It may not be machine politics like the old days, but Big Bill and his GOP counterpart, Mickey Barnett, reacquainted New Mexicans with the politics of yore last night with each powerful personality backing a slate of candidates in their respective party's primaries and, for the most part, ending up winners. Statewide Election Results

For the Guv, there was plenty of reason to kick back and light up one of his favorite cigars as Ben Ray Lujan, the 31 year old son of State House Speaker Ben Lujan, crushed fellow Democrat Bob Perls for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) in a race that never lived up to its billing. The young Lujan pulled off a rarity in New Mexico politics; riding the coattails of a well-known relative to power. Perls was left choking in the Lujan dust as the fresh face garnered nearly half the vote in a four man race. The teeny turnout attracted mainly the party faithful and they stayed loyal to the Lujan's.

One observer summed it up this way: "It was a big win for the Speaker and maybe even a bigger win for Bill, who finally has a toe hold in the powerful PRC. It was one of the last remaining institutions that was not in his realm. Now it it is."Not to mention a further cementing of the ties between Big Bill and the senior Lujan, That can't hurt come the next legislative session.

The Big Guy also rid himself of a political thorn up north as young attorney Hector Balderas pulled off the upset against Rep. Bengie Regensberg. Bill reportedly let loose with "Moving America Forward" PAC funds. Hector no doubt will thank the man when he takes his seat in the Roundhouse.

CONGRESS OR BUST

Richard Romero, another name on the Big Bill slate, won, which was expected, but Miles Nelson held him below the crucial 60 percent mark. Nelson, under the influence of Dem Party Chair Wertheim, promptly pledged his support to Richard, avoiding the continuation of a battle that was growing more personal by the day.

The one skunk at the Big Bill Election Night festivities was the loss of longtime State Senator Roman Maes in Santa Fe. But it was not enough to spoil the party as Maes was teetering the past few years, although the experts were again taken by surprise.

Not to give the Guv too much credit. The Lujan's played their cards smart by persuading two young and promising Hispanic candidates to get out of the PRC race in favor of Ben Jr. (OK, Maybe Bill helped a little there) And they showed a needed tough side when they hit with late attack TV against Perls.

And Romero, despite a sluggish start to his campaign, opted to conserve most of his cash for the fight against Heather Wilson in November, and still managed to get the job done.

Down South, Gary King did it on his own, reviving fond memories of his governor father for a little help, but his experience advantage over Jeff Steinborn carried the day. Gary hit 64% and while Romero will have a bit of an argument that Heather is vulnerable after last night's results, King's landslide will help to keep the doubters in line as he prepares to take on Rep. Steve Pearce.

MICKEY'S WORLD

Mickey Barnett. Say the name and there are no shades of gray. You're either with him or against him. But the lawyer-lobbyist and Republican National Committeeman took home the trophy Election Night. His slate of GOP challengers, excepting one, trounced their rivals.

Incumbent Rep. Larry Larranaga, with ties to both factions in the civil-war torn GOP, cozied up to Mickey to pull this one off over former State Rep. Rob Burpo who felt the full wrath of the Mickey machine and fell hard. But the cherry on top of a sweet evening for Barnett and followers of ex-GOP Chair John Dendahl, was the stomping administered to State Rep. Bob White at the hands of Barnett's office manager, Justine Fox-Young. The 25 year old now becomes the youngest member of our Legislature. If Young was a hard-sell, she showed her mettle by working it hard. Her big victory will help her shed the "Mickey puppet" label her opposition tagged her with when she travels to Santa Fe.

Like Big Bill, Barnett also lost one. Kathy McCoy sacked Mario Burgos in the Bernalillo County East Mountains. Her predecessor, Ron Godbey, carried the anti-Dendahlite flag for years. But with her fellow warriors slain, Kathy will have a heavy load to carry if she chooses to go toe-to-toe against the Barnett forces.

Down South, State Sen. "Lightning Rod" Adair and State Rep. Dan Foley carried the Mickey-Dendahl flag into battle in a big way, costing longtime State Rep. Earlene Roberts her House seat. Her support of mandatory ignition interlock devices on all cars was turned against her and she ended up roadkill. The victory furthers Foley's ambitions to become State House Minority Whip, replacing Joe Thompson who fell on his own sword when he was picked up for DWI earlier this year. But clearly, last night, with Thompson among those manning the front-lines, Barnett & Company rebounded mightily.

The results postpone a final reckoning for the GOP. It appears George Buffett's challenge to Barnett's National Committeeman post is now in critical condition. If Bush loses NM, the long knives will come out again. But for now raw political power has filled the vacuum in the strife-ridden GOP.

HESS DOESN'T BREAK CAMP

One of the GOP races playing outside of the intra-party war, was the PRC race featuring Hess Yntema and Ward Camp. Ward, serve up the crow! All the supposed experts (and amateurs such as me) forecast an Yntema win based on his name ID from serving on the ABQ City Council. But Camp inched by Hess by less than a hundred votes, riding momentum he created with his own pocket change in the last week of the campaign. Mr. Camp obviously believed in himself. And now all of us do too. The Camp victory gave politics what we love: the unexpected. Congratulations, Ward.

SENATOR TAYLOR?

We broke the news on KANW 89.1 FM last night that State House Majority Whip James Taylor may be in line for a Big Bill appointment to the State Senate when, as expected, Senate Majority leader Manny Aragon leaves his Bernalillo County South Valley senate seat to assume the presidency of Highlands University. At first, James seemed to shirk off the possibility, but soon admitted that he "was tired" of running every two years and perhaps wouldn't mind having those nice long four year senate terms. Insiders at the Capitol say he is the leading choice, and while not confirming that, Taylor clearly has the door open. Don't say we didn't tell you.

RIGHT HERE IN RIVER CITY

The stunner of the night for some in Bernalillo County was the defeat of veteran politico and Democratic County Treasurer Alex Abeyta. He was ousted by Partick Padilla, a former treasurer, by just a couple of hundred votes. The experts laid the blame at the feet of a third candidate, Ozzie Davis, an Hispanic with an Anglo last name, who they say cut into Alex's support in the NE Heights, letting Padilla sneak in. No one one saw it coming as Abeyta, a former county manager, had a solid record as Treasurer.

Turnout in the county hit a record primary low, less than 20% of registered voters. We assume it was about the same statewide, County Clerk Mary Herrerra continued her streak of mostly glitch-free vote counting by posting complete results (excepting a few that had to be hand-counted) by 11 p.m. That bodes well for her as friends tout her as a possible future contender for the Dems for Secretary of state. Bernalillo County Results

Former County Clerk Judy Woodward did not fare as well, falling to Deanna Archuleta-Loesser in the Dem primary for the SE Heights County Commission seat. But word on the street has it that some D's find Deanna to liberal and that the Republican in that area may get some to cross party lines in November to support him.

PAINTING THE BIG PICTURE

While much of the focus this election has been on those dueling Republicans, and rightly so, the big picture has the D's firmly in control. As of today, no dramatic change is expected in the party make-up of the Legislature after the November elections. And Kerry is sitting pretty right now against Bush. The small GOP hs provided a colorful and entertaining show, but the levers of power elude them. This Governor has restored party discipline among the party rank and file. His zest for the game of politics and his ability to consolidate and exercise power are impressive. Last night was a case in point. He played it safe for the most part, endorsing likely to win candidates, and while not scoring a touchdown, he again moved the ball down field.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
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