He Stirs But She Does Not Shake; ABQ Congress TV Debate Has Stansbury Sticking To Dem Party Line While Moores Pushes Crime Crisis, Plus: Sanchez Throws Cold Water On Guv Run

Moores and Stansbury

If the ABQ congressional district  "leaned Democratic" and was not solid Blue, Republican Mark Moores might have made more headway at last night's KOB-TV debate. He tried desperately to turn the city's crime epidemic into the needed crossover votes he must have to defeat Democrat Melanie Stansbury but despite repeated prodding by the state senator, the Dem state representative refused to acknowledge his soft on crime attacks. (Full debate here.)

Instead Stansbury emphasized her support of President Biden and his popular pandemic relief packages. When it came to crime, she took the traditional liberal view that "underlying" conditions of addiction and behavioral health must be addressed.

Moores repeatedly cited Stansbury's support of the Breathe Act which is supported by left wing congressional members as a means of reforming overzealous police departments. He said it would defund the police, close jails and even shut down immigration enforcement agencies. But Stansbury seemed to barely notice and was breathing easy. 

The special election to fill the US House seat is June 1. Limited early voting has started. 

The duo shared the stage with Libertarian Chris Manning but not conservative former land commissioner and independent candidate Aubrey Dunn who might have put more fire into the face-off. 

We asked a Senior Alligator to analyze the political impact of the debate, if any:

These events have become perfunctory and the parties are so divided and voters so set in their preferences I don’t know how these debates influence anyone. Stansbury just needed to stay the course and talk the party line, and she did. She looked professional, steady and informed. She didn’t try to do too much and she obviously practiced. It was on Moores to try to make points and take her off message and he didn’t.

Dems have carried the district in every election since 2008.

DOWN ON DOW

MLG was ripped by GOP State Rep. Rebecca Dow in an opinion piece this week over her cash settlement with a former campaign aide who accused her of sexual mistreatment. But several readers say Dow, a possible '22 GOP Guv candidate, missed the mark. Kelley DuPont writes: 

 Joe, Rep. Dow’s argument falls on my deaf ears when she wants to talk about “double standards.” Trump, the leader of her party, is a self-proclaimed crotch grabber. I’d like to see where she and GOP Chairman Steve Pearce denounced him. MLG maybe did or did not do some grabbing, but we now have a new standard upon which to judge those who demonstrate these transgressions. Courtesy of the GOP. 

And John Rey also pushes back against Dow:

Joe, I guess Rebecca forgot about former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her state police lover who the state paid $200,000 in a lawsuit settlement. Not to say MLG's grabbing is less serious--just saying. 

COLD WATER

Sanchez

Former Lt. Gov. John Sanchez threw cold water on a statement made by Dona Ana County GOP Chairwoman Kim Skaggs who following Sanchez's recent visit to the county emailed this to party faithful: 

We look forward to his formal declaration for governor.

To which Sanchez responded via text: 

You should go to the source and not from a county chair's quote who by the way I just met today.

Well, asking a candidate directly whether they are running for Governor or not at this early stage is like asking the cat if he ate the mice. But we get John's pique. Chairwoman Skaggs is not his campaign manager but her misstep did flush out that Sanchez does not appear likely to be a Guv candidate. 

Skaggs is also the new executive director of the NMGOP. Interesting that Chairman Pearce is letting her wear two hats. As for Sanchez, we'll keep watching for any signs of political life. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

Finally, Janet Blair of the League of Women Voters NM writes of Mark Moores not answering that group's questionnaire: 

(We) go to great effort to pose questions that represent the interests of voters of all political persuasions. We are deeply disappointed when any candidate ignores our request for answers to those questions because such a refusal denies voters the right to be fully informed. For more than 100 years, the League has been “empowering voters and defending democracy.”. . .We are particularly distressed to see that Mark Moores has not responded to our questionnaire. . .because we worked closely with him and co-sponsor Rep. Melanie Stansbury, the Democratic congressional nominee, to pass the re-districting bill, one of our top priorities. 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021