POJOAQUE, N.M. – Candidates for Congress and an open Senate seat are undergoing the first test of their political might as the Democratic and Republican parties of New Mexico hold statewide conventions.
Public attention was focused on a first-time bid for public office by Democratic former CIA operative Valerie Plame in a crowded 3rd Congressional District race to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who is running for U.S. Senate. Democrats have monopolized the district since its creation in 1982 with the exception of one special election.
In a swing district that borders Texas and Mexico, conservative former oil lobbyist Claire Chase was vying against former state Rep. Yvette Herrell for the Republican nomination. First-term Rep. Xochitl Torres Small won the seat in the 2nd Congressional District away from lengthy Republican control.
The conventions before the primary, uniting Democrats in Pojoaque and Republicans in Albuquerque, decide the ballot order for candidates in the state’s primary election on June 2. Candidates who receive less than 20% of votes from party delegates must gather a longer list of petition signatures to stay on the bottom of the ballot.
In the northern congressional district, Plame leads fundraising efforts thanks in part to her enduring fame as a former U.S. intelligence operative whose secret identity was exposed shorty after her diplomat husband disputed U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion. President Donald Trump recently pardoned vice presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby of his conviction for lying and obstruction during the investigation into the leak of Plame’s identity.
Teresa Leger Fernandez, a legal adviser to Native American communities and activist on voting rights issues, has won the endorsement of pro-abortion rights group Emily´s List and the “Courage to Change” political committee organized by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Another contender is Santa Fe-based District Attorney Marco Serna, who has backed alternative approaches to drug-law enforcement such as treatment diversion programs for nonviolent offenders. His father, Eric Serna, served in top state offices and ran unsuccessfully for the same congressional seat in the 1990s.
State Rep. Joseph Sanchez, an electrical engineer from Alcalde, is running as a conservative-leaning Democrat who speaks out against late-term abortion. Santa Fe-native John Blair, a former deputy secretary of state, has emphasized his tenure as an Interior Department official under President Barack Obama – and his status as an openly gay candidate.
Laura Montoya, a second-term Sandoval County treasurer, lives in rapidly growing Sandoval County and Rio Rancho – where Trump held a political rally in August to declare his push for a 2020 victory in New Mexico. Her low-budget social media ads include a selfie-video soliciting gas money from a service station on the campaign trail.
The Democratic field also includes Kyle Tisdel, an environmental attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center.
In the Senate race, Luján hopes to parlay his voice and experience as the fourth-ranked Democrat in Congress into victory in an increasingly blue state where Democrats hold both Senate and all three congressional seats, along with every statewide office outside the judiciary. A second major Democratic contender dropped out of the race October, clearing Luján’s path.
Republican contenders for the Senate seat include popular television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti, shooting range owner Louie Sanchez, anti-abortion group founder Elisa Martinez, construction contractor Rick Rich and college professor Gavin Clarkson.
