Bill Richardson

Richardson: GOP friends worried Trump will cost them the Senate

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Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Republicans have told him Donald Trump’s spot as the GOP presidential nominee will let Democrats take back control of the U.S. Senate. Richardson made the comments while appearing on CNBC Friday. Richardson said his Republican friends “they’re worried now about losing the Senate.”

He said they feel the “House is OK probably going to be OK, lose some seats, but the Senate is in play.”

He mentioned Illinois and Nevada as important states; in Illinois, incumbent Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican, is facing a tough reelection campaign. In Nevada, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid opted not to run and Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, considered their top recruit in the state. Former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey, a Republican, said there was too much time between now and the elections to make any predictions.

2016 elections

Richardson: Trump could beat Clinton

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Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson doesn’t think a Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump general election would be a cakewalk for the Democratic candidate, though he says she would still win. Richardson, who supports Clinton, made the comments while on CNBC late last week. He said that is the “traditional view” that a Clinton-Trump race would be a landslide for Clinton, comparing it to the 1964 election when Lyndon B. Johnson received over 60 percent of the vote against Barry Goldwater. “There are others like myself who think that Hillary Clinton will be our nominee and will win, but we’ve got to be very careful because Trump has tapped into a negativity, a populism that is out there,” Richardson said. Richardson said that Democrats must turn out the base, mentioning young voters as well as African-Americans and Hispanic voters.

Jay McCleskey

Report: Guv’s fundraising under FBI scrutiny

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The FBI has interviewed several Republicans in the state over fundraising activities related to Gov. Susana Martinez’ top political advisor, the state’s second largest daily newspaper reported Friday night. Related Story: Former official: FBI asked about issues in Martinez administration. The Santa Fe New Mexican cited an unnamed “prominent New Mexico Republican” that had been interviewed and said others had been interviewed about activities from Martinez’s political wing. The report came hours after a reporter for CNBC tweeted about the news. The newspaper notes that the money went to Jay McCleskey, who was Martinez’s campaign manager and has run a number of campaigns for Republicans in the state.

Quick Reads

Richardson says this will cause higher gas prices, but help U.S. economy overall

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Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson went on CNBC on Monday to discuss the United States’ oil export ban. Richardson, who is also a former federal Energy Secretary, says he supports easing the ban on oil exports. “The price may go up a little bit, but at the same time, prices for gasoline, home heating oil, they’ve gone down a bit,” he said according CNBC, though it was not part of the video included. “If we continue with these oil export waivers, it’s going to be good for the country.” The appearance came after the Obama administration opted to swap some crude oil with Mexico. That brought more calls for the ban to be lifted.

News

Richardson talks Middle East, North Korea

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Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday to speak about the Middle East including the pending nuclear deal between the United States and Iran. “I’ve been a backer of the administration…” Richardson said, “but on this one, I don’t know where I’m going to end up. Nuclear capacity, let it end or diminish.” In addition to being a former governor and member of Congress from New Mexico, Richardson was also the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the Energy Secretary under former President Bill Clinton.