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| Sen. Gould |
R's vulnerable to a potential Democratic wave in the ABQ metro are crystallizing. Atop the list is freshman Senator Candace Gould in ABQ's North Valley area, up against former ABQ City Clerk Katy Duhigg who hails from a politically prominent Dem family.
Gould, executive director of a nonprofit dealing with foster children and the wife of well-known lobbyist Leland Gould, has armed up with $95,000 in cash on hand as of the end of June. Alligators report she has signed former Gov. Martinez consultant Jay McCleskey to handle her campaign.
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| Katy Duhigg |
Take a look at how close this one could get. In 2016 Gould barely eeked out a win over Dem David Simon, taking it 10,530 to Simon's 10,151, or 50.92% to 49.08.
The district is 41% Dem, 34% R, 24% Independent and 4% other. For sure, this will be a top tier battle of 2020.
District 10 takes in parts of ABQ's Westside in the Paseo del Norte and Coors corridor, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque from Montano north, and a portion of Rio Rancho.
WESTSIDE ACTION
The other two ABQ area seats on the firing line for the GOP are those of incumbent Sander Rue and the NE Heights seat being vacated by Senator Bill Payne.
Rue, a certified real estate appraiser, is after his fourth term and is challenged by Harold Pope who would be the first Black senator in state history. Dems could be anxious to make up for that lack of representation in these times of Black Lives Matter and that could give Rue a rocky time. And Pope, 46, has a resume. He served 21 years in the Air Force and retired as a captain. He had $22,000 in cash at the end of June.
Rue, 66, could not be trying harder to work both sides of the aisle in the westside district filled with loads of working class families. He even split with GOP Governor Martinez over transparency issues. Rue had $51,000 banked in June to prepare for his toughest race of all.
District 23 is 41% Dem, 35% R, 21% independent and 4% other. In 2016 Rue had a tight race, beating Joy Garratt only 51% to 49%. No wonder the Dems are revved up again this year.
TEED UP FOR R'S?
Widely respected GOP state Senator Bill Payne, the Senate Minority Whip, is calling it a day after 24 years in the Senate. That creates an exciting contest for his seat. Ten years ago this race would have been a walk for the R's. But after a Dem Blue wave overwhelmed the once reliably Red NE Heights in '18 and left just one Republican state House member standing in all of Bernalluio County, the game is on.While the Dems are hopeful, this is a harder hill to climb than the other races covered today. District 20 is 39% Dem, 36% R and 24% independent. But the D's think they have a high card in medical doctor Martin Hickey. They say COVID has the public hungry for strong health guidance. Hickey, grey haired and avuncular, looks the part. His accomplishments include CEO of Lovelace Health Systems and CEO of NM Health Connections.
The R's are also putting up a candidate to be reckoned with in John Morton. Like Senator Payne, a US Navy rear admiral, Morton has a military background. He is a retired air force intelligence officer. He also sports strong pro-life beliefs that could help his cause in this normally conservative area.
In the money race Morton was lagging in early July reporting about $10,000 in cash on hand. Hickey had him beat, reporting $32,000.
This race is teed up for the R's as it includes upscale neighborhoods like Sandia Heights. It would seem much depends on how Trump runs in the district. If he should falter, Morton could face a long night and Hickey could surf to victory.
Another key race is the re-election bid of Republican Senator Greg Baca in Valencia County which we'll soon cover.
As for that possible "lurch to the left" in the Senate, consultant Moomaw, speaking from his home in Austin, says:
If only two of those four vulnerable GOP candidates are defeated that would increase the Democratic majority in the Senate to 28 to 14. More important, it would kill off the coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans the have held power there. The Dem senators that would come in are liberal and would have nothing to do with a coalition with the Rs. That would mean a lurch to the left for the Legislature since the House has already gone that way as a result of the 2016 elections.
It's a cliché to say this is the most important election in memory but for the state Senate it truly is. What's at stake is nothing less than a redefining of the ideology that will rule the chamber for years to come.
AT THE GOP CONVENTION
New Mexico garnered national attention last night at the Republican National Convention but for an ignominious reason--the notorious murder of ABQ's Jackie Vigil, mother of two state police officers, in the driveway of the family's westside home. Her widower, Sam Vigil, took to the podium to deliver poignant remarks about his wife's death and the aftermath:
Vigil. . . spoke about President Trump’s tough on crime agenda and the administration’s Operation Legend. “The police were overwhelmed. They needed help. Help arrived when President Trump launched Operation Legend in July of this year. Almost immediately, the FBI took over Jackie’s case. In a matter of days, they arrested four men. The fifth - the suspected killer - is in a Texas jail on unrelated charges,” he said. Operation Legend allows federal agents to work with local police in crime-plagued cities.
Vigil's full 3 minute speech is here.
Operation Legend has been controversial for Democrats but the ongoing violent crew wave in the city is undeniable with the city on track to replicate the record 82 murders recorded in 2019. The GOP convention wraps up tonight.
NEWS SUN AFTER ALL
We took a deserved beating over a substantial error in our first blog draft Wednesday in which we criticized the campaign of southern Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell for getting the name of the Las Cruces Sun-News wrong in her latest TV ad. But the ad was not quoting the Las Cruces Sun News as we said. It was quoting the Hobbs News Sun. Our apologies to Yvette and her "high priced consultants." We should have known better. The post was rewritten.
As for that possible "lurch to the left" in the Senate, consultant Moomaw, speaking from his home in Austin, says:
If only two of those four vulnerable GOP candidates are defeated that would increase the Democratic majority in the Senate to 28 to 14. More important, it would kill off the coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans the have held power there. The Dem senators that would come in are liberal and would have nothing to do with a coalition with the Rs. That would mean a lurch to the left for the Legislature since the House has already gone that way as a result of the 2016 elections.
It's a cliché to say this is the most important election in memory but for the state Senate it truly is. What's at stake is nothing less than a redefining of the ideology that will rule the chamber for years to come.
AT THE GOP CONVENTION
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| Sam Vigil |
Vigil. . . spoke about President Trump’s tough on crime agenda and the administration’s Operation Legend. “The police were overwhelmed. They needed help. Help arrived when President Trump launched Operation Legend in July of this year. Almost immediately, the FBI took over Jackie’s case. In a matter of days, they arrested four men. The fifth - the suspected killer - is in a Texas jail on unrelated charges,” he said. Operation Legend allows federal agents to work with local police in crime-plagued cities.
Vigil's full 3 minute speech is here.
Operation Legend has been controversial for Democrats but the ongoing violent crew wave in the city is undeniable with the city on track to replicate the record 82 murders recorded in 2019. The GOP convention wraps up tonight.
NEWS SUN AFTER ALL
One critic said we took a "haughty tone" in pointing out what we first thought to be a major mistake and they were probably right. We don't have a dog in the fight in that race or any other. Again, our apologies. For this infraction, the traditional punishment of 20 lashes with a wet noodle have been upped to 30 and we are also banned from the city of Hobbs until the price of oil reaches $50 a barrel.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com)
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020