{"id":548330,"date":"2018-03-21T08:43:10","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T14:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=548330"},"modified":"2018-03-25T10:20:54","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T16:20:54","slug":"the-hard-hat-and-the-beast-mick-rich-crisscrosses-the-state-looking-for-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/03\/the-hard-hat-and-the-beast-mick-rich-crisscrosses-the-state-looking-for-votes\/","title":{"rendered":"The hard hat and The Beast: Mick Rich crisscrosses the state looking for votes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just after 10 on a bright, but chilly Wednesday morning, Mick Rich strolled into a retro-looking coffee shop on historic Route 66 in Tucumcari. Making his way to the back of the restaurant, where the walls and windows were covered in \u201cMick Rich for Senate\u201d campaign signs, he introduced himself to diners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Mick Rich and I\u2019m running for Senate,\u201d he said to a few people eating bacon, eggs and stacks of pancakes.<\/p>\n

\"Mick

Courtesy photo<\/p>

Mick Rich<\/p><\/div>\n

Pushing 6 feet tall and bald, Rich made a point to stop at every table, both on the way in and out.<\/p>\n

After less than an hour talking to about 15 people in Tucumcari, and with a cinnamon roll to go, Rich climbed into the back seat of \u201cThe Beast,\u201d a four-ton rig, wrapped with the words \u201cMick Rich for Senate\u201d and an attached living space, for the two-hour trip to Las Vegas, N.M. The driver turned the ignition and the truck cab filled with a whirring sound as air filled bellows which serve as the truck\u2019s suspension. Nothing about \u201cThe Beast\u201d is subtle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surprising how many people will take a photograph of the truck, \u2018The Beast,\u2019 and then post it on their Facebook or somewhere else,\u201d Rich said. \u201cIt just gets a lot of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his third day of his statewide town hall tour \u2014 dubbed the Hard Hat Town Hall Tour \u2014 Rich was doing his best to make sure potential voters knew his name. He and his campaign staffers had made their way through two Republican-friendly counties in the southeast part of the state and were heading north toward country dominated by Democrats.\u00a0NM Political Report<\/i>\u00a0rode along in \u201cThe Beast\u201d with the the Republican, who wants to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich.<\/p>\n

The hard hat<\/h3>\n

Rich, 64, has lived in New Mexico, working in the construction industry, for nearly four decades. In the late 1980s he started his own company, Mick Rich Contractors. He married his \u201ccollege sweetheart\u201d and together they had four kids \u2014 the youngest of whom is now in college.<\/p>\n

The political newcomer is running on a relatively standard Republican platform. He opposes stricter gun control laws and abortion and wants to increase border security. But ask him about specific policies and he\u2019ll get at some of the nuances. When it comes to building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Rich will mention it\u2019s not feasible everywhere due to natural boundaries or point out that increasing border security could also mean increasing resources for the Border Patrol. Alternatives to oil and gas is another nuanced issue for Rich. While he seems to like the idea of solar energy \u2014 \u201cThe Beast\u201d has solar panels on the roof \u2014 Rich said he questions the economic and energy efficiency of wholly converting the state\u2019s power structure to wind and solar.<\/p>\n