Free Republic

So, the talk has started already: Susana Martinez, Republican vice presidential prospect, 2012. And note the date: Less than a month after she was elected on Nov. 2 to become New Mexico's first female governor and just over a month before she's inaugurated and officially moves into the Roundhouse. The first national speculation registering with me was from columnist Matt Lewis on the Politics Daily website on Nov. 29 (Why the next Republican VP nominee will likely be Hispanic). Lewis cited the growing percentage of Hispanic voters and Republicans having "a new generation of qualified Hispanic leaders." For the 2012...

New Mexico's budget crunch for the coming fiscal year could be $190 million worse than previously thought, and announcement of the bad news set off another fiery exchange between the outgoing administration of Gov. Bill Richardson and Gov.-elect Susana Martinez. Richardson's finance secretary Dannette Burch said Thursday that Martinez and state lawmakers will face a $450 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year, starting next July 1, just to maintain the state's current level of services. That's a much higher number than the Legislative Finance Committee's earlier projected shortfall of $260 million. There have already been spending cuts in Santa...

I scored the first, exclusive post-election interview with Susanna Martinez last week. I don't tell you this to brag about my journalistic prowess (oh, maybe just a little). But I figured, with the election over it would be good to sit down with Martinez and get to know her better. Her schedule was awfully full on Thursday, but she had an availability after dinner at 7. We met at her home, and there she was in the living room wearing comfy-looking pink plush pants and a tie-dyed T-shirt. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she was...

Chuck Franco will soon be a household name in New Mexico. As the husband of Gov.-elect Susana Martinez, he will become the state's first first gentleman when she takes office in January. He's been there every step of the way, from the long car rides between rallies to the huddles with his wife's campaign managers, to the debates and the news conferences. If Martinez is around, that stocky southern New Mexico lawman with the big black cowboy hat is likely not far behind. And, yes, he plans to be standing right there when his wife gives her historic inauguration speech....

Gov. Bill Richardson took his lumps during New Mexico's gubernatorial campaign and said Thursday he wished he'd had the opportunity to punch back. Two days after Republican Susana Martinez won a decisive victory to become the state's first elected female governor, the two-term Democratic officeholder voiced frustration at having his policies repeatedly -- and forcefully -- targeted by Martinez's campaign. "My only regret is that I wasn't able to defend myself and the accomplishments of my administration in so many areas," Richardson said after a news conference in Santa Fe. Richardson, who cited teacher salary increases, a decrease in DWI...

Three weeks after Rasmussen gave Republican Susana Martinez a nine point lead over Diane Denish, the current Democratic Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal has Martinez up by ten points, with just 48 hours until the polls open all across the once Democratic leaning State. Albuquerque Journal Survey of 1,003 Likely Voters: Susana Martinez (R) - 52% Diane Denish (D) - 42% Undecided/Not sure - 6% Martinez is the first Hispanic Woman to receive the Gubernatorial Nomination of either major Party in this Country, but you wouldn't know it by looking close at the data within the aforementioned...

The Albuquerque Journal’s final polls of the 2010 election cycle show races shifting even further toward Republicans in the final days. Republican Susana Martinez led by 10 in the Journal poll of the governor’s race. Democrat Gary King led by 10 in the attorney general’s race, but that means his lead has been cut in half in the last month. And in the 1st and 2nd congressional district races, Republicans Jon Barela and Steve Pearce each led by 3 points in the Journal polls.

Republican prosecutor Susana Martinez again moves to a 10-point lead over Democratic Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish in the race to be New Mexico’s next governor. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Martinez picking up 52% of the vote in the second straight survey this month, while Denish draws support from 42%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. These numbers move the race from Leans Republican to Solid Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard. The survey of 750 Likely Voters in New Mexico was conducted on...

The combination of cronyism, corruption and profligate spending in recent years has left New Mexico mired in serious problems ranging from budget to education to security of state pension funds as we prepare to go to the polls. It is time for a clear change of direction in New Mexico, and Susana Martinez, the Republican candidate for governor, is the right person at the right time to deliver it. With a background as district attorney in Las Cruces, Martinez is a Santa Fe outsider equipped with the skills to cut through Roundhouse fog and effectively communicate her positions. These are...

