BFF's Colón & Balderas

The proxy war for the future of the New Mexican Democratic Party escalated again as outgoing Attorney General Hector Balderas came with an endorsement spot for State Auditor Brian Colón who is locked in a furious battle for the Democratic attorney general nomination with BernCo District attorney Raul Torrez.

The race has been so divisive and so personal that the contestants did not even shake hands at the end of their last TV debate. Now emotions are getting more worked up as the critical hour of decision nears not only for the candidates but for the proxy warriors behind them who now realize their unspoken ambitions to take future power have been fully revealed and are on the line. 

Balderas, a Dem polling favorite, has long nursed gubernatorial hopes of his own but had to put them on ice. Now he sees Heinrich, who he challenged for the US Senate nomination in 2012, come to the fore of Primary '22 with down the line support of Torrez to cement his position as undisputed leader of the party and as the frontrunner to replace MLG, assuming she is re-elected.

Balderas, a longtime BFF of Auditor Colón, had to relish the opportunity to take to the state's political stage with Heinrich and lock horns with him over their favored candidates--even if not directly. He narrates this spot: 

New Mexicans need an atorney general they can trust. . . I trust Brian Colón. As our next attorney general Brian will fight for our most vulnerable, protect working families, women's reproductive rights, consumers, and our democracy, all while cracking down on crime to keep us safe. Planned Parenthood, classroom educators, working families and Democrats like me agree--Brian Colón for attorney general. 

Traditional political analysis says the candidate attacking most late in the game is often the one behind. In this case it is Torrez who is using more of the hammer while Colón comes with softer stuff to close the deal. But turnout in a primary is often unpredictable. 

We'll bring home the winner for you Tuesday on KANW 89.1 FM and kanw.com starting at 6:30 p.m.  Dem State Rep. Moe Maestas and former GOP Rep. Alonzo Baldonado will have their torches brightly lit as they help guide us through the intricate web of La Politica on Primary Election Night. 

Dow

Well, traditional analysis certainly does not apply to the GOP Guv race unless you think Mark Ronchetti is threatened with losing a 28 percent lead he had in the ABQ Journal earlier this month. 

Even with that enormous lead, he blasts away at opponent Rebecca Dow with a vengeance. The negative ads are nonstop against her as if it were a cliff-hanger. Accused of overkill and and unnecessarily further dividing the state GOP, Ronchetti will get some payback from Dow. 

According to a source in the Dow inner circle, she will not be endorsing Ronchetti, if he wins June 7. We're told:

That can't surprise the Ronchetti camp who will shake it off by saying that it is inevitable that just about all Republicans will come home in the fight against MLG. But there is so much divisiveness in the two factions of the GOP that nothing is a given. 

Republicans have another choice. Some could skip voting in the Guv race and if it turned into a razor thin battle that could make the difference. Remember, in 2010 when Susana Martinez became a Republican Governor, today's party factions were just arising and had not been cemented as they are today. 

We asked attorney, former state legislator and veteran campaign consultant Greg Payne (a onetime Republican) for his take:

The late Dow hit was obviously unnecessary. There was no need for it other than to hit her for challenging him. Ronchetti is poised for victory and this ad was a tactical mistake. It could hurt him with Republican women. This is not about the merits of the ad. You use it if you need to. But when you don't you demonstrate a leadership temperament that looks beyond the moment and hold your fire. This is a race among two candidates of the same party. It’s supposed to be family in the end. If I were in MLG's shoes, I would soon be reaching out to Dow--not for an endorsement but for an appearance together that would send a message. 

What the GOP needs is a quick end to this primary and a peacemaker. They will get the former but the latter seems as elusive as ever. 

On the Wednesday blog we said that we had not seen any specific statement from Ronchetti about the possibility of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade. However, he did make this statement on the matter on Facebook: 

If the leaked opinion is accurate, then states will rightly make decisions regarding abortion that is consistent with the values of their citizens. I am strongly pro-life and pro-mother and do not believe that New Mexico’s standing as the late-term abortion capital of America is consistent with our values. I will fight to protect the unborn while supporting efforts to promote adoption. 

WHAT THEY'RE PAYING  

 We took a glance at some of the TV ad rates being charged to statewide primary candidates and found that as audiences continue to drift to other media, prices remain low.

For example, a 30 second spot on KOAT-TV's 10 p.m news is being sold for $450; the late night Jimmy Kimmel show goes for $150; The View, the daytime program popular with women, sells for $200 and Good Morning America commands $325.

One of the higher priced ads for the candidates is the $500 being charged for a 30 second spot on This Week, the Sunday morning ABC News public affairs program. Not many TV sets are tuned in at that hour but just about all of them belong to highly informed voters that the candidates want to reach. 

Rates are expected to go up with the heavier demand for political advertising for the November election, but the glory days are long gone. 

On the state House campaign trail, in what is one of the most watched Dem primaries state Rep. Roger Montoya, who is openly gay, is being snubbed by the gay rights group Equality New Mexico:

. . .Montoya was recently denied endorsement from Planned Parenthood because he now supports forced parental notification of abortion. In the year that the Supreme Court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, attacking Planned Parenthood—an organization that has been dedicated to providing safe, accessible, life-saving abortion care to our state—undermines the values that we, as New Mexicans, hold true. When Rep. Montoya refused to even apply for an endorsement from Equality New Mexico, he made clear that this is also an attack on organizations like ours, which work to uplift and fight for these truly New Mexican values.

There's really no home for pro-choice voters in that primary. Former state Rep. Joseph Sanchez is a  conservative Democrat challenging Montoya, and is also an abortion opponent. 

Another factor in the race in District 40 is the state's largest fire in history. The blaze is centered in the district and getting voter participation is a challenge amid the chaos that many residents must deal with in their personal lives. Mail delivery is also said to have been erratic. 

The district includes portions of Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties. This one is all D all the time. No R's need apply. The winner of the primary will get a two year lease on a Roundhouse office. 

CELEBRITY ENDORSIMENTS

In District 26 on ABQ's westside Dem voters are seeing some names that often appear in lights. Well-known comedian George Lopez has endorsed Cherise Quezada in her Dem House primary. She faces former state Representative and progressive Eleanor Chavez in a hotly contested race. Lopez says:

Fewer Latinos are voting in communities like yours and what's important is your voice needs to be heard. . . Cherise has been a tireless advocate for families in ABQ.

Quezada has also been endorsed by actor Bob Odenkirk of TV's Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. How did she pull off the big name backing? Well, having a husband as a well known actor who appeared in Breaking Bad doesn't hurt. That husband would be BernCo Commissioner Michael Quezada. 

As for Chavez she's no slouch in the endorsement department, either. First Endorser Martin Heinrich has given her his blessing as has the local Sierra Club chapter, Teamsters Local 492 and Planned Parenthood, among others. 

The district is Dem territory so the primary winner should take the prize but Republican Patrick. B Sais will be the GOP nominee who tries to resist the tide. The seat is being vacated by Dem state Rep. Georgene Louis.

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