Wednesday, June 14, 2023Moores Senate Seat Set To Draw Another Contender, Plus: Debating Deb; PR Gaffe Gets Positive Spin From Her Camp, And: The Year Was 2010; Heinrich And Barela
Sen. Moores has now announced he will not seek re-election to his ABQ state senate seat. Doyle would be following former BernCo Commissioner Michael Wiener into the '24 GOP primary who announced his candidacy last month. Doyle was elected to the state House in 2010 from District 23 on ABQ's westside and Corrales when he defeated incumbent Dem Ben Rodefer. In 2012 Doyle did not seek re-election and ran against Dem state Sen. John Sapien (District 9). Sapien defeated him by less than a percentage point. Doyle has since moved from Corrales to Tanoan in the ABQ NE Heights and Senate District 21 represented by Moores.
Wiener, 68, a retired real estate broker, is now fundraising but is also dealing with controversy from his past when in 2012 Gov. Susana Martinez asked him to resign his commission seat. A consultant for Doyle pointed out that Wiener was charged with sex harassment, sending a racist joke via email and that the newspaper ran a photo of him with a group of young women in a red light district in the Philippines. Wiener says he was in the district with his then-fiance. Wiener, the only person to be elected to the state Senate, the BernCo Commission and the ABQ City Council, pointed out nothing came of any of the past charges and he will be talking in-depth about the issues facing the district and his "long record of accomplishments." That said, Doyle and friends are preparing to try to make that old news fresh next year. No Dem has announced yet for the R leaning seat. DEBATING DEB  1. The All Indian Pueblo Council of Governors support the Haaland/Biden administration's federal mineral withdrawal around Chaco Canyon, they also have voters in NM. All 19 pueblos are fully on board. 2. Here is Senator Heinrich's very supportive statement in support of the the withdrawal and the Governor and all five members of the federal delegation fully support the move. 3. Mountain West states show strong support for land conservation 4. There seems to be a whipped up Republican conspiracy theory that other side has latched onto:
That alleged conspiracy theory was reported by Fox News this way: Republican lawmakers said Haaland's action was part of the Biden administration's broader climate change agenda and argued Chaco Canyon is already protected. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., who chairs a House panel on Indian affairs, said it represented a "taking" of tribal lands and vowed congressional action. Haaland was forced to cancel a planned celebration Sunday at Chaco when protesting Navajos blocked the road. She, along with Sen. Heinrich, are frequently mentioned in political circles as possible candidates for the 2026 Dem Guv nomination. Speaking of which. . . THE YEAR WAS 2010
Joe, you mentioned Tuesday that two of the toughest campaigns Martin Heinrich has won were for the ABQ US House seat in 2008 and the US Senate in 2012. I think his 2010 race to keep his House seat against Jon Barela was perhaps his toughest. It was a landslide Tea Party and Republican year and only a hard fought campaign in which Heinrich refused to back away from Obamacare gave him a close victory. It was a very scrappy performance. Indeed. The slight difference in the '10 campaign versus 2008 and '12 is that Heinrich was an incumbent in 2010, historically a significant advantage in a state congressional race. In '08 he converted what was then the longtime swing ABQ House seat to the Dems for good. In '12 he defeated former GOP Rep. Heather Wilson for an open Senate seat, and she was no slacker when it came to campaigns. (Heinrich took Dem Bingaman's seat.) Heinrich might agree with our reader about 2010 being the toughest. I clearly remember talking with his top political aide at the time, Steve Haro, who said the race with Barela was still up in the air going into the final weekend. The campaign targeted turnout in Heinrich's home base in the ABQ SE Heights as well as the Westside and Valley to bring the narrow win home--51.8 percent to 48.2. You can relive that campaign through our traditionally breathless campaign reporting here . The year was 2010. I was there and that's how I remember it. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 |
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