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...

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...

Susana Martinez is likely to become the very fist female Hispanic governor of New Mexico. Surely, Hispanic, women and Hispanic women’s organizations country wide are supporting her. But there is a problem with Susana Martinez, a big problem—cue evil music—she is a…who dare say it?…a…oh, the horror!…an “R” word!…she is a Republican—oh, the humanity!!!... No question that Clayton Williams managed to concoct one of the most malicious statements in human history when he likened bad weather to rape and stated that in both cases, “'If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.” The issue, the local issue, the political issue,...

Another great video posted by The Governor. Don't mess with Susana Martinez!

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...

We haven’t heard much from the New Mexico gubernatorial race, but it looks like we’re missing an entertaining election, to say the least. Susana Martinez became the first Hispanic woman nominated for governor in any state by either major party when she won the Republican nomination this year, and is running against the first woman in New Mexico to be Lieutenant Governor, Diane Denish, who was Bill Richardson’s running mate. Despite Denish’s experience with the political master in Richardson, it doesn’t appear that she learned much during her tenure. Denish hit Martinez with an attack ad on education policy featuring...

Republican Susana Martinez picked off the support of one in five Democrats and had strong backing from members of her own party to take an early lead over Diane Denish in New Mexico's race for governor, a Journal Poll found. Sixteen percent of voters were still undecided, but Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff said erosion of the Democratic vote is a problem for Denish, who has served as lieutenant governor [under Bill Richardson] for the past eight years. Martinez drew more votes than her Democratic opponent among men, Anglos and voters over 50 years old — all categories that tend to...

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.

Republican Susana Martinez earns her highest support yet against Democrat 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 48% support, while Denish, the state's current lieutenant governor, earns 43% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided. The two women were tied in the past two surveys conducted in May and June after Denish led Martinez, a county district attorney, by 19 points in the first Rasmussen Reports survey of the race...

The office of Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez bought more than $60,000 in office supplies from a home-based company owned by one of her top deputies and political ally. There was no contract or competitive bidding process that covered the purchases from 2003 to 2005, and a former state auditor questions whether state law was followed. But Martinez, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, said the arrangement was legal, had approval from two state agencies and saved the taxpayers money. She also said she would do it all over again as governor, "so long as there was transparency in that...

The Legislature gave New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish $106,500 to hire personal security. D.A. Susan Martinez purchased her own gun and hasn’t asked taxpayers to pay for body guards. The two women, opposing each other in the race to be elected New Mexico’s next governor, have very different ideas on what they need for personal security, and what taxpayers should pay to make them feel safe. Susana Martinez has been the Dona Ana County District Attorney for 13 years. In that job she makes enemies of the kinds of people who create work for body guards. She and members...

Sarah Palin had a pretty good Super Tuesday. Three of the four candidates she endorsed won, bringing her record in tightly contested races to 8-3 overall this midterm election year. Earlier in the day, TIME asked Palin how she makes her endorsement decisions. "Oftentimes I'm looking at the candidate who shares the circumstances in which I've been: underfunded, up against the machine, no big endorsements, running a grassroots campaign with the help of volunteer friends and family," Palin told TIME. "When I see that, and can feel the momentum they can create with their passion in spite of greater challenges...

Nobody gets to pick and choose where they're born - but it pops up again and again in New Mexico politics. In fact, it's happening right now, in the race for governor. Eyewitness News politics reporter Stuart Dyson calls it "The Native Thing." "The native thing turns up when one candidate was born in New Mexico and the other one wasn't,"

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.

In their final televised debate before Tuesday's primary election, candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor agreed on top issues while emphasizing personal qualities they said make them the best bet for the job. Susana Martinez, Allen Weh, Doug Turner, Pete Domenici Jr. and Janice Arnold-Jones all agreed on the importance of better securing New Mexico's border with Mexico and ending the practice of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Weh, an Albuquerque businessman and retired Marine Corps Reserve colonel who served in Vietnam, Somalia and Iraq, pointed to his leadership abilities. He said his military experience of 38 years,...

Susana Martinez now has a substantial lead over Allen Weh in the Republican race for governor in a Survey USA poll, and she's also beating Democrat Diane Denish in a match up for the general election. A sample of 464 likely to vote republicans shows Martinez beating Weh 43% to 33%. The rest of the candidates are far behind, in single digits, with almost no hope of catching up by primary election day next Tuesday. Pete Domenici Jr. has 8% in the poll, tied with Doug Turner, while Janice Arnold-Jones is last with 3% of the vote. The poll has...

The head of the Republican Party of New Mexico waded into primary election mudslinging between gubernatorial candidate front-runners Allen Weh and Susana Martinez on Sunday, condemning radio and TV ads by Weh in a move some called unprecedented. Chairman Harvey E. Yates Jr. called Weh ads attacking Martinez "misleading" and "inappropriate" while saying a Martinez ad attacking Weh was "reasonably supported." "Dishonesty in political advertising should not be tolerated in either party," Yates said in a news release. "I believe it to be quite unfortunate that one of the Republican gubernatorial candidates has issued ads which are so misleading. "I...

When Susana Martinez turned 18, she became a fully armed security guard, a job that can provide a look at the worst side of human behavior. Eighteen years later, she was elected top prosecutor for New Mexico's 3rd Judicial District based in Las Cruces, a job that guarantees quality face time with that behavior. And she has spent the last 13-plus years in that job ensuring that bad behavior meets serious consequences. And New Mexico is better for it. Circa 2010, as Republican voters go to the polls to select a nominee for governor in the wake of interminable state...

Allen Weh struck back Wednesday ... with a television ad accusing one of his competitors seeking the Republican nomination for governor, District Attorney Susana Martinez, of misspending taxpayer dollars. Martinez, of the 3rd Judicial District in Las Cruces, aired an ad Monday criticizing Weh for his stance on immigration, turning what had been a calm race into a shouting match. She said the attack was just Weh's campaign grasping at straws. "I think its a desperate attempt to discredit the hard work of my prosecution of cases and those in my office and a way to ... avoid the real...