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| NM General Election Synopsis In the midst of a Republican wave across the country, New Mexico stuck to the same-old, same-old when it comes to our Congressional delegation. Thankfully, that group includes conservative U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, a bright spot in an otherwise pro-abortion, liberal group which includes Sen. Tom Udall, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Rep. Ben R. Lujan. NMCFP did not play in this arena for 2014 because we did not have the legal compliance research done for federal races. However, our partners Right to Life NM and Catholic Coalition of NM made endorsements for the federal seats.
Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to thank our staff and all of our great volunteers for their tireless work during this election season. It was quite an undertaking for a small office, and we could not have made an impact without them. Our staff has been motivated and responsive at all hours of the day or night during this election season and we are grateful for their dedication and professionalism. Our volunteers make sacrifices in order to help us out because they care about and support the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, the family and religious freedom. It is a joy and a great encouragement to stand side-by-side with them.
Let’s take a brief look at the state-level results.
The Good News
The best news of this election is that big PAC money aimed at electing pro-abortion, pro-gay-rights liberals by and large fell flat at the state level; it could not compete with the will of the people here in New Mexico. The chart below tells the story:
*Based on unofficial election results from the NM Secretary of State and the NMCFP Voter’s Guide 5.
Among their opponents, who will serve in the NM House for the next two years, are pro-life advocates Kelly Fajardo, Alonzo Baldonado, Paul Pacheco, Conrad James, Andy Nunez, Terry McMillan and Ricky Little. Additional pro-life advocates who will serve for the next two years include Rodney Montoya, James Strickler, Lorenzo Larranaga, Jimmie Hall, Bill Rehm, Dianne Hamilton, John Zimmerman, Jane Powdrell-Culbert, Don Tripp, Yvette Herrell, Cathrynn Brown, Jason Harper, Candy Spence Ezzell, Nora Espinosa, Tim Lewis, David Gallegos and Dennis Roch.
At the statewide level, we are happy that pro-life candidates Gov. Susana Martinez and Secretary of State Dianna Duran remain in office. |
| The Bad NewsThe three judges we pointed out for violating freedom of conscience (religious freedom), the sanctity of life (euthanasia) and/or imposing same-sex marriage, NM Supreme Court Justice Edward Chavez and Second Judicial District Court judges Nan Nash and Alan Malott, were retained. A close examination of the retention rates (generally between 70% and 80%, regardless of information provided to conservative voters about problem judges) leads me to believe that we should re-examine the New Mexico retention process (governed by NM law) and the sanctity of the voting process. Conservative law schools have commented that New Mexico’s retention process for the judiciary, fairly unique among the states, renders it very difficult to unseat a judge. We plan to train a cadre of volunteers to participate as observers in 2016 to ensure the validity of the voting and vote-counting processes. We will also prepare a website and marketing for 2016 that will rival the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC) so that the judicial cottage industry does not pass itself off as an “independent” voice, giving advice to voters about their own industry.
A handful of liberal PAC-funded candidates will also serve in the NM House for the next two years, including Doreen Johnson (HD 5, over $16,600 in liberal funding in the last two years), Stephanie Garcia Richard (HD 43, over $68,500) and Matthew McQueen (HD 50, over $27,100).
Conclusion
On balance, we are grateful for the great blessing of the many members elected to the New Mexico legislature who uphold our values, along with a governor and secretary of state to lead and oversee state operations. Thank you to each one of you who took the time to become an informed voter and then made the effort to cast your vote. There is plenty of work to be done in the two years before the next major election! |
Don’t miss a newsletter update!!
Except during the election and legislative session, we will now provide this newsletter (NM Center for Family Policy) every other week, alternating on the off weeks with the newsletter for the NM Center for Family Values (NMCFV). If you have not yet signed up for that newsletter, you can do so HERE. You will find more policy-oriented information in this newsletter, whereas in general, the NMCFV newsletter will be more educational in nature.
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Success Depends on your Financial Support!
Without the faithful and regular support of people like you who share our values, we would not be able to continue standing for a culture of life, traditional marriage, family and freedom.Thank you to all of our wonderful donors who make this effort possible. If you would like to join our donor family, there are three options:
1. Call us to make a credit card donation:
(505) 261-9566
2. Mail your check or money order to:
NM Center for Family Policy
PO Box 20937, Albuquerque, NM 87154
God bless you as you make a stand for His values in our community!
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