{"id":1059,"date":"2007-01-04T18:32:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-05T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/democrats-pac-impacted-key-house-races-in-2006\/"},"modified":"2007-01-04T18:32:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-05T00:32:00","slug":"democrats-pac-impacted-key-house-races-in-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/democrats-pac-impacted-key-house-races-in-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats’ PAC impacted key House races in 2006"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is the first in an occasional series examining political action committees and their effect on New Mexico politics.<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A political action committee controlled primarily by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan had a major impact on several high-profile House races across the state last year.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In three hotly contested races in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>, the New Mexico Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee made the difference, at least financially. Andy Nu\u00f1ez, Jeff Steinborn and Nate Cote, with sizable gifts from the DLCC, outspent their opponents. All three won \u2013 two of them by narrow margins.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The DLCC raised just over $597,000 during the 2006 election cycle and spent just over $528,000, most of it on political consultants and mailers. The committee, whose focus is electing Democratic legislators, put money into 16 high-profile House races in 2006.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Its donors include corporations, unions, politicians and political action committees.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Because of the secrecy surrounding last month\u2019s vote by House Democrats to keep Lujan as speaker, it\u2019s impossible to know which caucus members voted for him, but many believe the DLCC money he handed out earned him the support necessary to beat back a challenge from Ken Martinez of Grants. And though neither would talk about it publicly, most believe Steinborn and Cote<\/st1:place>, along with several other freshman legislators the DLCC helped, cast critical votes to keep Lujan as speaker.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Local victories<\/span><\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename>, Cote<\/st1:place> was the biggest beneficiary of DLCC funds. Cote<\/st1:place>, who raised about $28,500 and spent about $28,000 on his campaign, also had in-kind gifts totaling $45,596, including $36,675 from the DLCC.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote defeated 12-year Republican incumbent Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> by 199 votes, or 2.8 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> said the DLCC was \u201ca key factor\u201d in his and Steinborn\u2019s victories, but \u201conly part of the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cJeff and I also put a lot of work into our campaigns \u2013 physical labor and volunteer work,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Steinborn raised about $66,000 for his campaign, including a $2,500 cash donation from the DLCC, and spent about $66,700. He also had about $47,152 in in-kind gifts, including $33,845 from the DLCC. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Steinborn defeated his opponent, Republican Scott Witt, by 309 votes, or 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez raised about $35,700 and spent about $34,000. He also had about $35,452 in in-kind gifts, including $25,145 from the DLCC. He defeated Republican challenger Isaac Chavez by 742 votes, or 8 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ethical questions<\/span><\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rep. Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> has been the treasurer and director of the DLCC for the past two election cycles. She said the group has been gradually increasing its influence over the past six years.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Stewart said her work with the DLCC is necessary to offset some of the massive donations Republican candidates receive from wealthy business owners, and noted a $20,000 gift to Chavez from a Texas<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> billionaire and his wife. That gift nearly equaled the amount the DLCC gave Nu\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout groups like the DLCC, you\u2019d have millionaires running elections,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cI do agree with the premise that there is too much money in our elections. But as long as the system remains as it is, you have to raise enough money to do what you need to do to win elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Gov. Bill Richardson is proposing limits on campaign contributions to candidates from individuals and PACs in this year\u2019s legislative session. But Matt Brix, the state director of Common Cause, said the state needs to go further than that. He said gifts to PACs and other groups must also be regulated, \u201cor the big money will keep coming,\u201d and will just be spent in more creative ways.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cLimits can\u2019t just be extended to campaigns. They have to be extended to PACs and unions and elsewhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The DLCC accepted some large gifts last year, including almost $70,000 from Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s re-election campaign and $55,000 from a PAC that represents trial lawyers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The current system allowed individual lawyers to give money to their PAC, which gave money to another PAC, which gave it to House Democrats. Brix said that\u2019s another problem \u2013 money is hard to track when it changes hands so often.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

An important organization<\/span><\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Regardless, Steinborn said the DLCC is a very important part of the Democratic Party\u2019s campaign structure.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a targeted way of fighting for important races,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cThe people that give to the DLCC and the people the DLCC gives to, it\u2019s all because we believe in what we\u2019re fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Steinborn agreed with Stewart that such groups are necessary, noting that his opponent received some large corporate contributions. Steinborn did, however, outspend his opponent by about $50,000 if you include his in-kind contributions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Steinborn noted that, in his moderate House district, that\u2019s what it took to secure a narrow victory.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s creating a level playing field,\u201d Steinborn said of the DLCC. \u201cOur system is broken, no question. But the stakes do matter, so you have to get resources and be competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Biggest donors to the DLCC in 2006
<\/span><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> for Governor: $69,646<\/p>\n

Committee on Individual Responsibility (trial lawyers\u2019 PAC): $55,000<\/p>\n

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: $20,000<\/p>\n

Committee to Elect Diane Denish: $16,022.31<\/p>\n

Stan Fulton, Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino owner: $15,000<\/p>\n

The GEO Group (manages some state prisons): $15,000<\/p>\n

Don Whitaker for State Representative: $15,000<\/p>\n

Sheet Metal Workers International Union<\/st1:place>: $10,000<\/p>\n

Committee to Re-elect Ben Lujan: $10,000<\/p>\n

Mountain West Regional Council of Carpenters: $10,000<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A sampling of those who gave $5,000 to the DLCC
<\/span><\/p>\n

Bingaman Re-election Campaign<\/p>\n

The Downs at Albuquerque<\/st1:city><\/st1:place><\/p>\n

Garrett Thornburg, president, Thornburg Investments<\/p>\n

Heard Robins Law Firm<\/p>\n

Laurel Healthcare Providers LLC<\/p>\n

National Education Association \u2013 New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state><\/p>\n

NM Health Care Associates PAC<\/p>\n

PNM Responsible Citizens Group<\/p>\n

Pojoaque Pueblo<\/p>\n

San Juan<\/st1:city> Pueblo<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/p>\n

Sunray Gaming of NM<\/p>\n

Zia<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> Racetrack<\/p>\n

\n

Source: Campaign contribution reports<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first in an occasional series examining political action committees and their effect on New Mexico politics. A political action committee controlled primarily by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan had a major impact on several high-profile House races across the state last year. In three hotly contested races in Do\u00f1a Ana County, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}