Gaming The Next State House GOP Leader; Rep. Armstrong May Have Inside Lane; Sports A Variety Of Credentials

Rep. Gail Armstrong

Of the three names being bandied about to replace Ryan Lane as state House Minority Leader, Rep. Gail Armstrong is looking like the obvious choice.

Armstrong is the spouse of Dale Armstrong and is co-owner with him of the mega plumbing and AC company TLC that has oodles of customers and a fair share of government contracts. The couple also have a ranch in Magdalena in Socorro County. She was raised on a ranch in Datil, NM in Catron County. 

Rep. Armstrong is already in leadership as the House GOP Caucus Chair. In addition she's been in the Legislature since 2017 and is running unopposed for re-election this year. That gives her plenty of time to hit the phones for campaign cash to keep the House GOP from being pushed further into oblivion by the near super-majority Dems who control 45 of the House seats to the GOP's 25.

In fact, Armstrong is that rare political creature who has never had an opponent--not a Republican, Democrat or independent--and this is the fourth election cycle she's on the ballot. 

She was appointed to fill the Socorro area seat (District 49) when then House Speaker Don Tripp resigned in 2017 and whom she worked for as a legislative aide. 

Importantly she has the ability to work with both the Trumpers and non-Trumpers in the divided GOP. 

Calm, open and sporting a collaborative style is how former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish describes her. 

So Armstrong checks numerous boxes but what about policy chops? Well, she is the senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee and has been active with health care and education issues. 

Just this week she invited MLG to ride along with rural students to and from school as the debate continues over a state rule that could eliminate the four day school week and that much of rural New Mexico is not fond of.

Cathrynn Brown of Carlsbad and Rod Montoya of Farmington are the other names making the rounds for the leadership post but Armstrong would appear to have the edge in the credentials department. Coming off the short and ill-fated tenure of the inexperienced Lane, that may loom large when the House GOP members make their selection in the days ahead.

THE BOTTOM LINES

In the first draft Monday the name of Senate District 21 candidate John Morton was misspelled and we omitted the name of Dem candidate and retired law enforcement office Philip Snedeker.

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