Welcome back. Here are your Election Eve headlines.

Longtime NM pollster Brian Sanderoff says we're going low--maybe real low--when it comes to voter turnout for tomorrow's primary election. He reports that the recent average turnout for a primary has been 35 percent of the state's registered major party voters but the political seer warns: "We may not even achieve that."

The lower the turnout the better for State Auditor Brian Colón in his battle for the Democratic nomination for attorney general with Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez. That's the only major race still holding any suspense for the political pros. Colón's candidacy appeals to older and conservative Dems who are more likely to cast ballots in a low-key primary having little competition for congressional and other major offices. Torrez's appeal is deeper with progressives and younger voters. Colón's Achilles Heel is Bernalillo County where Torrez is expected to chalk up a win and appeared to have the momentum going into Election Day. If that win goes higher than about six percent, it could be lights out early for Colón's Election Night party. 

Our 34 year long tradition of providing wall to wall Election Night results continues tomorrow starting at 6:30 p.m. on public radio KANW 89.1 FM and kanw.com. ABQ Dem State Rep. Moe Maestas and former Valencia County GOP state Rep. Alonzo Baldonado will lead our team of expert analysts. No wonder. It's a Baker's Dozen of Democratic House primaries that has the Alligators running in circles. Those races will provide major clues as to whether liberal ABQ Rep. Javier Martinez and moderate Dem Rep. Patrica Lundstorm of Gallup will compete for the House speakership being vacated by Brian Egolf. Lundstrom is hoping for more moderate Dems to win and Martinez the opposite. For that and much more join us on KANW Election Night. We guarantee voters will deliver at least one big surprise and probably more. 

President Biden will bring his entourage and low polling numbers to Santa Fe Saturday where he will assess the damage from the historic wildfires that have engulfed over 300,000 acres in northern New Mexico. The blazes are the fault of the US Forest Service for letting a "prescribed burn" get out of hand. The state watches to see if the President will take that agency to the woodshed for causing the disaster. At the least Biden can be expected to announce--at the behest of MLG--robust federal aid to the residents whose lives were upended by the flames. The big story would be if he didn't. 

Ronchetti foe Rebecca Dow may lose but she did force her rival to spend down his campaign kitty. Or you could argue Ronchetti erred by spending too much after the Journal poll showed him 28 points ahead so he could bury Dow instead of just soundly beating her.  

Will CYA at CYFD become a campaign issue in the Guv contest? The agency has been flailing for years and MLG has been unable to rein it in as scandalous child abuse cases continue. The latest sensational report has the troubled agency actually covering up a case of child abuse that could have been stopped by the agency but ended with the brutal death of a four year old boy. The Guv's first pick to lead the department was forced out under an ethical cloud. A retired state supreme court justice is now CYFD secretary but has no significant experience in the CYFD field. MLG does. But it isn't showing.

Take your pick. Will Michelle Garcia Holmes or Louie Sanchez (not the ABQ city councilor Sanchez) win the GOP nomination for the right to challenge Dem US Rep. Melanie Stansbury? Even the pros are stumped by this below-the radar contest. There's been no media to speak of from either. That, of course, sits fine with Stansbury who is just getting used to her new district that now includes a swath of rural territory, not just the ABQ area, but it remains dominant Democratic. She was first elected at a June '21 special election so '22 will be her first full election test. 

Sec. of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is taking some heat for setting up a Rumor vs. Reality website aimed at debunking election misinformation. But why? Former President Trump has indicted the election process over and over again and destroyed the confidence of so many voters. MTO should be faulted for not having the SOS website compatible with Safari web browsers, not her website on voter misinformation. 

Both Torrez and Colón have political curses on them, according to the keepers of legend of La Politica. (List of the keepers provided only to Alligators in excellent standing.) 

First, there is Raul's beard. When, oh when, has a first-time, bearded candidate been elected to statewide office? You probably can't think of any either. Then there is Brian with his last name which is not New Mexican but Puerto Rican. Will some generations-old families opt for the more familiar Torrez?

It comes down to this. The Dem primary is tantamount to the General Election since no Republican has been elected AG since 1986. So Raul, instead of going for an Election Day haircut, a ritual for many candidates, just shave the beard Tuesday morning and you may shed the curse. Then if you win you can regrow the beard for November. And Brian, just for this Election Day change your name to Brian Balderas. Folks will understand that you do what you have to do to get a political curse off your head. 

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