Where is the crusty sometimes caustic Steve Pearce? Well, that side of the GOP Guv nominee remains in deep hiding as his campaign continues its effort to pump up his likability as well as encroach on traditional Democratic territory, especially women voters who are heavily aligned with Dem nominee Michelle Lujan Grisham. So here you have Steve Pearce, aka, "Mr. Softy" delivering his latest TV pitch:

It's hard for a child to learn when they're hungry or being abused at home. Let's stop blaming teachers for problems they didn't create. I'm Steve Pearce. My mom loved teaching. But now Santa Fe asks teachers to be truant officers of social workers. Let our teachers teach. Fix our broken test system and put more money into classrooms. Good teachers don't give up on their kids. As Governor, I will not give up on our teachers.

That's some pivot away from the current GOP orthodoxy espoused so strongly by Governor Martinez. She has made a major enemy of the teacher unions by pushing what Pearce calls the "broken test system." Also, public education has suffered budget cuts under the current Governor (due to a struggling economy and previous tax cuts) and Pearce, known for his small government philosophy, is now advocating a spending increase. If you didn't know better, you might mistake him for a moderate Democrat.

Throughout the spot Pearce sports a smile and soft tone. It's probably the most smiling the curmudgeonly congressman has done since Ronald Regan was elected.

MLG's campaign wasn't buying the new Pearce, saying of his ad:

As a state legislator, Pearce voted against a bipartisan bill to fund child sexual abuse counseling [HB 584 1997]. Pearce wants to keep PARCC: “He has said he is hesitant to do away with the controversial math and reading test because educators and students have become accustomed to it.”

And we’ll end up with “the same thing” when it comes to teacher evaluations: “He believes the evaluations wear down teacher morale and would hit a “reset” button — working with educators and administrators to review the system and possibly come up with another method. But he says the state “may end up with the same thing.”

HIT HIM AGAIN

The Dem special interests are not letting the week pass without another effort at busting Pearce's chops. The political arm of Conservation Voters NM has come with a big $500,000 TV buy against him.

Like the $275,000 ad buy Pearce was hit with and paid for by the Dem Governor's Association, this attack also centers on his ties to the oil and gas industry and positions him as an enemy of the environment. A narrator, identified as rancher and CVNM member Don Schreiber, recites this script:

I've hunted new Mexico's  public lands since I was 12 years old. The big oil and gas companies treat these lands like they’re theirs to do with whatever they want. But really, they belong to our kids and grandkids. Steve Pearce took millions in contributions from the oil and gas industry… and pushed to open more land to drilling. Pearce even voted to make it easier to privatize our public lands and shrink our national monuments. I don’t trust Steve Pearce to protect New Mexico, and neither should you.

This ad might serve to strengthen Dem base votes for MLG concerned about environmental issues and perhaps make some inroads with hunters who prize access to the public lands but all in all, like the DGA ad before it, this is a soft hit. Going forward it is Pearce's transformation from a conservative to moderate that will have to be unmasked by the Dems.

And here's a piece of trivia about the CVNM ad. The Don Schreiber in it is the first husband of Diane Denish, who was the 2010 Dem nominee for Governor. Schreiber lives in Blanco in the Four Corners.

RATINGS BOOST

The Dems got a bit of boost this week when Politico--one of the DC outlets that rates the races for Governor--reiterated the NM contest as "likely Democrat." Other DC raters have it as "Lean Dem." The Politico and the other raters continue to call the southern congressional race between Republican Yvette Herrell and Democrat Xochitl Torres Small "Lean Republican."

Meanwhile, a poll conducted for Dem Attorney General Hector Balderas, who is seeking a second four year term, shows him beating his two opponents--Republican Michael Hendricks and Libertarian A. Blair Dunn by a margin of 51-30-7.  The poll also asked about the Governors race and had it 52% for MLG and 42 for Pearce.

The survey was conducted by Global Strategy Group and polled 601 likely voters August  27-30. The campaign says the poll was conducted using live telephone interviews.

LETTER FROM THE REZ

Joe Shirley

We've been remiss in reporting the outcome of the Navajo Nation presidential primary held last week in which the two top contenders in a crowded field advanced to the Nov. 6 general election. But fear not. Our Navajo Alligator, who reporte on the primary, is back with a look ahead:

Joe, the primary election put forward two divergent candidates. A young vice president--Jonathan Nez--who is a former council member and is known for tackling marathons and invoking his Christian faith; as well as former president – Joe Shirley Jr.  who at the age of 70 is running his fourth campaign for the tribal presidency. More importantly, the tribal electorate handed Navajo President Russell Begaye his pink slip and did it overwhelmingly by giving him a fifth place showing and only a little more than 3,000 votes. He was bested by his Vice President Nez by 14,000 votes.

Jonathan Nez

In November, the Navajo Nation will have to choose between Nez and Shirley, who selected their running mates from a vast pool, but are two relatively unknown business professionals. 

 All the candidates are from Arizona and could work hard in New Mexico to get the attention of voters who don’t have a hometown candidate to root for. 

In fact, last week both Navajo presidential candidates stood in the background of a Gallup event hosted by US Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic nominee for NM Governor. Both Nez and Shirley are professed Democrats and count on their support. 

Turnout for the primary was high, around 65 percent, and is expected to go into the low 70s in November as interest mounts. In Arizona, New Mexico and Utah there are fellow Navajos and “friends” of Navajos up and down the ballot. Thank you Joe.

Hey, thank you, Navajo Gator. If it's about New Mexico politics, we cover it like a wet blanket.

THE BOTTOM LINES

About the question of whether 83 year old ABQ Dem legislative candidate Bill Pratt would be the oldest person ever elected to the legislature. The key word is "elected." Several readers rightly pointed out that we have a number of lawmakers who have won at the polls after the age of 83, but they were re-elected and first elected at a much younger age. We don't think state records for the past 100 years would provide us a definite answer as to who was the oldest ever elected. Even David Abbey wasn't around back then.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018