As you can see Gov. Lujan Grisham got the photo she wanted from the campaign rally at a packed Ted Gallegos Community Center in ABQ's Democratic South Valley Friday afternoon. The Guv and the president cheered each other on in their respective speeches to the party faithful with the president declaring MLG a "great governor" and urging her re-election by saying, "no one is going to fight harder for this state. It's in her DNA." (His full speech here.)She in turn praised his job performance, their "partnership" and his integrity.

It would not be a presidential visit without a gaffe or two from Scranton Joe. At an education event at the CNM campus in SE ABQ prior to the political rally this happened:

Well, he got his congressional districts straight later when at the rally he urged the crowd to support Dem Gabe Vasquez in his battle for the southern congressional seat with Rep. Yvette Herrell. But being an east coaster, the Vasquez name came out as "Vas-KWEZ. Some of the South Valley for the first time is part of the southern district. Vasquez won a lot of mentions from the speakers but he was not in attendance. He was campaigning in Deming. Some questioned that decision but he may have not wanted a Biden lovefest to be used against him in the many conservative precincts of the district. But he was not forgotten. The event was on the territory he hopes to represent.

Keller, Stansbury and Biden

Judging from the ripsnorting speech ABQ Mayor Tim Keller gave at the rally, you wouldn't know the front page of the paper that morning splashed the headline that his approval rating had plummeted to 33 percent. That's after getting re-elected last year with 56 percent of the vote. But crime and homelessness are doing him in as he wrestles with the always cursed second mayoral term. However he was in fine form at the rally. And as you see in this picture where he chuckles with the President, Rep. Melanie Stansbury and his wife Elizabeth, he won some good face time with the chief executive.

Deb Haaland had deluxe transportation to the event. The Sec. of Interior flew out from DC with her boss on Air Force One. But the state's senior Senator, Dem Martin Heinrich, who might usually do that, was nowhere to be seen. Neither was he at the two public presidential events. Heinrich also has not been seen on the campaign trail this cycle. Yes, it is odd. Meanwhile, both Haaland and the Guv publicly fretted about turnout thus far, saying there is some "catching up" to do for their party as the GOP vote starts picking up. 

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan fired up the crowd and thanked them for the support they gave him after he suffered a stroke earlier this year. The 50 year old appeared robust and stepped from behind the podium, opened his suit jacket and showed off his form, declaring to the cheering crowd, "This is what a stroke looks like." 

Rep. Stansbury is only 42 but she gave an old time stump speech--fiery, loud and filled with the partisan red meat a crowd relishes in the final days of a long campaign. Stansbury faces a GOP challenge from Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes. She threw out her campaign slogan of being "the only pro-choice, pro-science and pro-democracy candidate in the race." They loved it in the hall, but Garcia Holmes criticized Biden's visit, sending out a pic of traffic snaking along and poking at the Dems for not being able to get a presidential visit right, even though traffic is always an issue when a president comes to town.

Rep. Leger Fernandez had that humorous moment with the Prez, but he also said after her speech at CNM: "You are really good. I mean it." She has been on her game, airing some of the best TV ads of the campaign and appearing comfortable in her own skin. This after she and her supporters freaked out earlier this year over her new district that now veers south and takes in some conservative counties. But for TLF all is well that ends well. She is cruising to re-election, according the polls, over GOP rival Alexis Martinez Johnson.

Dem Manny Crespin

Mark Ronchetti continued his tour of rural NM while Dems pounded the table to get the vote out against him. And he continued to pound away at MLG's character. 

He revealed leaked text messages that he said showed a KOB-TV cameraman gave MLG's campaign some of the questions to be asked at a 2018 Guv TV debate with Republican Steve Pearce before the debate. His campaign called it a "bombshell" and a "cheating scandal" but KOB management said there was no hanky-panky. However, they invited the campaign to share any evidence they have so they could investigate, and a KOB reporter said on Twitter the station was "looking into the allegations."  

The questions that were allegedly leaked to the MLG campaign before the debate were questions from viewers. More here. 

For her part MLG told the rally that she was offended when at the KOAT debate last month Ronchetti refused to be seated and stood for the debate even though she had to be seated because of a leg injury. She said that was a hit on his character. 

Boff! Bonk! Pow! And so it goes. . . See ya later, Gators. 

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