2016 Election

Southern NM House race could prove key

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One of the key races that will decide the political control of the state House of Representatives pits an upstart against a Roundhouse veteran in southern New Mexico. The incumbent, Republican Andy Nuñez, has represented the district for most of the past decade and a half. He faces former Nathan Small, a Democrat who recently served two terms on the Las Cruces city council. NM Political Report will profile some key legislative races from now until election day. Nuñez, 80, is perhaps best known for switching his political affiliation multiple times over in the past few years, from Democrat to independent to Republican.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton headed back to New Mexico

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The Hillary Clinton campaign announced that their top campaign surrogate, former President Bill Clinton, will head back to New Mexico to campaign ahead of the June 7 primary. The campaign announced Tuesday morning that Bill Clinton will appear in Las Cruces for a campaign appearance on Thursday, June 2. Last week, Bill Clinton campaigned in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Bill Clinton will speak to supporters at Picacho Middle School in Las Cruces this Thursday. The event is expected to start at 2:30 p.m. but doors will open at 1:30 p.m.

“President Clinton will attend a public event in Las Cruces where he will discuss why Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to break down all the barriers holding families back,” the statement says.

2016 Democratic primary

Three progressives compete in southern NM primary

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LAS CRUCES — In a southern New Mexico Democratic primary election to replace Rep. Jeff Steinborn, the race appears remarkably civil. But the race between three Democratic candidates vying for the open seat is also very competitive. So far, all have raised between $10,000-$12,000 each for the June 7 election. And each candidate offers their own flavor. Angelica Rubio, 36, emphasizes her broad organizing experience that involves successfully leading a push to raise the minimum wage in Las Cruces and managing the campaign of City Councilor Kasandra Gandara, a progressive who won election last fall by just 18 votes.

Elections

No vote changes, as recount confirms Las Cruces results

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A recount of some ballots in two Las Cruces city council districts confirmed the original results: Jack Eakman and Kasandra Gandara won their close races earlier this month.*

NM Political Report first reported earlier this month that those who lost wanted a recount. The recount found no changes to the official results that were confirmed days after the election. Eli Guzman, who lost in District 1, and Richard Hall, who lost to Eakman in District 4, sought a recall of five of the nine voting locations. Guzman and Hall asked for a recount of four voting convenience centers for election day voting and a fifth location that included early and absentee ballots. Las Cruces, like other cities throughout the state, uses voting convenience centers to allow voters to cast ballots at any of the locations throughout the city.

Elections

Two Las Cruces city council races going to a recount

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Two city council races in Las Cruces that finished with close results will be headed to a recount. NM Political Report confirmed with the Las Cruces city clerk that Eli Guzman and Richard Hall each requested recount. The two candidates requested recounts of five polling locations. The two progressive candidates won by the initial count in the Nov. 3 elections.

Elections

Big PAC spending in Las Cruces elections gets national attention

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The big spending by a political action committee in the recent Las Cruces elections is receiving national attention. USA Today cited the spending by GOAL WestPAC in trying to defeat incumbent mayor Ken Miyagishima as one way that money is increasingly flooding into local elections. In New Mexico, the focus of the Goal WestPAC is “the economic and business climate” in the state, said Mark Murphy, the PAC’s chairman and president of Strata Production, an oil-and-gas exploration company in Roswell, N.M., about 180 miles northeast of Las Cruces. Murphy and his company also have donated $35,000 to the super PAC, records show. PAC officials decided to target Miyagishima and city politicians over what Murphy called a “history of overregulation and taxation,” including support for a 2013 gross receipts tax.

Elections

Miyagishima wins reelection, progressives win close city council races in Las Cruces

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Las Cruces mayor Ken Miyagishima won a third term despite an out-of-town PAC pouring in tens of thousands of dollars to defeat him, according to unofficial election results. The progressives in the non-partisan elections also appeared to sweep the elections, with Kasandra Gandara and Jack Eakman pulling out narrow victories in high profile city council races. They joined District 2 incumbent Gregory Z. Smith in winning elections on Tuesday. The big story in the final days and weeks of the election was GOAL West PAC, a federal PAC funded mainly by southeast New Mexico residents with ties to the oil and gas industry, and their advertising blitz in an attempt to turn the race.  

There were 10,224 votes in the mayor’s race.

Las Cruces City Elections

Las Cruces heads to the polls

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New Mexico’s second largest city will go to the polls Tuesday and will vote for the mayor and city councilors in three districts. The Las Cruces elections have featured more high profile campaigning–and much more mudslinging–than other recent local elections, including those in Albuquerque. Unlike Albuquerque’s recent elections, there are three contested districts and a mayoral race on the ballot this year. This may lead to Las Cruces bucking the trend of reduced voter turnout in New Mexico (though it isn’t a sure thing). Mayoral race

At the top of the ballot is the mayoral race where the top story is likely the massive amount of money that has been poured in by a federal PAC.

2016 elections

Steinborn makes the ‘big decision’ and will run for state Senate

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State Rep. Jeff Steinborn announced on Tuesday that he will run for State Senate in 2016. The Democrat from Las Cruces will be running for District 36, the seat currently held by Sen. Lee Cotter, a Republican. New Mexico Political Report spoke to Steinborn on the phone Tuesday night about his decision to run for a seat in the state Senate. He admitted that it was a “big decision” but said it was one he was ready to make. “This was an opportunity to kind of take that to the next level.

Uber

ABQ gives Uber six-month airport trial

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Effective immediately, people in Albuquerque are now able to use the ride-hailing app Uber to hitch a ride to the Albuquerque International Sunport. Mayor Richard Berry made the announcement of a deal with Uber Tuesday afternoon, saying that its use is a “disruptive” business model and the way of the future. “The world’s changing,” Berry said in a short press conference in the Sunport’s parking lot. “And we want to make sure those who are here can flourish, but we also want to make sure that we are a city that invites in disruptive new technologies and this is an important step for us as a city.”

The deal between the city and Uber requires that the ride-hailing company pay Albuquerque $1 for every passenger it either picks up from or drops off at the airport. Uber is also required to report its number of airport passengers to the city every 10 days.