Free Republic

Prospects look good for Republican candidate Steve Pearce to take back his seat from Democratic Rep. Harry Teague in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. A new Tarrance Group poll taken for Pearce shows him leading 50 percent to 41 percent, Roll Call reports. That’s the biggest advantage Pearce has shown in a public poll. The race has attracted national attention, with both parties’ national campaign committees putting money into the race. Several business and environmental groups also have made independent expenditures. The National Republican Congressional Committee has a presence in the district now, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee stopped...

The contest for New Mexico Governor is currently a statistical dead heat with 44% of likely voters supporting Dona Ana District Attorney Susana Martinez, 43% supporting Lt. Governor Diane Denish, and 13% are undecided. The ballot test numbers are based on a Magellan Strategies survey of 542 likely New Mexico voters fielded Monday, June 21st. Looking at ballot test results by voter subgroup, we find Republican Susana Martinez doing very well among men (+17) and Democrat Diane Denish with a 12 point lead among women. It is apparent that the Martinez Campaign has been successful appealing to 20% of Democrat...

Republicans in the 3rd Congressional District decided to stick with a traditional GOP conservative instead of a young, Ron Paul-style libertarian to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján. Tom Mullins, a Farmington oilman and political newcomer, easily defeated Adam Kokesh of Santa Fe. Kokesh was an unusual candidate from the start. He was endorsed by Paul, a congressman from Texas who ran for president in 2008, and was embraced by members of Paul's nationwide "Liberty Movement." Kokesh, a Marine who fought in Iraq, had gained nationwide recognition for being a combat veteran opposing the war. He was escorted...

Discuss the primary results in Alabama, Mississippi and New Mexico. Link for results: Politico

Democrat Brian Colon and Republican John Sanchez have won their parties' nominations for New Mexico lieutenant governor. Tuesday's results mean Colon will be paired on the Democratic ticket with gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish in the November general election. Sanchez will run on the GOP side with Susana Martinez. Colon, former director of the New Mexico Democratic Party, beat retired governmental agency administrator Lawrence Rael of Albuquerque and three legislators - Jose Campos of Santa Rosa, Gerald Ortiz y Pino of Albuquerque and Linda Lopez of Albuquerque. Sanchez, who lost the 2002 gubernatorial race to Democrat Bill Richardson, defeated former state...

Susana Martinez, a prosecutor from southern New Mexico, won the Republican nomination for governor and will face Democrat Diane Denish in a general election race deciding who becomes New Mexico's first woman governor.

I’m proud to endorse Susana Martinez for governor of New Mexico. Susana is a strong pro-family, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-development fiscal conservative who’s going to fight the corruption that’s plagued her state and bring transparency, accountability, and renewed fiscal vitality to New Mexico. As a tough district attorney, Susana fights for justice everyday in this promising, beautiful state. Her unwavering commitment to bring justice speaks to her determination and strength of character. As governor, Susana will lead New Mexico to a new economic vitality based on free market reform that cuts out the cronyism, invites competition, reduces taxes, cuts waste,...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez gained in stature at today’s Republican Party preprimary nominating convention. Allen Weh did what he needed to do. And Pete Domenici Jr. is down but not necessarily out. That’s how Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff analyzed the results following today’s vote. Martinez won the support of 46.65 percent of delegates at the Republican convention. Weh finished second with 26.32 percent, followed by Janice Arnold-Jones at 13.16 percent and Doug Turner at 9.23 percent. Domenici finished last, with 4.61 percent of the vote. “The big surprise here is the margin of Susana Martinez’s victory,” Sanderoff said. “The...

As it did last year when a similar bill was introduced, the New Mexico Restaurant Association has expressed its opposition to allowing concealed guns in restaurants that serve beer and wine. As Executive Director Carol Wight wrote today in The Independent Forum: “What if a customer comes into a restaurant with a bulge at their waistline… How do we know it’s not a gun? How do we know they have a license? Do we ask? If they don’t have a license doesn’t that put the server in a VERY awkward position? If they do have a license, are we required...

Pete Domenici Jr. may not have any political experience-- he's spent the last two decades working as a lawyer in Albuquerque-- but he says thanks to his father's many years in politics, he's had a front-row seat to witnessing how the state should be run. Refer to the story at the link.

Former Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-N.M.) son is edging toward a gubernatorial run in New Mexico. "I'm looking very seriously at it," Pete Domenici, Jr. (R) told the Albuquerque Journal. "I'm going to make a decision in a few days." Domenici, an attorney who hasn't held elected office, said yesterday that he has been contemplating a run since before the holiday season and could launch a campaign shortly. If he does enter the race, Domenici would bring solid name ID to the four-strong Republican primary field. His father, a six-term senator who retired in 2008, remains popular in New Mexico.

The Otero Tea Party Patriots and the newly formed Alamogordo Second Amendment Task Force held an anti-Obama protest rally on Saturday in Alamogordo New Mexico. The rally appeared to be more of a second amendment rights rally than an anti Obama rally. Several hundred people, many carrying rifles and handguns, attended the 2-hour event. There were no reported incidents of violence. Leslie Feilner, who recently moved to Alamogordo from Alaska with her husband, said about the .454 Taurus Casull that she was carrying, "It's a bear gun. We've never had to use it." Feilner's English Pointer had a 9mm strapped...

So it looks like the anti-war Marine is running for NM's 3rd congressional district.

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Holy hornet's nest, Batman! The New Mexico governor's mansion? Fresh from the inauguration, actor Val Kilmer is pondering running for governor in 2010, when Democrat Bill Richardson's second term ends.