I. The RTW dominoes continue to fall: Roosevelt county isn’t necessarily a bastion of industry and working populations but their county commission approved an Americans for Prosperity backed Right-to-Work ordinance Wednesday making it the sixth New Mexico county to enact such an ordinance bypassing the union influenced Democratic majority in the Roundhouse. Read more about it here at the Rio Grande Foundation’s Errors of Enchantment. The domino game started in Sandoval county lead by a gaggle of activists organized by the Koch Brothers funded Americans for Prosperity group. Andy Lyman wrote about the AFP lobbying efforts back in April here.
II. To the dismay of more than a few Democratic operatives, a State Senator and Michelle Lujan Grisham, former Gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca isn’t done with New Mexico politics just yet. California based PAC Democrats for Democracy has hired Apodaca as their New Mexico spokesperson. Their agenda seems to mirror Apodaca’s campaign platform; expect to see him working in this capacity to keep his candidate shelf life from perishing before the next political opportunity arises for the son of former Las Cruces High School Bulldog and New Mexico Governor Jerry Apodoca.
III. A mandated ballot by mail GO Bond election is underway in Las Cruces, what could wrong? According to the Las Cruces Sun-News this would be the first mail-only ballot in New Mexico electoral history.
IV. First and foremost, the narrative I keep hearing that Democratic CD2 nominee Xochitl Torres-Small is a political newcomer needs to be approached. There would not be a current State Representative and former Las Cruces City Councilman, Nathan Small without “Xochi” Torres. Beneath her warm smile and informed, diplomatic approach is a shrewd politician who is fully aware of how the Democratic machine operates and how to work a room or community to her candidate’s benefit. Just ask her former employers Senators Udall y Heinrich and of course her government enthusiast esposo and PERA beneficiary NM Representative Small. Dare I say that Xochi knows how to successfully campaign? (Disclosure: I challenged a Los Lunas transplant, incumbent Nathan Small in a 2011 Las Cruces City Council race. Thankfully I got that whole -ego on a ballot- thing out of my system when I was 24 years young.)
Torres-Small’s fundraising lead is significant and not something a political newcomer can usually achieve. Real Clear Politics still has NM CD2 as a toss up but Small’s fundraising edge could be an early indicator of this race leaning blue (democratic socialist red maybe?) by Labor Day, how appropriate. Republican Yvette Herrell may be a darling of the myopic Trumpista base in offensively there will be blood red SE New Mexico but that mirage fades once you cross West through the Organ Mountains on the San Augustin pass approaching Las Cruces and the heavily Democratic Mesilla Valley. Eight years after moderate Democrat Harry Teague represented CD2 in Congress, is this conservative leaning district about to send a powerful progressive to represent them in the Trump era? I know more than a few former Republicans who are undecided on this race, Trump and Steve Pearce’s gal better be worried.
V. After the recent Wyatt Bertsch column here, I would like to point out there is a serious Libertarian CD1 candidate this cycle and he wants to offer New Mexican voters (including less than enuthusiastic Republicans and Democrats) a choice. Meet Lloyd Princeton.
