McCain unveils Spanish radio ad in N.M., Nevada

By |

Republican presidential candidate John McCain launched a new Spanish-language radio ad in New Mexico and Nevada today as he tries to cut into Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s support among Hispanics. The ad features McCain’s roommate at the Naval academy, a Hispanic who says McCain “shares our same conservative values and faith in God.” “My roommate at the U.S. Naval Academy is running for president of the United States, and he wants what is best for the Hispanic community, too,” Frank Gamboa says in Spanish in the ad. “His name is John McCain and he has stood for our community even in the most difficult of times.” Gamboa goes on to say that McCain “knows that family is the focal part of our lives and that we value hard work” and “has earned the trust of Latinos and has a history of supporting us.” “This election, it seems to me that the other candidate has just discovered the importance of the Hispanic vote,” Gamboa says. “So when it comes to our values and understanding Latinos this election, I know for John it’s not political; it comes from the heart.” You can listen to the ad — in Spanish — by clicking here. It comes as a new poll shows Obama leading McCain by 30 points among Hispanics — a gap that has remained fairly consistent since March. Continue Reading

Energy policy is a hot topic in U.S. Senate race

By |

With gas prices rising to $4 per gallon, it’s perhaps no surprise that energy is the issue currently dominating New Mexico’s U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tom Udall and Republican Steve Pearce. The Albuquerque Journal has an article today about the back-and-forth between the candidates on energy policy. On Wednesday, The Associated Press also had an article about the debate. Here’s some of what’s been happening: • Pearce has challenged Udall to a formal debate on energy issues — but he did it in a news release, not a letter to his opponent. Udall says it’s too early, but there will be debates in the fall. Continue Reading

American hostages guv sought to free are rescued

By |

Three Americans who Gov. Bill Richardson was working to free were among 15 hostages rescued today by the Colombian government from a leftist rebel group. The operation by Colombian military spies led to the guerrillas giving up Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 11 others without a single injury, the Associated Press reported. After being asked by the families of the three American defense contractors to intervene, Richardson travelled to Colombia in March to meet with President Álvaro Uribe and to Venezuela in April to meet with that country’s president, Hugo Chávez. Chávez has influence with the rebels who held the hostages. Richardson said recently that he saw “some positive movement” and was optimistic about the situation, according to a separate Associated Press article. Continue Reading

State GOP director out; more changes coming

By |

Adam Feldman is out as executive director of the Republican Party of New Mexico after less than a year on the job. Feldman left the job last week but remains “heavily involved in the field with our Republican candidates in New Mexico,” said Scott Darnell, the party’s communications director and now the interim executive director. “He’s an expert at turning out the vote and at running campaigns, so he’ll be an incredibly important part of the statewide Republican effort this year,” Darnell said of Feldman. “His talents are geared toward that work, and as we enter into the crux of this campaign season… the (party’s) staff is simply undergoing some realignment.” Darnell didn’t say whether Feldman quit or was fired. Feldman could not be reached for comment. Continue Reading

Senator’s staffer blames wilderness group for gridlock

By |

The chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici hoped the retiring Republican senator could travel to Las Cruces during his last months in office to celebrate a compromise that led to the protection of hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Doña Ana County. That isn’t going to happen, Steve Bell said in an interview, and he blames the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance for that. “I really thought we could have this done by now and have this happy celebration,” Bell said. “That isn’t going to happen.” Bell was responding to comments Las Cruces City Councilor Nathan Small, an employee of the Wilderness Alliance, made at a recent news conference. Small pointed out that Domenici helped secure the creation of a wilderness area in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque more than three decades ago, and he said Las Cruces deserves the same. Continue Reading

Guv may help Clinton with debt, suggests her for VP

By |

Is Gov. Bill Richardson, who was called “Judas” earlier this year for endorsing Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, trying to make amends? Richardson caught attention this weekend by telling ABC News on Sunday following an event in Chicago that he may help raise money to retire Clinton’s presidential campaign debt by holding a fundraiser for her in New Mexico later this year. “We’ve been asked to help. So in principle we are going to help,” Richardson told ABC. “I think the party needs to come together.” Richardson also caught attention on Saturday in Florida, where he told WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach that, if Obama doesn’t pick him to be his running mate, he believes Clinton “would make a strong running mate for Obama.” Richardson, who was appointed by Clinton’s husband to two high positions in his administration in the 1990s, was called Judas by Clinton backer James Carville shortly after he endorsed Obama earlier this year. Continue Reading

Hybrid giveaway is part of effort to defeat Pearce

By |

This posting originally stated that the Las Cruces event would be held Wednesday, but the group changed the day to Thursday, so the posting has been updated. A group that is working to elect Democrat Tom Udall to the U.S. Senate this year is using rising gas prices and a hybrid-vehicle giveaway to gain attention. As part of its “Wrong 4 New Mexico” campaign — in reference to Udall’s opponent, Republican Steve Pearce — Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is unveiling its giveaway of a Toyota Prius today in Santa Fe. The car is decorated in an anti-Pearce theme. The group — and its car — will be in Las Cruces on Thursday to promote the giveaway. Continue Reading

