AOC's PAC goes for TLF and that's another boost for the campaign of Teresa Leger Fernandez as she works to gain national fund-raising ground on chief rival Valerie Plame.

The endorsement from the PAC of Dem star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez will not only mean more cash but a jolt of momentum for TLF going into the crucial March 7 Dem pre-primary convention where candidates will compete for a spot on the June 3 primary ballot.

Plame, the outed CIA spy, has jumped ahead in fund-raising in the battle for the northern congressional district nomination, using her national fame to generate donations. But Fernandez has also won the endorsement of Emily's List which has helped her nationally.

The backing of the AOC Courage to Change PAC also places Fernandez more firmly in the party's left wing where Plame is firmly planted. The other name competitor, Santa Fe County District Attorney Marco Serna, is currying favor with more moderate Dems. Former congressional staffer John Blair is competing on the left with Plame and Fernandez.

The June 2 primary is the ball game in the north so we essentially are having a primary and general election at the same time. The district is solid Dem and the winner is pretty much a lock to go to the halls of Congress.

In its first endorsements of the cycle the AOC PAC also backed Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez for Texas Senate, House candidates Kara Eastman of Nebraska, Georgette Gomez of California, Marie Newman of Illinois, Jessica Cisneros of Texas and Samelys Lopez of New York.

LEGISLATIVE LEFTOVERS

Some follow-up on stuff we covered in the 30 day session. . .

The hassle over how much money to provide in economic relief as the Escalante Generating Station coal-fired plant in McKinley County shutters at the end of the year was resolved with a compromise.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Lundstrom, an economic planner whose district includes McKinley, wanted $15 million from the state paired with $5 million from Tri State Generation which owns the plant. Senate Finance Committee chairman John Arthur Smith wanted that shaved to $5 million. In the end the budget provided $10 million.

The closure is a big deal. The plant employs over 110 workers with an average salary of $76,000. When that goes away, look out below.

This funding was one of those tense subplots that emerged between Lundstrom and Smith this session. And there will be more to come.

HIGH IMPACT

Then there's the issue of federal "Impact Aid." That's the money that mainly goes to western NM school districts located on federal land--mostly Native American--that have low tax bases because the federal land is tax exempt.

Seventy five percent of that aid--over $60 million--is taken by Santa Fe and distributed statewide. That irks to no end the needy schools there. At the buzzer, the schools districts won $18 million in one year funding they can use for infrastructure needs, but not the classroom. It was something, but Sen. Clemente Sanchez and other western lawmakers wanted a more permanent solution but one was never heard by the Senate Education Committee. Permanent funding did make it through the House.

GREENER PASTURES 

Talk about being lured away to greener pastures--and they are much greener. Political pro Brad Elkins has left his post as manager of Rep. Ben Ray Lujan's US Senate campaign to take on the role of Deputy Director of States Paid Media for the campaign of Dem presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. The former NYC mayor and media billionaire is known to be shelling out generous salaries to his many hires.

Elkins has a lengthy track record in congressional politics, including as manager of Senator Martin Heinrich's 2018 re-elect. His new duties have him posted in New York but he can afford to have the green chile shipped.

Lauren French, Lujan's campaign communications chief, is now the acting manager. The former Politico reporter says a new manager will be named "in short order." Meanwhile, New Mexican and nationally known consultant Dan Sena remains a key adviser to Lujan who is favored to keep the Senate seat in the Dem column this year.

Lujan, a native of Nambé who is in his sixth term in the House from the northern district, is unopposed for the Dem nomination in the June primary.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020