Readers’ election predictions

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I asked earlier this week for your election predictions. Here are most of the responses I received. Thanks to those who took the time to do this. *** Wilson, Madrid race will drive everything (This prediction was added about 10:30 a.m., after I published the original set of predictions.) The turnout in the counties that encompass the First Congressional District – Bernalillo, Torrance, and parts of Valencia and Sandoval – will drive all the races in the state. These voters will be turning out in higher percentages than the north or the south to cast a ballot for Heather Wilson or Patsy Madrid. Continue Reading

Voters can’t lose in county sheriff race

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I’ve been asked repeatedly who I’ll endorse in the Doña Ana County sheriff’s race. I don’t do endorsements, but I’m happy to offer my thoughts on this contest. It’s simple: The public can’t lose. Either candidate would serve residents well. Both men have come a long way from their interviews with the county commission in early 2005, following the resignation of then-Sheriff Juan Hernandez. Continue Reading

A third group would have bid on state election canvassing job, but didn’t get response from SOS

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Sen. Pete Domenici has joined the chorus of Republicans upset that the state won’t hire an independent auditor to canvass the Nov. 7 general election. The Secretary of State’s Office says there isn’t enough time. It claims it only received two bids, and neither met the requirements. But Domenici says otherwise, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Continue Reading

A woman scorned: E. Shirley Baca strikes back

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We all knew E. Shirley Baca isn’t one to go quietly into the night. The outgoing Public Regulation Commission member for District 5 sent a letter to Democrats this week urging them to vote against Sandy Jones, the candidate who beat her in the Democratic primary. “My opponent, Mr. Sandy Jones, chose to engage in lies and negative campaigning. The PRC is not about partisan politics, but about honesty, integrity, and hard work,” Baca wrote in the letter. “If you feel as strongly as I do… please send a message to Mr. Jones, by NOT voting for him on November 7th.” The mailer states that it was “Paid for by E. Shirley Baca.” Jones and his Republican opponent, Earl Greer, told me they heard about the mailer but had not seen it, and Greer said he had nothing to do with it. Continue Reading

Richardson campaign breaks sign etiquette

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It’s no secret that Republicans think they can beat Rep. Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch, and have put a lot of money into the campaign of Republican challenger Isaac Chavez. Gov. Bill Richardson is under a lot of pressure to help candidates like Nuñez keep their positions. Chavez e-mailed me this photo this morning. It was taken at the intersection of Lohman Avenue and Roadrunner Parkway in Las Cruces, where someone put a bag-type Richardson sign around a Chavez sign, blocking the view from any angle of Chavez’s sign. You can see the Web address at the bottom of Chavez’s sign sticking out below the Richardson sign. Continue Reading

Madrid holds lead after debate, and Democrats’ chances of taking the House look good

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A new poll confirms that U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., is still trailing Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid. The newest Reuters/Zogby poll, released today, has Madrid ahead 53 to 44 percent. The poll, a live survey of at least 500 likely voters, was conducted Oct. 24-29, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The last Albuquerque Journal poll, conducted by pollster Brian Sanderoff’s group between Oct. Continue Reading

New database helps you find your polling place

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The secretary of state’s office unveiled a redesigned Web site this week. It also launched VoterView, a searchable database that lets you look up voter registration and find polling places.Many will be disappointed that you can’t look up a person’s political affiliation on the site. But you can get the rest of the information – addresses, precincts, polling places, and which districts they live in for various offices.It’s designed for voters to be able to check their addresses to make sure they are up to date and to easily find their polling places.The program is also available in Spanish. Continue Reading

Democratic group comes to aid of Foley opponent

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The New Mexico Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has jumped into a House race between two republicans in Roswell. District 57 Rep. Dan Foley, R-Roswell, is challenged on Nov. 7 by Republican Steven Gavi, who is running as a write-in opponent. Gavi apparently has the support of the Democratic leadership. Gavi collected signatures earlier this year to run against U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., then changed his mind and filed a petition to run against Foley in the primary election. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: Democrats’ new poll shows many statewide races are tight contests

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The Democratic Party’s newest poll numbers may surprise many and should have some of its statewide candidates a little nervous. Gov. Bill Richardson and treasurer candidate James B. Lewis are doing fine, according to the polls, but every other statewide Democratic candidate is running a close race. The poll, which is hot off the presses and the most recent survey conducted by the Democrats, has a margin of error of about 4 percent. Let’s start with the interesting races: • Democratic attorney general candidate Gary King is beating Republican Jim Bibb 49-45 percent. This is perhaps the biggest surprise in the poll, though Bibb is saying his latest poll also has the race in single digits. Continue Reading

McCamley does well in immigration debate

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Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley held his own Monday night with a panel of national figures during a debate on the plan to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Bush recently signed a bill authorizing the construction of a fence along 700 miles of the border at a cost of several billion dollars. McCamley was one of four panelists on “It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle,” a nightly show on the Comcast Network that is not aired in Doña Ana County but can be watched on the Internet. The other panelists were Minutemen President Chris Simcox, immigration rights activist Ricardo Diaz, and Edward Turzanski, a political science professor at La Salle University. Conservative politician and author Pat Buchanan, who was scheduled to take part, cancelled earlier Monday. Continue Reading

Dems’ new poll shows Marquardt up one point, other House Dem hopefuls with strong leads

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Rep. Terry Marquardt should be worried about losing his House seat, if the Democratic Party’s poll numbers are to be believed. The Republican from Alamogordo is up only one point on Democratic challenger Nate Cote in the newest poll. The last Democratic Party poll had Marquardt up four percentage points. The new poll has Marquardt with 43 percent of the vote to Cote’s 42 percent. Many Republicans I spoke with weren’t surprised. Continue Reading

Your election predictions published on this site

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I’d like to hear your election predictions, and I’ll publish some of your thoughts on this site. Some of the questions I’m interested in:• Will Democrats take control of the House? The Senate?• Will Republicans win any statewide races? If so, which ones, and by how much?• Will Gov. Bill Richardson get more than 60 percent of the vote?• Who will win the local House races? In particular, will reps. Continue Reading

My voting experience was a success

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I’m happy to report I went to the Doña Ana County Government Center to vote today, and everything worked as it should.It’s one of five early voting sites in the county and, as of about 3:45 p.m., almost 600 people had voted there today.There was no line when I arrived (though there was by the time I left), so I walked straight up to the poll workers. One asked for identification, just as she was supposed to, and I handed her the most convenient one I had, my driver’s license.After a moment, another poll worker handed me a paper with my name and address printed on it, and I had to sign the sheet to verify I was that person. She handed me a ballot and described to me how I was to fill it out.It was easy to fill out, and when I was done, a man explained to me how to feed my ballot into an electronic machine. It was simple.I stood and watched for a couple of minutes, and others received the same instruction I did. No one seemed to be having problems.That’s not to say there aren’t problems at the site in Anthony. Continue Reading