Rep. Sanchez

From El Norte we see that state Rep. Joseph Sanchez has stockpiled $175,000 in cash in his campaign kitty, a huge sum for a lawmaker not in leadership. 

The conservative Democrat is seeking his third consecutive term to House District 40 in Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel and Taos counties. He is surrounded by a sea of liberals and is taking no chances. 

Sanchez of Alcalde works as an engineer at Los Alamos. 

He already faces a progressive primary opponent next June and has seen others of his ideological stripe (think Rep. Ambrose Castellano)  fall to the progressive machine.  

His rival is Nancy Jane Wright who worked as a pediatrician in Las Vegas for 20 years and serves on the Native American Advisory Committee for BeWell, New Mexico's Health Insurance Marketplace.

It looks as though Sanchez's conservative stances on abortion and gun control will be on the firing line. 

If so, he may need more than that $175K. 

SPACEPORT BLUES  

When it comes to long-awaited regular commercial space tourism flights by Virgin Galatic from the NM Spaceport near T or C the kicking of the can goes on and on. The latest: 

The Richard Branson-founded space tourism venture financial restructuring has all the hallmarks of a company trying to buy itself more runway before it runs out of cash. . .A. . .plan designed to cut debt by $152 million. . .sounds good on paper,but details reveal a company performing financial gymnastics to stay solvent. . . Virgin Galactic has been unprofitable every single quarter since going public six years ago. . .CEO Michael Colglazier said in November that the company is on track to begin commercial operations at the end of 2026, though most current customers won't actually fly until 2027 when flight capacity ramps up. As of September 20, Virgin Galactic had approximately $424 million in cash—funds that are clearly being stretched to cover ongoing expenses.

The legislature has been patiently putting up about $4 million a year to keep the Spaceport going. Other commercial ventures have met with more success there but leading lawmakers like Sen. George Munoz have previously said the Spaceport should be sold.   

Shares of Virgin Galactic dropped 18.90% to $3.69 when the restructuring was announced, reflecting the market's concern. 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.