Obama airs new ad in N.M. and other states

By |

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s newest TV ad began airing in New Mexico and 17 other states on Monday. Here’s the 30-second spot: The ad, titled “Dignity,” talks about Obama’s past, stating that he “worked his way through college and Harvard Law” and “turned down big money offers and helped lift neighborhoods stung by job loss.” Continue Reading

Most voters in poll pick Luján to win CD3 race

By |

The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Democrat Ben R. Luján will win the 3rd Congressional District race. Of 232 voters, 151, or 65 percent, picked Luján, while 59, or 25 percent, said Republican Dan East will win; 19, or 8 percent, said independent Carol Miller will win; and three, or 1 percent, said independent Ron Simmons 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

Udall says he can win in Pearce’s 2nd District

By |

Despite the 2nd Congressional District’s slant toward Republican candidates, Democratic Senate hopeful Tom Udall plans to win the southern region that his GOP opponent, Steve Pearce, has represented in the House since 2003. Udall has a chance at winning here, but the 2nd District is one Pearce could also win, said New Mexico State University government professor Jose Z. Garcia. Polls have repeatedly shown Udall with a double-digit lead over Pearce statewide, but Garcia said the 2nd District will be hotly contested because of its conservative nature and familiarity with Pearce. The key to victory in the 2nd District will likely be Doña Ana County, Garcia said. Though the east side has historically been more important, a population shift has changed the dynamics in the district. Continue Reading

Many N.M. politicos praise overturning of D.C. gun ban

By |

Many New Mexico politicians lined up today to praise the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to affirm the right of Americans to have guns in their homes for self-defense. Failing to comment on the first time in history that the high court has declared an individual right to possess a gun, however, was New Mexico’s gun-toting Gov. Bill Richardson. The high court made the ruling by striking down a Washington, D.C. ban on handguns in homes and requirements that other firearms be equipped with trigger locks or disassembled. You can read more from the Associated Press. New Mexico’s two U.S. Senate candidates praised the decision. Continue Reading

High court strikes down Millionaire’s Amendment

By |

The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the so-called Millionaire’s Amendment that tripled contribution limits for candidates whose opponents dug deep into their own pockets to fund their campaigns. In a 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the law violated the First Amendment because it gave a fundraising advantage to opponents of those who used personal funds to finance campaign speech, the Associated Press reported. In this year’s primaries in New Mexico, three federal candidates — 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Aubrey Dunn, 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Harry Teague and 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Don Wiviott — triggered the amendment by contributing more than $350,000 to their own campaigns. That tripled contribution limits for their opponents to $6,900 for the primary. Teague won his race, but Wiviott and Dunn went on to lose to opponents who were able to boost their fundraising because of the increased contribution limits. Continue Reading

GOP warns against registering to vote with ACORN

By |

The state Republican Party is cautioning against registering to vote with workers employed by ACORN. “Voters who would like to register to vote would be better served by contacting their county or state Republican or Democratic parties or their county clerk,” Adam Feldman, the state GOP executive director, said in a news release. The GOP joins the Doña Ana County Bureau of Elections in expressing concern about the non-profit group, which has had two problems in the county in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the county warned that it had received complaints about misleading voter-registration activities by ACORN employees, a charge ACORN denied. And about a week ago, 90 completed voter-registration applications were stolen from ACORN’s Las Cruces office. Continue Reading

Udall votes against cutting nuclear-weapons funding

By |

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall voted on Wednesday against funding cuts for Los Alamos National Laboratory, a move that earned him criticism because he said last year, in voting for cuts at the lab, that LANL needs to shift its focus from nuclear weapons to alternative energy and other work. The Democratic congressman’s opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Steve Pearce, criticized Udall in a news release, saying Udall’s “flip flop” is another example of his “election-year transformation.” “It is, of course, good to know that he has changed his position and now supports what I have been supporting for many years,” Pearce said. “But it is shocking to recognize that he voted for the same exact cuts just last year.” Udall refused an interview request from the Albuquerque Journal but put out a statement explaining his vote. In it, he said he remains committed to shifting the mission of the labs. “And although this legislation contains many good provisions, it does not provide a path to the future for our national laboratories, and I could not support it,” Udall said. Continue Reading

Completed voter-registration forms stolen from group

By |

Ninety completed voter-registration applications that included Social Security numbers and dates of birth were stolen over the weekend from the Las Cruces office of an independent voter-registration group. As a result, ACORN plans to send letters to those whose applications were stolen to inform them of the situation. The letters will include blank applications that can be filled out and mailed directly to the county clerk’s office. The group has the ability to send such letters because it keeps track of the information of those it registers “in order to ensure they get placed successfully on the voter rolls,” according to a news release from the group. “We don’t want anything to stand in the way of new voters participating in the upcoming election,” ACORN Board Member Mark Gerring said in the news release, “so while we are outraged that someone would take new voters’ applications, we can at least be sure that all of these future voters can have another opportunity to complete an application and mail it directly to the county clerk.” The burglary was discovered about 8 p.m. Friday. Continue Reading