2016 elections

A surreal, bizarre election night for state Dems, GOP

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A night that ended with one of the most stunning upsets in modern presidential history began, in Albuquerque and likely in many other cities throughout the country, with Democrats feeling optimistic about the country on the cusp of electing its first female president. At the Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque, an enthusiastic crowd of state Democrats gathered to watch the election results and, they thought, to welcome Hillary Clinton to the White House. Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who easily won reelection to represent the Albuquerque area, showed up wearing a white pantsuit. She also wore a button bearing Clinton’s face on her chest. She called her outfit “my white suffrage Hillary Clinton pantsuit.”

Gary Johnson

Johnson announces time, place for NM rally

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Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson will be appearing in New Mexico next week, a week and a half later than originally scheduled. The former New Mexico governor will appear for a campaign rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center, according to the campaign. The event is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m., but doors will open at 1:00 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also held a campaign rally at the same venue in May; however, the convention center has many different rooms and it’s unlikely Johnson’s event will take place in the same large room as Trump’s. Johnson originally announced he would be in Albuquerque for the rally this week. However, his campaign rescheduled days before the event.

2016 elections

Trump fires shots at Gov. Martinez; ‘Maybe I’ll run for governor of NM!’

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At his raucous rally in Albuquerque, presumptive GOP Republican nominee criticized many people, among them Gov. Susana Martinez. Martinez, also the chair of the Republican Governors Association, which raises money and campaigns for GOP candidates across the country, has so far not endorsed Trump for president. She has also criticized Trump’s rhetoric on immigrants. So Trump fired back. First, he pulled out some unflattering Albuquerque and New Mexico statistics.

Albuquerque

Trump calls protestors ‘thugs’ and ‘criminals’

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Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump fired back at Albuquerque protestors who took the streets in a chaotic display Monday night. Trump used his favorite medium: Twitter. Trump referred to the protestors as “thugs” and said they were “flying the Mexican flag.” Around a thousand protestors gathered throughout the day, leading up to the Trump rally. For the most part, they were content to wave signs, flags (including three Mexican flags) and chant slogans.

Bernie Sanders
2016 elections

Sanders promises to stay in the fight until the end

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With seven primary elections left, Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged to a packed Albuquerque Convention Center to continue his push for a political “revolution.”

Sanders said that he is “in this fight until the last battle.”

Sanders currently trails former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton by 760 delegates. He’s quick to point out that 525 of Clinton’s delegates are super-delegates who pledged support for her on their own and without voter approval, a process he called “kinda dumb” and “undemocratic.”

Related: VIDEO: Bernie Sanders discusses New Mexico issues with NM Political Report. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Sanders needs to win 67 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to take the lead. In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Clinton called her delegate lead “insurmountable.”

“Just because Hillary Clinton said something doesn’t necessarily make it the case,” Sanders told NM Political Report in a short interview before the rally. “We are now at about 46 percent of the pledged delegates.