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| Trump in NM |
His breakthrough in New Mexico last year when he lost the state by six points but performed better than any Republican presidential candidate here since was widely credited to improved support among Hispanic men and his visit to ABQ to rally the troops.
But as with most everything with this President, his Hispanic support is proving to be topsy-turvy. The latest:
Trump’s approval rating among Hispanic voters dipped to 34 percent in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.The poll shows a 3-point decline from the 37 percent of Hispanic voters who said they approved of the president in January. Trump’s disapproval rating among Hispanic voters, meanwhile, jumped 7 points, from 54 percent in January to 61 percent in April. Overall, the latest poll shows 42 percent of Americans approved of the job the president is doing, compared to 53 percent who disapproved. Hispanic voters represented a key voting bloc for the president in 2024. While the majority of Hispanic voters backed former Vice President Kamala Harris, 46 percent supported Trump’s bid — a 14-point increase from the support he won from Hispanic voters in 2020. Many point to the boost in Hispanic support for Trump as pivotal to his victory in 2024.
It seems Trump's Hispanic support here and elsewhere is largely dependent on the state of the economy going forward. That, in turn, will be crucial to Republican efforts to try to win back the southern congressional seat held by Dem Rep. Gabe Vasquez and be competitive in the '26 Guv race.
BEJING BOUND
Joe, Back in 1999, I was slinging lattes at the Starbucks near ABQ's Journal Center when I landed an internship in Sen. Pete Domenici’s office. That summer gig led to a position with Rep. Tom Udall’s team, where I eventually became press secretary. After I left Tom's office, I returned to Albuquerque and worked for John Cordova at Cordova Public Relations.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
In 2007 I moved to Beijing where I spent the next 13 years watching China’s transformation firsthand. I’ve just published a memoir about those years, Bejing Bound. While it’s primarily about life in pre-Olympic Beijing, there’s a healthy dose of D.C. backstory that would resonate with your readers who remember the national politics of that era (George W. Bush administration, etc.).
As we face Trump 2.0 and renewed tensions with China, I thought you might appreciate hearing from someone who went from writing press releases about New Mexico water rights to navigating the complexities of U.S.-China relations. The view from Beijing of American politics was, let’s say, unique.
I’ve remained a faithful reader of your blog all these years—there’s nothing quite like New Mexico politics, and nobody captures its peculiarities better than you do.
Good to hear from you, Glenn.
Beijing Bound is available at all retailers and at Amazon.
This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.