{"id":629685,"date":"2018-09-29T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-09-29T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=629685"},"modified":"2018-09-30T19:36:56","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T01:36:56","slug":"voters-have-three-distinct-choices-in-1st-congressional-district-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/09\/voters-have-three-distinct-choices-in-1st-congressional-district-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters have three distinct choices in 1st Congressional District race"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_72046\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-72046\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding-771x455.jpg\" alt=\"The U.S. Capitol Building\" width=\"771\" height=\"455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding-771x455.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding-336x198.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding-768x453.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding-1170x690.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/CapitolBuilding.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The U.S. Capitol Building<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Election Day is six weeks away and while the Democratic candidate is leading the race for New Mexico\u2019s 1st Congressional District, neither of the other two candidates is giving up.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, both Republican candidate Janice Arnold-Jones and Libertarian candidate Lloyd Princeton say they are confident they can beat Democrat Deb Haaland. Arnold-Jones isn\u2019t worried that a recent poll shows she is behind by eight points, and says voters have told her they often don\u2019t participate in polls or answer questions honestly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople I talk to don\u2019t support the agenda that\u2019s being pushed [by Democrats],\u201d Arnold-Jones said. \u201cThey don\u2019t support abolishing ICE. They don\u2019t support doing away with police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Princeton, who recently earned the support of only three percent of likely voters in a poll, is optimistic he\u2019ll gain more supporters before Election Day.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/880787\/three-distinct-options-for-cd1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico Political Report<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit news organization\u00a0focused on promoting a greater public understanding of politics and policy in New Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIf everyone voted their conscience and if everyone truly is disgusted with the state of political affairs, at a state level as well as at a national level, then the only way to change it is to immediately get in third party people,\u201d Princeton said. \u201cIgnore the polls and ignore what your party is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Haaland is hoping to keep the seat in the Democratic column and further her party\u2019s fight against President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, no Republican is speaking out against Trump unless they\u2019re not running for re-election &#8212; and even if they aren\u2019t, very few of them are saying anything,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cAnd they should be; they should be holding his feet to the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All three candidates have their own plans for strengthening New Mexico\u2019s congressional voice and tackling what they see as some of the country\u2019s biggest problems.<\/p>\n<h3>Lady Sunshine<\/h3>\n<p>Arnold-Jones has long embraced government transparency and was at the forefront of a battle to allow legislative meetings to be broadcast live. A decade ago,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfreporter.com\/news\/coverstories\/2009\/02\/11\/the-shining\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Santa Fe Reporter<\/a>\u00a0deemed her \u201cLady Sunshine,\u201d a name that she has fully embraced and now uses for her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LadySunshineNM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter profile<\/a>. She served four terms as a legislator, was briefly an Albuquerque city councilor and ran unsuccessfully for Congress against U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>During an arguably tough time for Republicans, Arnold-Jones has been portrayed by Democrats as being in lockstep with Trump. But, she said, she has not been publicly asked her about her thoughts on Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, isn\u2019t that nice?\u201d Arnold-Jones asked rhetorically. \u201cI would say, they didn\u2019t ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said her support for Trump comes on a case-by-case basis.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the president is doing the right thing, I\u2019m going to support him,\u201d Arnold-Jones said. \u201cIf he\u2019s doing the wrong thing, I\u2019m going to pitch a fit, and it\u2019s really that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, what is considered \u201cright\u201d differs between political parties.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold-Jones said she \u201ccertainly\u201d wishes Trump \u201cwouldn\u2019t tweet\u201d and said Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was actually her first choice for president.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Democrats have had plenty of ammunition: Arnold-Jones held a recent campaign event with controversial, conservative, political figure Dinesh D\u2019Souza and made comments on Fox News about Haaland\u2019s Native American heritage that she later apologized for to a tribal leadership group.<\/p>\n<p>Despite online jabs from her political adversaries, Arnold-Jones maintains she is a \u201cpragmatic person,\u201d namely on things like climate change, also calling herself a \u201creal steward of the land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it all human caused? No. Does that relieve us of our obligation to take care of the Earth? No, it doesn\u2019t,\u201d Arnold-Jones said of the warming climate.<\/p>\n<p>The most important issue for the U.S. and New Mexico to tackle in Arnold-Jones\u2019 mind? Immigration.