{"id":17364,"date":"2010-05-17T08:01:42","date_gmt":"2010-05-17T14:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=17364"},"modified":"2010-05-17T13:17:29","modified_gmt":"2010-05-17T19:17:29","slug":"palin-provides-energy-media-buzz-for-martinez%e2%80%99s-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/05\/palin-provides-energy-media-buzz-for-martinez%e2%80%99s-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Palin provides energy, media buzz for Martinez\u2019s campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Palin, shown here speaking at a rally for John McCain in Roswell in October 2008. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Sarah Palin\u2019s<\/a> endorsement of Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez<\/a> will provide a boost to Martinez\u2019s campaign, most Republicans interviewed over the weekend said.<\/p>\n

Palin\u2019s endorsement generated media buzz for Martinez across New Mexico and even caught the attention of the Washington Post<\/a>. And the fact that almost 1,300 people crammed into Sunday\u2019s rally to see Palin \u2013 even though the event was announced to the public only 24 hours earlier \u2013 is indicative of the energy Palin\u2019s backing brings to the Martinez campaign.<\/p>\n

Citing his opinion that Martinez is \u201cthe quintessential outsider in a field of political insiders\u201d in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Sen. Rod Adair<\/a>, R-Roswell, said Palin\u2019s endorsement \u201cjust may well finally be the key to having Republicans focus on that fact, allowing her to overcome the heavy spending of her opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adair hasn\u2019t endorsed any candidate in the race but said he believes Martinez, \u201cbecause of her story, her life\u2019s narrative and her political profile, gives the Republicans far and away the\u00a0best\u00a0chance of capturing the governorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Susana Martinez<\/p><\/div>\n

Former state Rep. Dan Foley<\/a>, who isn\u2019t backing any candidate in the race, said the endorsement \u201cwill really help boost the Martinez campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGov. Palin is well liked and has strong support amongst the GOP base,\u201d Foley said. \u201cShe also has a strong following amongst members of the tea party, which is a huge group and one that will truly have an impact in the primary as well as general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most others contacted by NMPolitics.net \u2013 who did not want to speak on the record \u2013 agreed that the endorsement will fire up supporters and provide a boost for Martinez.<\/p>\n

The energy Palin\u2019s supporters bring could make all the difference in the GOP primary. Turnout is expected by many to be between 30 and 35 percent. With five candidates, that means the race could be decided by a few thousand votes.<\/p>\n

A different opinion<\/h3>\n

The lone dissenter contacted over the weekend was former U.S. Rep. Bill Redmond<\/a> of Los Alamos, who said Palin\u2019s endorsement will be a \u201cwash\u201d in the primary election. He said Republicans who don\u2019t like John McCain<\/a> aren\u2019t happy that Palin has endorsed him in his tough U.S. Senate primary against tea-party favorite J.D. Hayworth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose GOP voters\u00a0may balance out any support Palin may swing\u00a0toward Martinez,\u201d Redmond said.<\/p>\n

Though he believes Palin\u2019s endorsement will help Martinez, Foley also said he wonders whether Palin\u2019s backing of \u201cpeople across the spectrum\u201d like McCain will \u201cwater down the effectiveness of her endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Foley said endorsements only help \u201cif you have the funds to let everyone know about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez has been vastly outspent in the primary race by Allen Weh<\/a>, who has pumped $1 million of his own money into his campaign. There\u2019s a question of whether Martinez will be able to keep up with Weh\u2019s media buys in the two weeks of the race.<\/p>\n

The combination of the Palin endorsement and a weekend Albuquerque Journal poll<\/a> that showed Martinez and Weh neck and neck gave Martinez some momentum heading into the final two weeks of the campaign. The question is whether she\u2019ll have the funds to keep it going.<\/p>\n

Palin\u2019s backing will probably help Martinez raise money. Will it be enough?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What about the general?<\/h3>\n

If Martinez does keep the momentum going and wins the primary, the Palin endorsement could be polarizing in the general election, even though Martinez has prided herself on the ability to win Democratic votes as Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s district attorney.<\/p>\n

The effect Palin\u2019s backing will have among some liberals was expressed by Damien Willis, a Las Cruces radio DJ and newspaper columnist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a liberal, but would consider voting for Susana, because I believe that she\u2019s very moderate, and she\u2019s an achiever. She\u2019s likable, goal-oriented, and determined,\u201d he wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cBut Palin\u2019s endorsement causes me to worry that Martinez may not be as moderate as I had perceived. In short, I\u2019d rather see Martinez\u2019s efforts working toward the middle, and not the lunatic fringe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claudia Anderson, A Democratic Party activist in Farmington, wrote on Facebook<\/a> that she believes the Palin endorsement will energize Democrats, just like her candidacy for vice president did in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an Obama intern… and the day after her convention speech we were literally flooded with volunteers,\u201d Anderson wrote.<\/p>\n

Exciting the GOP base<\/h3>\n

Martinez is probably more worried at this point about Weh than a general-election contest against Democrat Diane Denish<\/a> that isn\u2019t yet a reality. The rhetoric Palin used to describe Martinez during Sunday\u2019s rally was designed to excite the GOP base.<\/p>\n

Palin called Martinez \u201ca strong pro-family, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-development fiscal conservative who\u2019s going to fight the corruption that\u2019s plagued her state and bring transparency, accountability and renewed fiscal vitality to New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a tough district attorney, Susana fights for justice everyday in this promising, beautiful state,\u201d Palin said. \u201cHer unwavering commitment to bring justice speaks to her determination and strength of character. As governor, Susana will lead New Mexico to a new economic vitality based on free market reform that cuts out the cronyism, invites competition, reduces taxes, cuts waste, and creates jobs \u2013 all while identifying and rooting out the corruption that has taken hold for too long in this state which deserves so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez, at Sunday\u2019s rally with Palin, said she is \u201cdeeply honored and humbled to have Governor Palin\u2019s support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many months, my campaign has worked hard to communicate that we must reform government and hold state officials to account,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cAs governor, I will put a stop to the reckless fiscal policies that have produced a massive budget deficit and clean up the corruption and abuse so we can create jobs in New Mexico, while restoring integrity and honesty to state government.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can watch Palin\u2019s speech here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah Palin\u2019s endorsement of Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez will provide a boost to Martinez\u2019s campaign, most Republicans interviewed over the weekend said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-17364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17364","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=17364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17364\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}