Martinez Takes Early Lead in New Mexico

Political Wire ^ | August 29, 2010

[Clintonfatigued]

A new Albuquerque Journal poll in New Mexico finds Susana Martinez (R) has taken an early lead over Diane Denish (D) in the race for governor, 45% to 39% with 16% undecided.

Denish also is suffering from a successful Martinez strategy to tie her to Gov. Bill Richardson (D), with whom Denish has served since 2003, and now holds a dismal 33% approval rating. Among those who disapprove of Richardson's performance, 62% said they would vote for Martinez compared to 22% who said they would vote for Denish.

[Clintonfatigued]

Rasmussen also shows Martinez leading by a similar margin.

[CedarDave]

The full ABQ Journal article with the poll breakdown is here:

Crossovers From Democrats Give Martinez Boost

NM list PING!

(The NM list is available on my FR homepage for anyone to use. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list. For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after watching a short video commercial.)

[fieldmarshaldj]

I don’t expect Denish to win. She spent all that time in office waiting to get the Governorship for nothing.

[Parley Baer]

Good news. Especially with redistricting coming up.

[unkus]

Good point.

[kittymyrib]

Ah yes, good ol’ Richardson. He was the guy who tried to get Revlon to hire Monica to shut her up after Bill Clinton was through with her. He should be “shovel ready” even for the dolts who consistently voted for him in NM.

[Clinging Bitterly]

Still learning the recent history here and it seems to me Richardson rode in with his credential as a former Clinton appointee (perhaps there is more to it than that). Now, the concept of Lt. Gov. as heir apparent to Gov. is new to me. We did not have a Lt. Gov. in Oregon, and honestly I don't see what purpose the office serves other than a means to political party continuity. Should the office not be abolished?

Digging farther into specific things that are happening here, what's the deal with this idiotic cap & trade thing the DOE is pushing? Is that something that fell out of Richardson's brain? And will Martinez (or Heaven forbid Denish) have the power to kill it, or is it something a legislative body will have to do?

[CedarDave]

Here's the deal with Cap and Trade (AKA Cap and Tax):

ABQ Chamber, PNM urge action against CO2 regs

The EIB with Richardson's hand-picked enviro-nuts are rushing to put something in place before the end of the year. If it can be delayed long enough and Martinez wins, it can be stopped as she will have the authority to appoint new members and direct the ED to focus attention elsewhere. The legislature is unlikely to change hands - never has been in Republican hands, either house, in my 30+ years in NM.

[Impy]

Poor Denise. She had to endure all the sexual harassment from Richardson for nothing.