One thing is for certain after last night's televised gubernatorial debate: you wouldn't want to be in a foxhole with either Susana Martinez or Diane Denish. In one of the nastiest Guv TV confrontations we can recall, Republican Martinez and Democrat Denish fired salvo after salvo at one another Sunday night. It reached a crescendo when Denish turned directly toward Martinez on the KOAT-TV stage and told the Dona Ana County District Attorney "you are a liar." She was referring to a Martinez TV ad that was found to contain "falsehoods" by an independent fact-check group. Denish had a point,...

"I did not have sex with that woman...." "We need Charlie (Rangel) to go back to Washington..." "Besides being a native Texan, there's a reason (Susana Martinez) got all that money from those people that are interested in your water: They want to drain the Rio Grande and the Pecos." These are all statements uttered by former President William Jefferson Clinton — with number three coming while stumping in Española on Thursday for gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish. And the veracity of the first two is useful in determining how much credibility to give the third. After a controversial and ill-advised...

In an election for New Mexico Governor today, 10/15/10, Republican Susana Martinez defeats Democrat Diane Denish 54% to 42%, according to this latest exclusive KOB-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Martinez' advantage is even stronger among voters who tell SurveyUSA they have already returned a ballot.

Republican Susana Martinez now leads Democratic Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish by nine points in New Mexico’s gubernatorial election. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Martinez, a county prosecutor, picking up 52% of the vote, her best showing in the ocntest to date. Denish draws support from 43%. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, while four percent (4%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) This race remains Leans Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard. Late last month, Martinez held a similar 51% to 41% lead over Denish. Though the...

Republican Susana Martinez now leads Democratic Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish by nine points in New Mexico’s gubernatorial election. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Martinez, a county prosecutor, picking up 52% of the vote, her best showing in the ocntest to date. Denish draws support from 43%. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, while four percent (4%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

It's been four years, and like most forms of public transportation, the rail runner isn't paying for itself. The train cost 22-million dollars to operate last fiscal year, and five million of that came from the state. So what will the next governor do about the rail runner? News 13 asked both candidates that question. Republican Governor Candidate Susana Martinez said, “We have to do an economic analysis to see how much is the public willing to pump in to that transportation? Or can we change it in a way that makes it worthwhile?” Democrat Diane Denish sent News 13...

So what, exactly, is a "Tejana," and why is Diane Denish's campaign using the term to attack Susana Martinez? The answers depend on whom you ask. A new commercial in the campaign television wars has Denish's campaign labeling Martinez as a "Tejana" who is "bought and paid for by a Texas billionaire." "We know that Susana Martinez is from Texas ... Susana es una Tejana," says Denish's lieutenant governor running mate, Brian Colón — who was born in New York but moved to New Mexico with his family as an infant. Martinez was born in El Paso and lived there...

Republican gubernatorial nominee Susana Martinez is nearing the "magic number" of 50 percent support among likely New Mexico voters, with a month left before the Nov. 2 election, a new Journal Poll found. Martinez apparently led Democrat Diane Denish by 6 points in the survey overall — 47 percent to 41 percent with 12 percent undecided if the election were held at the time of the Sept. 27-30 poll. Her lead grew to 49 percent to 42 percent when "leaners" — undecided voters leaning toward voting for one candidate — were included and was even wider, at 49 percent to...

Republican Susana Martinez now has a 10-point lead over Democratic Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, moving the New Mexico governor’s race from a Toss-Up to Leans GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard. The latest telephone survey of Likely Voters in New Mexico shows Martinez, a county prosecutor, receiving 51% support, while Denish picks up 41% of the vote when leaners are included. Three percent (3%) favors another candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Susana Martinez was a cheerleader and member of the Rangerette drill team at El Paso's Riverside High School. But when a group of seniors running for student council asked her to join their slate of candidates, she took a pass. "I told them I don't want to be (council) secretary," Martinez recalled, noting that it was the only slot still open on the ticket. Martinez studied the job descriptions and decided she'd rather be student body president. So she ran against the candidate whose ticket tried to enlist her. And she won. The Democrat-turned-Republican has already risen to national prominence...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A group of Brazilians has been busted for trying to get New Mexico driver's licenses illegally. State police moved in on the group of men after a Motor Vehicle Division worker noticed one of the suspects had been there before. The three Brazilian men face serious charges after state police and the state's tax fraud investigators division busted the men at the MVD downtown on Friday. "One of the investigators down there with the Office of Inspector General recognized an individual who had been in there numerous times over the last year," Major Pete Kassetas said. Kassetas...