Another warning shot is fired across the bows of centrist Dem gubernatorial candidates Sam Bregman and Ken Miyagishima:

Democrats are more liberal now than they have been at any point in modern polling history. CNN's chief data analyst said that 59 percent of Democrats identified as liberal in a new Gallup/CBS News poll, the highest since pollsters began asking the question in 1976. 

At one time the "L" word was verboten among Dems like Hillary Clinton as the party courted the center buy not in the Trump era. That leaves Deb Haaland alone in the Dem Guv race appealing to the liberals while the self-proclaimed centrists try to figure out a path to victory. 

The first warning sign for Sam and Ken was the result of the ABQ mayoral race where the GOP candidate managed only 42 percent of the vote and where progressives united behind Mayor Keller after initial division.  

THE DUKE DISS 

On the GOP side Duke Rodriguez is throwing shade at BernCo DA Bregman and also at this chief rival for his party's nomination.

Rodriguez told a gubernatorial forum sponsored last week by the NM Society of Association Executives that Republicans should support Farmington area state Senator Steve Lanier, if they don't back him. That undercut Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull. Declared Rodriguez:

We have never elected a former mayor, current mayor, to the governor's office. That's a fact, and it's not going to happen. I'm sorry, kid, it's not going to happen in November either. I love Steve Lanier. He's a leader of our state party. If you don't vote for me, I'll tell you right now, vote for Steve. 

Rodriguez also asserted that Bregman is a dead duck in his race with Haaland as he cited one of her early campaign polls:

The DA is not going to be your candidate. The last poll showed Deb Haaland at 55%, he closed in at 19. Alright, it's not going to happen. Sam Bregman is 2.0 Jeff Apodaca, let's be honest. . .So you're going to have two candidates, and they're going to be distinctively different. 

Jeff Apodaca is a centrist Dem who ran unsuccessfully for the Dem party Guv nod against MLG in 2018. 

The difference between Rodriguez and Haaland would indeed be "distinctively different" but Rodriguez is not ready to point out those differences, keeping his eye on the primary. He told the executives that the former Sec. of Interior is "an activist who deserves the respect and credit of all she's done. She does." 

Rodriguez's views, circulated in an audio clip and transcript by Democratic operatives, echoes the current conventional wisdom but the primary election is not until June 2 so there is still time for the candidates to change the course of the race, 

FIRST TEST

The first big test for the Dem Guv contenders comes at the March 7 Pre-Primary Convention. That's where delegates will rank the candidates for position on the primary ballot. A minimum of 20 percent of the delegate vote required to win an official position. A candidate who fails that threshold would have to submit additional petition signatures to get a spot--not to mention the severe political hit they would take over the failure.

Bernalillo County Dem Party Secretary Daniel Garcia outlines details for Democrats wanting to attend the pre-primary:

Think of the Pre-Primary as the doorway into the Democratic Party’s decision-making process. It’s how local Democrats help decide which candidates earn a place on the Democratic primary ballot. Long before TV ads or campaign signs, this process shapes the choices voters across New Mexico will later see. To participate, you must be a registered Democrat by January 15, 2026. Registration for the Pre-Primary opens on January 17.

The date for the GOP pre-primary has not yet been announced but must take place by March 18. 

MONDRAGON REMEMBERED (CONT.)  

One more remembrance of former Dem Lt. Governor Roberto Mondragon who died at 85 this month. It's a news report from back in the day sent by former Dem state Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino:  

A little known piece of U.S. political trivia is that Mondragón received one delegate vote for the presidential nomination at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. However, his vote was mistakenly tallied for “Mao Tse-tung” because of a clerical error. Mao Tse-tung, got one vote, according to the official proceedings. Given the extreme liberalism of that gathering, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but in fact the vote for Mao was really a vote for New Mexico’s Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragón. In the chaos of that balloting (79 different people received votes, and the spectacle delayed George McGovern’s acceptance speech until 3 a.m.), the recording secretary misheard “Mondragón” as “Mao Tse-tung” and blithely moved on. 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.