<\/p>\n<p>She said she would like the government to better track immigrants, regardless of why they come to the United States. Arnold-Jones said the biggest \u201cabusers\u201d of U.S. immigration policies are those who use vacation visas and whose whereabouts are not tracked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd who\u2019s fault is that? Is that their fault or our fault?\u201d Arnold-Jones asked.<\/p>\n<p>She said special recognition technology or biometrics could solve the tracking problem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want people to want to come to this country and I want them to want to be Americans, but that\u2019s not for everybody,\u201d Arnold-Jones said. \u201cBut there are people who want to come here to work, whole groups of people, and let me suggest, one of the things that we could do on regular work visas is put up some kiosks in Mexico near the border, have people do all of their paperwork there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Arnold-Jones, just as her opponents, would be a freshman lawmaker if elected and would be just one voice of many in Congress. Her plan to get her voice heard is one she said she would take from the state Legislature \u2014 by building personal relationships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not above delivering biscochitos and a chronology of the state of New Mexico to every member,\u201d Arnold-Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>Her Democratic opponent didn\u2019t mention state history or cookies as an ice breaker, but did say she would hit the ground running, gunning for positions on key committees.<\/p>\n<h3>Laguna in Congress<\/h3>\n<p>If elected, Haaland could be the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her voice in Congress could offer unique views, she said, adding that she wouldn\u2019t waste any time lobbying for key leadership roles that could boost her visibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be busy on the phone as soon as I win,\u201d Haaland said.<\/p>\n<p>She is interested in the House Armed Services and Natural Resources committees, as her late father was in the U.S. Marine Corp and because she sees climate change as the \u201cmost pressing issue\u201d facing the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Democrats need to have a comprehensive infrastructure plan that includes renewable energy infrastructure,\u201d Haaland said.<\/p>\n<p>In the fight against climate change, Haaland said she would implore both Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories to increase studies on the environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to see their environmental sector grow to fight climate change,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cI think that would be a worthy expenditure for taxpayer money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico and one-time candidate for lieutenant governor is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna. When Arnold-Jones made a comment about both candidates being \u201cmilitary brats,\u201d and that Haaland did not grow up on a reservation, many Haaland supporters took to social media to admonish Arnold-Jones. Haaland said Native Americans living in the the heavily metropolitan area of the 1st congressional district do face some unique challenges, but that all New Mexicans face similar challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir issues aren\u2019t any different than anyone else living here,\u201d Haaland said, speaking of affordable health care, access to education and income inequality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I think about what the district needs, we need jobs and we need health care,\u201d she said. \u201cQuality public education transcends party affiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Haaland said, as a single mother, she understands the challenges of supporting a family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know what it\u2019s like to struggle,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cThat\u2019s 99 percent of people in New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A third option<\/h3>\n<p>Libertarian Lloyd Princeton has been both a Republican and a Democrat. Though he readily admits his political views \u00a0lean to the right, he is quick to talk about taking care of the less fortunate, with one caveat \u2014 that they use their bootstraps as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to give the people who are less fortunate the tools, and access to the tools, for them to join in this abundant economy,\u201d Princeton said. \u201cWhat was designed as a safety net has become safety cages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Princeton hopes that between now and election night, enough voters hear his message of \u201cpeople over party\u201d and vote Libertarian. He also hopes that they hear his message that less government regulation means more overall prosperity.<\/p>\n<p>Princeton said health-care reform is one of the first things he would try to tackle in Congress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHealth care is far from reformed, Obamacare is far from doing what it\u2019s supposed to do and we need an overhaul in the form of a simplification,\u201d Princeton said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, traditionally partisan voters would likely have to compromise on some issues in order to vote for Princeton. For example, his limited government regulation stance includes support for marriage equality, marijuana legalization and immigration reform, but also spending cuts and increased privatization on things like health care.<\/p>\n<p>Put simply, Princeton said, \u201cNo one party is all good or all bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If elected, Princeton would be the only Libertarian in the U.S. House, and he said he would not feel obligated to caucus with any party. Instead, he could provide the \u201cbest of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the Democratic candidate is leading the race for New Mexico\u2019s 1st Congressional District, neither of the other two candidates is giving up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3665,2238,3662,3663,3707,116],"class_list":["post-629685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-1st-congressional-district","tag-2018-election","tag-deb-haaland","tag-janice-arnold-jones","tag-lloyd-princeton","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629685","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=629685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}