Trump Shadow Emerges In GOP State Senate Primaries; Some Candidates Heap Their Praises; Others Look To Lay Low, Plus: A Blog Reader Who Has Never Missed

This is New Mexico not Alabama so there are still Republicans here who don't genuflect at the mention of Donald Trump. And that is going to be an issue in GOP state primaries.

Already former Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block is touting his love for Trump as he faces non-Trumper and former state Senator Candace Gould in the GOP race for District 12 in Sandoval County  County and parts fof BernCo. His campaign says:

Commissioner Block (has endorsed Trump). He has been a longtime supporter. At his last campaign rally in New Mexico in 2019 in Rio Rancho Block was honored to have been selected to greet President Trump  and ride in his motorcade. 

Americans, and specifically New Mexicans, have had their backs broken by Biden's failed policies. Our dollar is now worth much less because, instead of building back better, Biden built back broke. As a border state, New Mexicans see the impacts of a wide open border. . . Crime and addiction to fentanyl are at an all-time high. Under Trump's Presidency, our economy was booming. .  Donald Trump had my support in 2016, 2020, and I’m proud to endorse him again in 2024. 

Block looks to cash in on those Trump credentials because Gould was close to the Gov. Martinez's political machine which was not close to Trump.

Supporting Trump may not be Block's only advantage over Gould. The new District 12 is made up of much of Block's old commission district and includes Rio Rancho and Paradise Hills neighborhoods in Bernalillo County.

Gould was defeated in her 2021 re-election bid by Dem Katy Duhigg in Senate District 10. Much of that old district has now been absorbed into District 12. She still has a shot at the win but the chances were higher before Block announced his bid.  

 

The primary winner stands to take the November election The new district is 37% Democrat and 37% Republican. Phil Ramirez is the sole Dem seeking his party's nomination.

ENDORSES TRUMP

Like Block former state Senator Michael Wiener, who is running in a three way GOP primary for District 21 in ABQ's NE Heights, expects most primary voters to be Trump backers. Wiener, who served in the senate in the 90's and is a former BernCo Commissioner says:

I am adding the words "Endorses Trump' to all my campaign signs because I believe backing him against Biden is essential and because I want to show that there is at least one candidate in the race who is behind him. 

Wiener's opponents in the GOP primary are Nicole Tobiassen and John Craig Morton. Morton is known to be a Trump supporter. Tobiassen is seen as the middle of the road contender who, like ex-Sen. Gould, may try to thread the needle when it comes to the ex-president. 

District 21 is represented by the retiring Mark Moores, the only GOP senator from ABQ. 

Retired law enforcement officer Phillip Snedeker and Athena Ann Christodoulou are seeking the Dem nod in the June 4 primary.

NEVER MISSED ONE

Monahan in 2006 (Bralley)

Longtime reader Patrick Milligan (and we mean longtime) writes:

Hi Joe, this is Patrick Milligan from two decades ago. I ran for ABQ City Council way back in 2003. I just wanted to say hi. I haven’t missed reading a single day of your work since 2003. Great job! 

I retired from Sandia Labs after 32 years two years ago and moved to Abilene, Texas and love it here. It’s a little closer to my political DNA. 

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and put in a good word for one of my ex-employees from Sandia. Republican Clay Pryor is running for Bernalillo County Clerk. I know he has a tough road ahead but I will be interested to see how he does. 

Again, hello from Texas and I love your work. It’s a must read for me every morning. 

Yikes! That reminds us of how long we've been at this (20 years as of last October) and of the times and memories we've shared with so many New Mexicans and others. Thanks for those kind words, Patrick, and for that incredible streak of checking in here. Here you are on the blog of April 3, 2004. 

That entry was from a Saturday, reflecting a time when we reported and blogged up to seven days a week as we worked to establish the blog as the go to place for New Mexico politics. 

We succeeded in that ambition, thanks to Milligan and so many others.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.  

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2024