{"id":18203,"date":"2010-06-02T23:19:19","date_gmt":"2010-06-03T05:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=18203"},"modified":"2010-06-04T00:28:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-04T06:28:28","slug":"gop-group-worked-behind-the-scenes-for-martinez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/06\/gop-group-worked-behind-the-scenes-for-martinez\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP group worked behind the scenes for Martinez"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

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

The Republican Governors Association<\/a> worked behind the scenes to help Susana Martinez<\/a> win the party\u2019s gubernatorial primary by steering money her way and orchestrating the endorsement from Sarah Palin<\/a>, the Washington Post blog The Fix<\/a> is reporting.<\/p>\n

In his recap of the winners and losers from the June 1 primaries in three states, including New Mexico, the Post\u2019s Chris Cillizza listed the RGA as a winner because its support for Martinez helped her win the primary.<\/p>\n

From the Post:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RGA knew it wanted\u00a0Do\u00f1a Ana District Attorney Susana Martinez\u00a0as its nominee in the New Mexico open seat race. They also knew that a Washington-based organization endorsing her might not be a recipe for success in this anti-establishment year. So, they helped steer hundreds of thousands of dollars to her campaign and orchestrated an endorsement from former\u00a0Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Both moves provided Martinez a significant boost and led to her easy win last night that not only gives Republicans a fighting chance in the Democratic-leaning Land of Enchantment but also gives the party a Hispanic female face to push back against the \u2018old, white guy\u2019 image the\u00a0GOP\u00a0is currently battling.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The RGA\u2019s apparent involvement in the primary race was also mentioned on Tuesday on MSNBC\u2019s blog First Read<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RGA thinks Martinez, who has Sarah Palin\u2019s backing, has the best shot at flipping this seat,\u201d a posting on that site stated.<\/p>\n

The Martinez campaign provided no immediate comment about the reports or the RGA\u2019s involvement in the race.<\/p>\n

The RGA didn\u2019t publicly wade into the five-person gubernatorial primary, which Martinez ended up winning with 51 percent of the vote. But the group was quick to issue a statement moments after it became clear Martinez had won.<\/p>\n

\u201cSusana Martinez\u2019s historic nomination is great news for New Mexico,\u201d RGA spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in that statement<\/a>. \u201cShe brings a proven record of holding government accountable and enforcing the rule of law that contrasts sharply with Diane Denish\u2019s failed leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMartinez promises lower taxes, spending restraint and\u00a0careful attention\u00a0to border security,\u201d he said. \u201cDenish represents the putrid practices of the Richardson Administration \u2013 higher taxes and government run amok.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Pete Domenici Jr.<\/p><\/div>\n

What\u2019s in a name?<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Fix also listed \u201cpolitical dynasties\u201d as among the losers from the June 1 primary, in part because Pete Domenici Jr.<\/a> \u2013 son of the former U.S. senator \u2013 got shellacked in the race Martinez won.<\/p>\n

\u201cA famous last name \u2013 as we have written recently \u2013 Is not what it used to be in politics,\u201d Cillizza wrote. \u201cThree political heirs fell last night: 1)\u00a0Pete Domenici\u00a0Jr., son of legendary\u00a0Sen. Pete Domenici\u00a0placed fourth in the New Mexico gubernatorial primary with \u2013 eek! \u2013 seven percent of the vote. 2) Earl Hilliard Jr., son of former Alabama Rep. Earl Hilliard, missed out of the runoff for his father\u2019s old 7th district seat. 3) Businessman Tim James, son of former Alabama Gov. Fob James, appears to have narrowly \u2013 200 votes or so \u2013 missed out on making the Republican runoff for governor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Republican Governors Association worked behind the scenes to help Susana Martinez win the party\u2019s gubernatorial primary by steering money her way and orchestrating the endorsement from Sarah Palin, the Washington Post blog The Fix is reporting.<\/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-18203","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\/18203","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=18203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}