{"id":18152,"date":"2010-06-02T02:52:01","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T08:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=18152"},"modified":"2010-06-02T23:19:30","modified_gmt":"2010-06-03T05:19:30","slug":"martinez-talks-issues-others-stress-ethnicity-gender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/06\/martinez-talks-issues-others-stress-ethnicity-gender\/","title":{"rendered":"Martinez talks issues; others stress ethnicity, gender"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

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

The chairman of the Republican National Committee is touting the fact that Susana Martinez<\/a> is the first Hispanic woman to be a Republican or Democratic nominee for governor anywhere in the United States.<\/p>\n

Talking with Martinez, you wouldn\u2019t know about that distinction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to talk about the issues, and not the fact that I\u2019m Hispanic. It just is what it is, but that is not what is significant. What is significant is the contrast between Diane Denish<\/a> and myself,\u201d Martinez said Tuesday evening in an interview conducted shortly after she won the Republican gubernatorial primary.<\/p>\n

Martinez didn\u2019t mention her ethnicity in her victory speech \u2013 or the fact that she and Denish will square off in what the Huffington Post<\/a> says is third woman-against-woman gubernatorial race in U.S. history. Martinez jumped right into highlighting the contrast, saying Denish has been part of a failed, corrupt administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiane Denish has earned a pink slip, and not a promotion,\u201d Martinez told an enthusiastic crowd in Las Cruces. \u201c\u2026 I have dedicated the last 13 years of my life to getting results, to taking on the machine, to prosecuting corruption, and serving as the voice for the most defenseless among us. I have delivered results in Do\u00f1a Ana County, and I will do the same for New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the fact remains that Martinez\u2019s accomplishment is unique. RNC Chairman Michael Steele<\/a> called her nomination a \u201clandmark achievement\u201d of \u201cmajor national significance.\u201d State GOP Chairman Harvey Yates also mentioned Martinez\u2019s ethnicity and gender in his news release, calling her victory \u201ca historic moment\u201d that \u201cserves as a turning point for our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

A unique combination<\/h3>\n

All of it \u2013 Martinez\u2019s background and the issues she\u2019s talking about, plus her gender and ethnicity \u2013 add up to a unique combination never before seen in New Mexico, according to political analyst Jose Z. Garcia. Republicans tossed the rule book out the window in nominating Martinez to take on Denish.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is going to have to think hard and hone out a message,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cThere are no models for that message. Female Hispanic Republican in New Mexico. It hasn\u2019t existed before, so she\u2019s going to be breaking the mold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an exercise in creativity, so she has a lot of latitude in where she goes,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Martinez appears to know exactly where she\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

\u201cHispanic people, and New Mexicans overall, want to work hard, they want to be safe, they want to have a job and support their families,\u201d she said in the interview. \u201cSo we just need to talk about issues and how they impact the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Very, very attractive to Hispanics\u2019<\/h3>\n

Garcia, a self-described conservative Democrat, said many Hispanics are conservative when it comes to law enforcement and military issues \u2013 like Martinez \u2013 but are more socially liberal, and that\u2019s where they part ways with Martinez. Because of that, he said, victory \u201cisn\u2019t automatic by any stretch of the imagination\u201d for Martinez. But Garcia expects her to compete heavily against Denish.<\/p>\n

Historically, many Republicans who have been elected governor have been politically moderate because that\u2019s what it takes to win in a state that leans Democratic. Garcia said Martinez won\u2019t have to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she will be very, very attractive to Hispanics in terms of law and order,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think she has to move very far to the center \u2013 like many Republican candidates do \u2013 to be attractive. She can stay right where she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s likely that her presence on the ticket will cause Democrats to move to the right,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s an unusual position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healing division<\/h3>\n

Martinez won the primary with 51 percent of the vote, but only after going negative and getting into a bitter, divisive battle with primary opponent Allen Weh<\/a>. In conceding defeat, Weh didn\u2019t pledge to support Martinez. His only reference to their fighting came when he said he \u201ctook some hits, particularly in the last month, some of which were not ethical. But we hung in there. And we ran a great race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez said when Weh called to concede, she expressed hope that the two could work together, but Weh was noncommittal. Martinez\u2019s other primary opponents, Doug Turner<\/a>, Pete Domenici Jr.<\/a> and Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, all pledged to support her.<\/p>\n

Martinez said the party must unite to give her a shot at winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that we will do exactly that. We have to,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we want the significant and bold changes that we are hoping to bring to New Mexico, we have got to pull together as party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional pressure to unite came from Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry<\/a>, a Republican.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a very spirited primary race, and I would like to thank the other four candidates for their willingness to serve New Mexico,\u201d Berry said. \u201cIt is now time for all\u00a0Republicans to unite behind\u00a0Susana\u00a0and bring a fresh approach to Santa Fe by working together and electing Susana Martinez as New Mexico\u2019s next governor\u00a0on Nov. 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denish is also focused on the contrast<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

While Martinez is working to portray herself as the agent of change and Denish as the failed politician, Denish is doing the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be a different kind of governor, unlike any governor or leader our state has seen before,\u201d Denish said during her own primary-night speech. \u201cAnd how do you know?\u00a0Because I\u2019ve been a different kind of\u00a0lieutenant governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSusana Martinez\u00a0talks about change; I have a record of delivering it,\u201d Denish said. \u201cShe talks about job creation; I\u2019ve helped make it happen. Susana Martinez so far has only offered sound bites and empty promises.\u00a0I\u2019ve put forward solutions and new ideas for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denish said the race will be competitive, and she looks forward to \u201ca spirited contest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state Democratic Party was also quick to hit Martinez in a news release and fundraising letter for being a poor prosecutor and for winning her primary \u201cby pandering to the special interests and showing her far-right wing colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you look past the fancy ads and sound-bytes, Susana Martinez has been an ineffective prosecutor who breaks her pledges and cuts deals with violent criminals,\u201d Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales said.\u00a0\u201c\u2026\u00a0Needless to say, a mediocre district attorney does not deserve a promotion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican leaders are touting the fact that a Hispanic woman won Tuesday\u2019s GOP gubernatorial primary, while Susana Martinez says what\u2019s significant is the contrast between her and Democrat Diane Denish on the issues.<\/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-18152","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\/18152","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=18152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}