Duke Rodriguez

When it comes to Republicans Darren White and Duke Rodriguez, what you have is two Republicans peas in the same pod. 

White, the Republican ABQ mayoral hopeful who was defeated this month, claimed that his primary residence was in Florida and when busted for that falsehood, had to pay back the tax break he had taken for the declaration.

Duke Rodriguez, the just announced candidate for the '26 gubernatorial nomination, is tangled up like an octopus in a fishing net as he tries unconvincingly to claim that his long voting record in Arizona does not jeopardize his claim that he has been a NM resident for five consecutive years as required by the state constitution.

Darren was forced to resign as ABQ's Public Safety Director under GOP Mayor Berry when his then wife had a serious traffic accident and he intervened with the police investigation.

White

Duke was forced to resign as as Secretary of Human Services in 1997, forced out because of a scandal over a business he owned receiving payments from Medicaid even as his department supervised Medicaid. 

Both Darren and Duke went against GOP orthodoxy by starting marijuana businesses. In doing so White, a former Sheriff, was forced to retract his long-held stance in opposition to legal pot.  

Rodriguez not only dove into the marijuana business in Arizona and New Mexico but he and his firm were major lobbyists for the legislation that saw the state legalize marijuana.

Darren and Duke have both blessed Dem Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham with generous campaign donations--in the five figure range--as they pursued their marijuana interests. Giving money to a Dem would have been called an act of political heresy not long ago in the GOP but today the beat goes on. 

In spite of all of the above, Republicans, desperate and distraught over years of internal fighting, united behind White's candidacy and predictably he suffered a near landslide defeat at the hands of Dem Mayor Keller.

Those Republicans who say that Duke can't possibly win the GOP Guv nomination because of his weighty baggage must be blissfully unaware that Darren has already paved the path for him. 

Rodriguez can and will probably win the nomination, if his residency survives a likely court challenge--and it probably will.

Combine that with his willingness to spend upwards of $2 million of his own money. If he shows the green to the GOP they will go ga ga and nominate him and his problems will be lovingly received by whoever is the Dem Guv nominee following the June primary.

Since the advent of Trump everything has been upside down in GOP land. Candidates like Duke and Darren in past times would be gripping to life survivors to stay afloat. No more. 

The problem is Democrats and independents notice and will reject baggage-laden contenders. The GOP needs fresh faces but can't attract any because losing begets losing and the result is a one party state. 

As the man once said, that's the rest of the story.  

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