Southern GOP Congresswoman Yvette Herrell is happy go lucky as she engages with controversial colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene on Capitol Hill recently.Herrell hasn't publicly embraced (or rejected) the problematic views of the Georgia lawmaker, but Democrats could press the matter as they prepare for the special legislative redistricting session later this year when Herrell's future will be on the line.
Herrell has been pitching issues lately that have broad appeal and are her first steps to establish a more independent identity.
Those issues include pausing the federal gas tax, expanding broadband and immigration legislation. While she does that, she still has to dodge the shrapnel that flies when Greene does stuff like this:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing calls to boot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) out of the GOP conference for her remarks comparing COVID-19 mask and vaccine rules to the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II.
“Just stop. This is demented and dangerous. There is no comparison,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted at Greene Tuesday after she doubled down on her Holocaust comparison.
No incumbent NM congressional rep in memory has been taken out by a primary challenge. That gives Herrell room to distance herself from the far right and do what she can to stop a Dem incursion into her district brought about by redistricting.
Our Senior Alligators report there are already two options under discussion to redistrict Herrell out of the seat she captured last November from Dem Rep. Xochitl Torres Small.
One would have Dem heavy BernCo South Valley precincts packed into her GOP leaning district. The other would pull a sizable chunk of McKinley County into the southern district, a chunk that would include precincts that are dominated by Native Americans who reliably vote Democratic.
FINAL PUSH
News broke Wednesday that the congressional race will get a dab of national attention in the final days with second gentleman Doug Emhoff making a Thursday get out the vote ABQ appearance here for Dem Melanie Stansbury.
Will Yvette get along with Melanie Stansbury as well as she seems to with Rep. Greene? That question will probably not be hypothetical after next Tuesday when Stansbury is widely expected to defeat Republican Mark Moores and take the congressional seat vacated by Deb Haaland who was named Sec. of Interior.
Stansbury's final TV ad--"Future"--positions her as a Biden Democrat, not the "radical" that Moores has insisted she is and even features a photo of her with first lady Jill Biden.
The ad is narrated by a Spanish accented speaker. Ethnicity is a background issue in the district. Moores has repeatedly noted that his mother is a Hispanic northern New Mexican.
Election Night coverage of the June 1 special congressional election begins at 6:45 p.m. on KANW 89.1 FM ABQ/Santa Fe as well as kanw.com. Our expert analysts include ABQ Dem State Rep. Moe Maestas.
HOME BUYING FRENZY
The company sells developed and undeveloped lots to homebuilders, commercial and industrial property developers, and others. As of July 1, 2020, it owned approximately 18,000 acres in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. . . AMREP (NYSE:AXR) reported net income of $2,093,000, or $0.29 per share, for its 2021 fiscal third quarter ended January 31, 2021 compared to net income of $338,000, or $0.04 per share, for the same period of the prior year. For the first nine months of 2021, AMREP had net income of $3,484,000, or $0.44 per share.
That's a lot of dream houses springing up. Go ahead and elaborate, Frank. . .
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021