{"id":6637,"date":"2009-09-23T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2009-09-23T18:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=6637"},"modified":"2009-09-24T07:47:18","modified_gmt":"2009-09-24T13:47:18","slug":"unm-regent-fortner-endorses-martinez-for-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/09\/unm-regent-fortner-endorses-martinez-for-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"UNM regent endorses Martinez for governor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Martinez,

Martinez, shown here announcing her gubernatorial campaign in July. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Not all in GOP are waiting on Heather Wilson, endorsement from prominent Farmington Republican Jack Fortner shows<\/h4>\n

Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez<\/a> has secured a high-profile endorsement from University of New Mexico Regent<\/a> Jack Fortner, a sign that not all Republicans are waiting for former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> to decide whether she\u2019s running before they pledge support to other candidates.<\/p>\n

Fortner is a Farmington attorney and former San Juan County commissioner whose opinion carries a lot of weight among Republicans in the four corners region of the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe seems like the obvious choice for a candidate who can not only fight for New Mexicans but who can also win the general (election),\u201d Fortner said about Martinez in an interview conducted Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Fortner was considering running for governor himself, but said he decided about 10 days ago that, with a daughter in ninth grade, now isn\u2019t the right time. Wilson also has children in grade school, and Fortner said he thinks she\u2019ll make the same decision he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see Heather getting into the race,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 Heather is bright and she\u2019s a planner. If Heather was going to get in the governor\u2019s race, she would be in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Republicans aren\u2019t so certain about that and have resisted backing any of the four declared and likely Republican candidates for governor, at least in part because they\u2019re waiting for a decision from Wilson. The former congresswoman ensured the continuation of that limbo when she said last week<\/a> that she remains undecided and has no timetable for making a decision.<\/p>\n

Martinez isn\u2019t the only candidate to secure an early endorsement despite Wilson\u2019s indecisiveness. Last month, Nathan Krekula, a professor at a Christian university in Hobbs, endorsed<\/a> former state GOP Chairman Allen Weh<\/a> in the race. Krekula, a political newcomer, had briefly entered the governor\u2019s race but dropped out shortly before endorsing Weh.<\/p>\n

Many are waiting on Wilson<\/h3>\n

State Sen. Steven Neville<\/a>, R-Farmington, is among those who are waiting to pledge support for any of the candidates, and he said Wilson is one of the primary reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Heather\u2019s not a candidate, then I would probably lean toward Martinez, but I want to see what the field is. There could be another candidate or two,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cI\u2019m not quite to the point that I\u2019m making an absolute commitment, but I\u2019m quite impressed with (Martinez\u2019s) candidacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likely Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Turner<\/a> said he has talked with many who are withholding support of him or anyone else until they know what Wilson plans to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already called some of these people — who I\u2019ve known for years and I\u2019m friendly with — and I totally respect their position,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 It would be a stumbling block if you were relying on these folks to fund your race. While I would love for them to fund my race, I don\u2019t have an expectation that they will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez said the conversations she\u2019s having with Republicans around the state \u201cinclude whether or not Heather is going to run,\u201d but noted the Fortner endorsement in saying she is winning support regardless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the race whether Heather decides to enter the race or not, and I\u2019ve had that conversation with her,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n

Weh declined to talk specifically about Wilson, but said in a prepared statement that he\u2019s confident in his campaign\u2019s ability to raise enough money to \u201csucceed in a very tough environment\u201d against likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee Diane Denish<\/a>. The other Republican gubernatorial candidate, state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a> of Albuquerque, could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

Moving beyond being a regional candidate?<\/h3>\n

Securing Fortner\u2019s support could be significant for Martinez. She is a powerhouse in Do\u00f1a Ana County but largely unknown in the rest of the state. Some have referred to her as a regional candidate.<\/p>\n

But you can\u2019t get much further from Las Cruces in New Mexico than San Juan County, and Fortner said Martinez will \u201cfit right in\u201d there. He added that other prominent Republicans in San Juan County are set to join him in supporting Martinez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she understands oil and gas issues, which will be big up here. But she also understands a problem that\u2019s statewide, and that\u2019s the DWI issue and the crime and corruption issue,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s got a tough but fair reputation, and she is the only one who has firsthand experience fighting crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez said she\u2019s pleased with the support she\u2019s received from Fortner and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt moves me from being a regional candidate, with the support in Farmington and the support we\u2019re getting form the southeast part of the state,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI think people are really seeing how important this race is and how important it is that we come together to win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has been endorsed by UNM Regent Jack Fortner, a sign that not all Republicans are waiting for Heather Wilson to decide whether she\u2019s running before they pledge support to other candidates.<\/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-6637","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\/6637","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=6637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6637\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}