Progressives Have Candidate To Take Sen. Ivey-Soto Out And She Comes Out Firing Over Sex Harassment Charges; He Labels Her A Carpetbagger As He Weighs Decision On Run For Fourth Term, Plus: Redistricting Judge Earns Alligator Badge of Courage

Heather Berghmans

In or out? That's the question facing ABQ state Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto as progressive women target him over sex harassment allegations and field 35 year old Heather Berghmans, a former director of the NM House Democratic Campaign Committee, to defeat him in next June's primary. 

And she hits him out of the gate:

. . . Families in District 15 deserve a leader who upholds high moral and ethical standards in their personal and professional conduct—not those who are under investigation for financial and ethical misconduct, as is Senator Ivey-Soto. Senator Ivey-Soto has become a distraction and he is no longer effective. If he chooses to run for reelection, I am prepared to run a strong campaign to defeat him in June.

The Senator returned fire, calling Berghmans a carpetbagger from Santa Fe:

. . Because I stand up for my district, I have upset some powerful people in Santa Fe. Despite the noise, no findings have been made against me. While I welcome Ms. Berghmans to the race, I note she is a product of Santa Fe, recruited by Santa Fe and is running a campaign starting off in Santa Fe. I’ll continue to focus on the district and on my constituents.

 

Ivey-Soto has held back on announcing his election plans, but the clock is ticking to raise the funding he will require. Berghmans is a protege of former House Speaker Brian Egolf who has already hosted a Santa Fe fundraiser for her so her campaign coffers are expected to be hefty. 

74 year old animal rights activist Marcy Britton previously announced her run for the Dem nod in the district but is not expected to be well-funded. 

Ivey-Soto, first elected in 2012, would be seeking his fourth term. At last report in April he had $103,000 in his campaign account, not an insignificant amount but the question is whether he will be ghosted by future donors because of the harassment charges--charges that he repeatedly points out have not resulted in any finding of guilt. Progressives can expect to come with outside money to help Berghmans and their combined efforts could go over $200,000.

ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT

We asked a Senior Alligator familiar with the mid-NE Heights district for their take:

Ivey-Soto has a decision to make and he may want to poll the district before he makes it. The harrassment charges have battered him for well over a year. He does get a break with two opposition candiates now in the race but Britton is not a brand name and progressives will go all in with Berghmans. Still, the anti-Ivey-Soto vote stands at least a chance of being divided.

Ivey-Soto has already lost his committee chairmanship because of the allegations and been disowned by the state Dem Party. Is he up for a fight to retain his seat whose power has has been greatly diminished? Can he raise the money? He's been convicted of nothing but will the charges fall flat or take hold? A poll would give him the guidance he needs as would frank conversations with potential donors. I wouldn't be surprised if that is what he is up to. 

The whole game is the June primary. The winner there is almost certainly to take the seat in the general election as no R's need apply in this Dem leaning district. 

THE BERGHMANS FILE

From her campaign:

Heather Berghmans is a policy analyst, finance consultant, and a native New Mexican. . .Heather was born in Albuquerque and grew up in the East Mountains. After graduating from Moriarty High School, she earned a BA in Political Science and a Master's in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico. Following her studies, Heather moved to Berlin, Germany, New York, and Miami, working for e-commerce startups. . . Since returning to New Mexico in 2018, Heather has dedicated her career to advocating for the people of New Mexico, working closely with state and local leaders to effect change.

Sounds good but as always the opposition research will also have a say before all is said and done. 

BADGE OF COURAGE

Judge Van Solen

Conservative Republican Judge Fred Van Soelen gets the Alligator badge of courage for his ruling that the state's congressional districts do not constitute an egregious gerrymandering. But he is getting the opposite from top Republicans who are attacking one of their own for the ruling. The state GOP is appealing his ruling to the NM Supreme Court but it's not ordinary for the high court to overturn lower court rulings.

The gerrymander charge has never held much water with political pros steeped in the nuance of such matters, one of them being Las Cruces area Dem state Senator Joe Cervantes, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-sponsor of the redistricting bill approved by the Legislature. Reacting to the ruling, he declared; 

I predicted, and today the court affirmed, our work is lawful and constitutional. I wish I could pick race horses with the same confidence as legal outcomes. 

Predicting the redistricting outcome is one thing but predicting the winner of the southern congressional seat next year, which was at the heart of the redistricting battle, is another matter. Freshman Dem Rep. Gabe Vasquez seems especially vulnerable but former GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell has shown she not only knows how to win the district but also lose it. Any bets, Senator?

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