Rep. Pearce

There may still be political life left in Steve Pearce, but it may not be what you think.

Following the election results that showed him losing the Guv race to Dem Michelle Lujan Grisham by a 57 to 43 margin, Pearce said he wasn't ready to retire from public life. But we're now learning that could mean the veteran politico will choose to continue that public life in a non-elected position, possibly as chairman of the state Republican Party.

Our GOP sources report Pearce, 71, is floating the possibility of running for the post which will be up for election next month by members of the state GOP Central Committee.

Pearce, the sources say, is not too hot for a try at retaking the southern congressional seat he gave up to run for Governor and which was won by Dem Xochitl Torres Small November 6. His term expires January 3.

If Pearce chooses to run top R's believe he will clear the field of lesser names already letting it be known they would like to replace outgoing chairman Ryan Cangiolosi. Those include ABQ businessman John Rockwell, who lost the post to Cangiolosi two years ago and is aligned with the Gov. Martinez/Jay McCleskey wing of the party. That wing is dreaded by the Pearce faction and past Central Committee votes demonstrate most of the members are with Pearce.

His boosters say a Pearce chairmanship would help the R's on a number of levels: It would keep the party levers out of the hands of the Martinez/McCleskey forces, would put the party on stable financial footing and give them a recognizable face to oppose the Dems.

Of course the Dems would be more than pleased to see Pearce as party chair. That would mean he would not run again for his US House seat against Torres Small in 2020, giving her much needed breathing room.

POINT A FINGER

The R's are doing some finger-pointing over the pounding they took in the election in which the Dems ran the table for the top offices and the state House.

That Chairman Cangiolosi was overwhelmed is a given. Unlike most previous chairs he held a day job and did not have the financial independence to talk forcefully to the party or the public. Pearce, an oilman, is independently wealthy.

Others making noise about running for GOP chair are BernCo GOP Chairman Robert Aragon, former chair John Billingsley,  radio talk show host Eddy Aragon and longtime GOP figure Rick Lopez, among others.

While the GOP's Martinez/McCleskey faction argue that the party's devastating losses were solely the fault of Cangiolosi and his mentor, former GOP chairman Harvey Yates, more mainstream political thinking sees the disaster as a natural offshoot of the declining fortunes of ABQ and New Mexico under the eight year reign of Martinez and Mayor Richard Berry. They failed and thus the party failed at the polls. That's what happened in 2010 when Martinez came in by riding a wave of anger against Dem Bill Richardson.

Martinez's own demise was hastened in December 2015 after the infamous holiday pizza party incident. History will mark that event as the demarcation line when she transitioned from popular to unpopular. Martinez's carefully crafted political personality collapsed because of her party behavior and as the state struggled with the longest economic downturn/stagnation since the Great Depression. That double whammy did her in.

THAT BOOM

That aforementioned lengthy NM recession is pretty much over with job growth resuming and economic growth on the upswing somewhat, thanks mostly to the oil boom in the SE NM Permian Basin. It's so big you get this from the major oil companies that are raking in millions there:

More than a dozen top U.S. energy companies have pledged $100 million toward easing stresses on health care, education and civic infrastructure from the shale oil and gas boom in West Texas and New Mexico. . . The last decade’s shale boom also has led to school overcrowding, soaring traffic fatalities, drug abuse and strains on the power grid because of the activity. “Our roads are not designed to handle the amount of truck traffic we have,” said Jeff Walker, transportation training coordinator at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs.

We've reported in recent years about the $300 plus hotel rooms in the boom region. Add this to the list--a $4,980 a month 1,300 square foot house in Artesia. Hey, maybe it comes with free tickets to see the Artesia Bulldogs.

CAUCUS ACTION

Sen. Papen

We've already covered the caucus of the state House Dems and their picks to lead them in the next legislative session. Now it's time for two more--the Senate Dems and the House Republicans.

The Dem Senators gathered at ABQ's Carpenters Union Hall Saturday morning and indicated that the conservative coalition that leads the Senate is still operative and poses a potentially serous obstacle to Gov-elect Lujan Grisham.

They voted by acclamation to return 86 year old conservative Dem Senator Mary Kay Papen to the Senate Pro Tem position. The post will be voted on by the entire Senate which is fine with the R's who have been voting for her time and again. That there was no a peep of opposition to her indicates that the conservative wing of the Dem Party is not freaking out just year by the results of the election which showed the state becoming increasingly Dem and deeper blue.

The Dems again elected Santa Fe attorney Peter Wirth as Senate Majority Leader. The hallmark of his leadership is the same as that of his predecessor Michael Sanchez--don't mess with conservative Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith.

And ABQ Senator Michael Padilla,who we blogged about recently as making a play for his old job as Senate Minority Whip, decided not to make the play. ABQ Dem Sen. Mimi Stewart kept the position. Insiders say Padilla is now gunning for a slot on the Senate Finance Committee.

It's worth reporting again: This new Governor has perhaps one shot at the "moonshots" she declares she wants and the road to launching them runs through Smith, Papen and several other Dem conservatives. Will she shoot for the moon or settle for some simple base hits? That will be the defining decision of her governorship and it will not take four years to find out but two short months--the length of the 2019 legislative session.

HOUSE SIDE

Meanwhile, House Republicans swerved right in selecting Rep. James Townsend, 64, of Artesia, a retired oilman, as their new Minority Leader. He appears to have made some serious money from NYSE listed exchange listed Holly Energy Partners before retiring in 2011.

Farmington Rep. Rod Montoya continues as House Minority Whip.

Dems said this shows the R's are tone deaf but there really is no longer a "moderate" wing of the party and conservative Townsend is known for being competent and understands the business that is dominating the state.

But, really, the House is now about to be 46-24 Dem. The House R's won't have much to say about anything in Santa Fe. But as we said, their GOP brethren, in a marriage of convenience with conservative Dems, are still in the game.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Santa Fe radio host Richard Eeds played house liberal for the American News HQ program on Fox News this weekend. He was part of a radio panel that opined on the future of Nancy Pelosi and the migrant caravan winding its way through Mexico. . . ABQ Congresswoman-elect Deb Haaland was making the rounds on the Sunday talk show circuit with three appearances, including this one on CBS' Face the Nation.

We blogged last week that former Roswell Dem State Senator Tim Jennings was defeated for re-election in 2016. He was actually defeated in 2012.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018