A new poll conducted by Research & Polling for the Albuquerque Journal found that incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham leads her closest opponent by 7 points in the upcoming general election. The same poll found that Democrats have larger leads in the other statewide races this fall. The poll found that Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, has the support of 47 percent of likely voters, while Republican Mark Ronchetti has the support of 40 percent and Libertarian Karen Bedonie has the support of 5 percent. Another 8 percent were undecided. The Journal said that female voters and Hispanic voters are driving Lujan Grisham’s lead in her attempt for reelection.
A new poll commissioned by an environmental group showed that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has a small lead in her reelection campaign against Republican Mark Ronchetti. The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for EDF Action, found that the Democratic incumbent had the support of 48 percent of likely voters compared to 44 percent for Ronchetti and 5 percent for Libertarian Karen Bedonie.
Polls in the race have consistently shown a small lead for Lujan Grisham. Related: Poll: Lujan Grisham with narrow lead at start of general election
The poll includes an oversample of Hispanic voters, which is a technique that pollsters use to get more meaningful samples of subpopulations, and finds that 56 percent of Hispanic voters support Lujan Grisham, compared to 37 percent for Ronchetti and 4 percent for Bedonie. The poll also found Lujan Grisham’s favorability at 52 percent compared to 44 percent who had an unfavorable opinion of the incumbent. Among Hispanics, 61 percent were favorable and 36 percent unfavorable.
Not long after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that abortions are not a right covered by the U.S. Constitution, award-winning actress Bette Midler posted to Twitter a doctored picture of a New Mexico welcome sign. Added to the sign were the words, “We’ve got chile, weed and reproductive rights,” referring to the fact that state lawmakers removed a criminal penalty for abortions and that the state legalized recreational-use cannabis. Hours later, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s reelection campaign jumped on the opportunity and reposted the picture with the added words, “And we’re going to keep it that way.”
If Lujan Grisham’s Republican opponent and former television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti wins the election in November, it’s likely that he will push for a change to the state’s abortion law, but his campaign has said little about whether he would push for changes to the state’s Cannabis Regulation Act.
Medical cannabis patients and cannabis business owners who spoke with NM Political Report about cannabis and the upcoming gubernatorial election had various views on how each candidate might impact the current law, but most agreed that there is still more work to be done when it comes to the state’s cannabis industry.
Alyssa Pearson, the chief operating officer of the cannabis company Dr. Green Organics Co., said her business is in the final stages of opening a cannabis retail store in Mesilla Park, in Southern New Mexico. Pearson declined to discuss who she plans on voting for in the upcoming election, but said she hopes lawmakers and the governor address what she sees as needed changes to the current law.
“At this point, all that needs to be done to kill small businesses like ours is ambivalence,” Pearson said. “I know that that’s something that my business partners and I would never want to do, is vote for somebody who could potentially jeopardize the feasibility of the social equity mission of cannabis, because that’s, for us, such a huge thing.
