There may be a strong antipathy in some quarters toward the powerful oil and gas industry but the news is not filled with reports of a ban on fracking or a hike of the royalty rates the industry pays. 

Maybe, just maybe, that has a little something to do with the financial support the industry gives many of our 112 lawmakers in Santa Fe.

That conclusion is hard to escape when scanning a list of contributions made by Chevron, just one of the oil giants drilling away in the lucrative Permian Basin in SE New Mexico and reaping millions in profits but also filling state coffers with historically high royalty and tax payments.

Chevron lobbyist Patrick Killen's lobbyist report for the January-May period shows $248,000 in contributions to legislators and the party committees involved in the legislative races. That may not be very much for Chevron but it is a tidy sum for the smallish legislative campaigns. 

Chevron's donations for the period are weighted to their GOP allies but eight Democrats, including the two most powerful--the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee-- also received donations. That can help getting an opinion heard when it comes time for decision-making on key industry issues. 

We put Chevron's contributions to the majority Democrats in bold. Take a look:

Republican Campaign Committee of New
Mexico Chevron USA, Inc. $27,500.00

The Speaker Fund (House Democratic
legislative campaign committee)
Chevron USA, Inc. $27,500.00 

PAC 22 (Senate Republican legislative caucus
committee) Chevron USA, Inc. $27,500.00

New Mexico House Republican Campaign
Committee Chevron USA, Inc. $27,500.00 

3/27/2024 New Mexico Senate Democrats $27,500.00

3/27/2024 GOP Rep. Jenifer Jones Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00 

3/29/2024 GOP Rep. Alan Martinez Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/29/2024 GOP Rep. Harlan Vincent Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/29/2024 GOP Rep. Randall Pettigrew Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 Dem Rep. Art De La Cruz Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 GOP Rep. Brian Baca Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 GOP Rep. Jackey Chatfield Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 GOP Rep. Joshua Sanchez Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00 

3/30/2024 Dem Rep. Pamelya Herndon Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 GOP Rep. Preston Duncan Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/30/2024 Dem. Rep. Reena Szczepanski Chevron USA, Inc. $5,500.00
3/30/2024 GOP Rep. Rodney Montoya Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00 

3/30/2024 GOP Sen. William Sharer Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
3/31/2024 Dem Rep. Charlotte Little Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/1/2024 GOP Rep. Andrea Reeb Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/1/2024 GOP Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00

4/1/2024 GOP Rep. James Townsend Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/1/2024 GOP Rep. Jimmy Mason Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/1/2024 GOP Rep. Luis Terrazas Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/1/2024 GOP Rep. Martin Zamora Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00 

4/1/2024 GOP Sen. Pat Woods Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/2/2024 GOP Rep. Cathrynn Brown Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/2/2024 GOP Rep. Jared Hembree Chevron USA, Inc. $5,500.00
4/3/2024 Dem Sen. Bill O'Neill Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/3/2024 Dem Sen. Pete Campos Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00
4/3/2024 GOP Rep. Stefani Lord Chevron USA, Inc. $3,000.00 

4/30/2024 Dem Rep. Meredith Dixon Chevron USA, Inc. $5,500.00
5/2/2024 Dem Rep. Javier Martinez Chevron USA, Inc. $5,500.00
5/2/2024 Dem Rep. Nathan Small Chevron USA, Inc. $5,500.00

This is from only one oil company. There are others also giving.

Through their lobbyist, ConocoPhillips donated $45,000 to 41 lawmakers--about half of them Democrats--during the reporting period, with Speaker Martinez and Chairman Small receiving the largest donations, $5,500 and $2,000 respectively. Most other donations were $1,000.

Through their lobbyist Marathon oil came with $60,000 for 14 lawmakers, including 11 Democrats. 

$5,000 went to Dem Sen. George Munoz, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and $2,500 was donated to Marsella Duarte who is challenging ABQ westside Dem progressive Rep. Yanira Gurrola in the June 4 primary in District 16.

While the donations may have influence we would add that proposals such as banning fracking and raising the royalty rates on oil are not widely supported--with or without contributions--since the industry remains vital to the state's economy as well as the health of the state budget.  

WHAT TO DO?

What do you do when your opponent's financial disclosure statement shows she could be closing in on a personal worth of nearly $100 million? Well, if you are Dem Senator Martin Heinrich reacting to Republican Nella Domenici's towering wealth, you try to raise your own pile of money. His campaign says in a fundraising missive:

Martin’s hedge fund executive challenger is worth up to $94 million. We knew that she was a multi-millionaire who built a career out of making the ultra-wealthy wealthier, but new financial disclosures give us a bigger picture of how much she can invest in this race — from sending misleading mailers to launching bad-faith TV ads. She’s already poured half a million dollars into this race, and she could drop millions more at any time to tip the scales in her direction. Meanwhile, she’s largely avoiding sharing her stances on the key issues New Mexicans care about. She would rather buy this election than actively participate in it. We can defeat Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate one grassroots contribution at a time. Will you help us prepare for the inevitable flood of massive spending and attack ads by pitching in with an emergency donation of $10 or more now? 

Several readers reacted to our blog this week where we pointed out that several wealthy politicians had no problem getting elected and re-elected. They pointed out that ABQ businessman Phil Maloof famously spent $8 million to try to unseat ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson in 1998. Here's more on the long lodt tale of Phil Maloof.

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