Those Tuesday election results from Florida and Wisconsin that have Democrats grinning from ear to ear are reverberating in the November ABQ mayoral race.

Elections are about energy and if the concern over Trump continues into the fall among Dems--(and why would it not?)--nationalizing the election could be a path to victory. 

That was partly the case in 2017 when Tim Keller won his first term. Dem turnout spiked in protest of Trump who had taken office that January and Keller, running as a progressive, won handily.

Flash forward to 2025. Again Trump began a presidential term in January and an ABQ mayoral election is slated for the fall. 

Keller is already zeroing in on the Trump factor, holding a townhall and issuing news releases to detail possible funding threats to the city by the White House and his plans to limit the damage.

By far the major issue cited when voters are asked about the city is crime, but Trump's policies could be a strong motivator for progressives. 

While Keller is accused of playing politics over Trump--and he is--but unlike 2017 the President's policies this time are much more threatening to the city. Who can best handle that threat as Mayor is a legitimate issue. 

That is a challenge to the three prominent conservatives in the field--White, Sanchez and Armijo--who need the election to be about Keller and crime and not Trump.

If no other candidate backed by progressives is motivated to take on Keller and split the progressive vote with him--as the conservatives are doing with their vote--Trump will remain a serious policy hurdle for Keller but also a political gift. 

UBALLEZ AND THE LEFT

Reader Carrie Garcia comes with her analysis of the chatter over former Dem US Attorney Alex Uballez possibly becoming a progressive mayoral contender:

Joe, Alex Uballez is aligned with far left non-profit activist groups and those are the ones pushing him to run—think ACLU, Center for Civic Policy, OLE. For them, Tim Keller is not progressive enough. The leaders of these groups are well-paid ideological purists. They hold Democratic elected officials like Tim Keller to impossible standards and they end up losing, regularly (read: Paid Family Medical Leave this past legislative session). So it’s not about younger and older progressives being divided. Most voters, even Democratic voters, have never heard of Alex Uballez. This is about these well-funded, unaccountable progressive groups wanting a candidate under their control. 

We received this from Oriana Sandoval of the Center for Civic Policy: 

Joe:  Your reader “Carrie Garcia” mentioned the Center for Civic Policy (CCP) in your April 3 post. CCP is a 501(c)(3) organization that does not engage in political activity, including electioneering and candidate recruitment. The claim that CCP is engaged in recruiting mayoral candidates. . .is blatantly false. 

And this from Andrea Serrano of Olé:

Hi Joe, It’s interesting your reader “Carrie Garcia” wrote so confidently about OLÉ - and missed the mark completely. OLÉ is a member-based 501(c)4 organization and while it is true that we endorse candidates who: a. complete our questionnaire and b. are aligned with our values, we have not endorsed in the 2025 Mayoral race and will do so later this spring. Focusing on issues that affect workers and families, we support candidates who deliver for New Mexicans and not corporations. I invite “Carrie” to email us at info@olenm.org if she has any further questions about our process and our organization.

AND ANOTHER 

Take two on Uballez:

 Joe, Don’t know that I agree with the Keller camp about Alex Uballez. I think he will run and he will try to capitalize on his recent TV coverage from the DWI scandal. But he is counting on voters believing he spearheaded the investigation when he is simply prosecuting the players who were investigated by the FBI. 

He will also open the door to scrutiny from his time at the DA’s office, where he prosecuted DWI’s. All the while, Tom Clear was bribing APD DWI officers without anyone noticing. He probably should have recused himself in the federal prosecution. 

As for being tough on crime, what happened to prosecuting gun crimes in Downtown Albuquerque. Uballez stood with Keller at a news conference promising to take a federal hammer to teens and guns in the heart of Albuquerque.

VOX POPULI

A Santa Fe reader comments on our coverage of the very early going in the race for the '26 Dem Guv nomination:  

Joe, Deb Haaland won’t be served well by going negative early. That's the job of the consultants and she should stay well away from it. If Sam Bregman sticks to “all Crime all the time “ and can avoid being smeared by his clients' dubious records ( not his he certainly can’t be faulted for his record in defending the worst of the worst) he will be Okay, But Ok doesn’t win. He will have to crack the liberal bastions in the cities where Haaland has high popularity.

Reader Mitchell Freedman asks:

Hi Joe, I saw your post where It talked about a poll among likely primary voters where State Treasurer Laura Montoya was included as a gubernatorial candidate. I have never heard of her running. Is there an exploratory committee for Laura? 

Treasurer Montoya is not running. Her name appeared to be included in that poll to test the strength of a lone Hispanic candidate running with Haaland and Bregman. The survey was conducted in early December by PPP. Who commissioned the poll has not been publicly disclosed.  

More on the race. . .

Hey Joe, this is Freddie Lopez. With Sam Bregman entering the gubernatorial race, the Democratic primary is going to be absolutely brutal with the contrast between progressives and moderates. Haaland seems on course to beat Bregman when it comes to fundraising with her early haul of over $2 million so Bregman will have a huge challenge. On messaging, Haaland will have to take a more centrist stance on the issues but her record says otherwise. Bregman can use that to his advantage if he can defend his own record. This is going to be very interesting to witness.

Thanks for tuning in. 

Reporting from ABQ, I'm Joe Monahan

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.