring for more offshore oil even though 70 percent of Americans support it. “Heinrich doesn’t get it. American oil means lower gas prices, more American jobs and keeping American dollars here,” the ad’s narrator states. Continue Reading