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Primary election coming Tuesday [Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.](Las Cruces Sun-News (NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 30--LAS CRUCES -- Government spending was on the mind of 20-year-old Lauren Williamson of Las Cruces, as she went to the polls Saturday, the final day of early voting. But Arizona's controversial immigration measure was at the heart of 61-year-old Ben Silva III's concerns. Williamson, a Republican, said she's hoping for a change in the state's political leadership. She said she voted for Susana Martinez, also Dona Ana County district attorney, in the Republican gubernatorial race. Williamson said her impression is that Martinez is "tough enough to get things done that matter to the voters." "She seems to have a lot of experience, more so than some of them," she said. But Silva of Las Cruces, a Democrat, said there's no way he'll vote for a Republican, come the November general election. He said he backs the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Diane Denish, and plans to support Democrats because of the party's stance on immigration. "I don't want what happened in Arizona to happen here -- that kind of politics," he said. "I've heard great things about Denish." Dona Ana County voters will join voters at the polls Tuesday, to select Republican and Democratic nominees for offices ranging from governor to county probate judge. Martinez is facing four contenders for her party's nomination: Allen Weh, former state GOP chairman and an Albuquerque businessman; Doug Turner, an Albuquerque public relations firm owner who's backed by former Gov. Gary Johnson; state Rep. Janice Arnold Jones, in her fourth term as an Albuquerque lawmaker; and Pete Domenici Jr., Albuquerque attorney and son of the former U.S. senator of the same name. The winner will face Denish, who's seeking to replace the term-limited Gov. Bill Richardson. Martinez seems to have momentum headed into Tuesday. In addition to receiving an endorsement this month from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, she was ahead last week in two statewide polls, conducted by KOB-TV of Albuquerque and New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan, a political blog. Six days before the election, Martinez was shown to be favored by 43 percent of likely primary election voters, about 10 percentage points ahead of Weh, according to the SurveyUSA-conducted poll. Two weeks earlier, an Albuquerque Journal poll showed the two tied statistically and leading the pack. Weh and Martinez have spent heavily, with Weh relying primarily on self-financing and Martinez benefiting in the final weeks from a hefty, $450,000 contribution from a prominent Texas homebuilder and his wife. The contributions from Bob Perry and his wife, Doylene, accounted for $3 of every $5 raised by Martinez during the past three weeks, according to a campaign finance report filed by the candidate on Friday, The Associated Press reported. Martinez raised $721,318 during the past three weeks and spent $711,513, with more than 60 percent of that going for TV and radio advertising. Denish has more than $2.6 million stockpiled in her campaign account, according to AP. She raised $464,948 since early May and spent $521,449, with nearly 70 percent of that for TV and radio advertising. The Democratic Governors' Association gave $100,000 to Denish; $75,000 came from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and $25,000 was contributed by EMILY's List, a national group that backs female candidates who support abortion rights, according to AP. Though the Republican winner won't meet Denish until November, Martinez posted the best showing of hypothetical match-ups against Denish. The SurveyUSA poll showed her leading Denish by about 6 percentage points. It's been awhile since a Las Crucen was seriously in the running. "I think I was the last one in contention, and that was 20-plus years ago," said Garrey Carruthers, a New Mexico State University dean and a former Republican governor. Carruthers held the post from 1987 to 1990. Two other governors -- Jerry Apodaca in the mid-'70s and Edwin Mechem in the early '50s -- were from Las Cruces. Local ties are what prompted Marsha L. Smith, 61, of Organ to back Martinez. Also, Smith said she likes Martinez's stance against DWI. "I want to see someone from the lower part of the state represent us," said Smith, a security specialist at White Sands Missile Range. Though Martinez may appear to have headway, competitors are quick to point out that the race isn't over. Several candidates planning a wave of canvassing and phone calls over the weekend in an attempt to drum up supporters. Weh spokesman Christopher Sanchez said Weh is "at the peak of his professional career with years of management and leadership responsibilities in a variety of areas," valuable to the job as governor. "We continue to receive positive feedback from the voters, and we'll continue to push forward until victory on election night," he said. Sanchez said Weh is focusing on grassroots campaigning in "almost every county" to reach voters before Tuesday. Martinez couldn't be reached for comment. Turner said after a TV-broadcasted forum Thursday, "our e-mail and phones have just exploded." He said he believes the recent surveys have missed the audience he's targeting in his campaign, ages 18- to 50-year-olds, and residents who haven't voted in recent elections. "People are sick of career politics," he said. "They want people who have come from business to manage this state like a business and then go home. They don't want them to spend their entire lives working for the government." Meanwhile, Arnold-Jones, who's gained a reputation for promoting government transparency in the Legislature, said she's campaigning in the final days with help from volunteers. Phone calls are part of the plan, she said, but not robo-calls, which Arnold-Jones said she doesn't like. "The top message is that I not only talk about transparency, honesty and fairness, but I also act on it," she said. "People are very concerned about jobs and the economy, but we're not going to fix the jobs if we don't have the ethics piece." Domenici Jr. said he's not a professional pollster, so he doesn't try to critique the surveys too much. But he said there's a "strong correlation in the polls we've seen the last two weeks" and the amounts of spending reported in campaign documents. "It's turned into very much of a paid-media campaign," he said. OTHER RACES --Five candidates are seeking the lieutenant governor nomination on the Democratic ticket, while three candidates are seeking the Republican side. --The public lands commissioner nominations are contested in both parties. --Two of five New Mexico Public Regulation Commission seats cover parts of Dona Ana County. But the primary races are contested only on the Republican side. --Of seven state House seats in Dona Ana County, just two primary races are contested: the Democratic state representative District 36 race and the Republican state representative District 37 race. Three Democrats are vying for the District 36 nomination, including incumbent state Rep. Andy Nunez of Hatch; former Dona Ana County Commissioner Gilbert Apodaca; and Nicole Parra-Perez, a Las Crucen and 2009 graduate of New Mexico Highlands University who's seeking public office for the first time. The district reaches from Salem to the North Valley to parts of Las Cruces. Republicans Terry H. McMillan, a medical doctor in Las Cruces, faces Las Crucen Doyle Pruitt, seeking the District 37 nomination. The seat is now held by Democrat Jeff Steinborn, who's unopposed in the primary election. --Two magistrate judge positions on the Democratic ticket are contested in the primary election. --The Democratic County Sheriff nomination is contested, with veteran law enforcement officers Larry Roybal, of the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department, and Juan Stewart, of the Las Cruces Police Department facing off. --In the County Commission District 1 race, Cindy Padilla, an employee of the county clerk's office; Gilbert Chavez, chief surveyor for the county; and Billy Garrett, a former administrator for the National Parks Service are seeking the Democratic nomination. The seat, which covers northwest and a portion of southern Dona Ana County, is currently held by County Commissioner Oscar Vasquez-Butler, who's term-limited. --Seeking the Commission District 1 seat on the Republican ticket are John Zimmerman, a retired WSMR engineer and Navy commander, and Thomas Austin, a local businessman who's been active in opposing a proposed new sewage treatment plant location in the North Valley. The numbers In all, 76,690 voters are eligible to vote in the Dona Ana County primary election, according to the county clerk's office. Some 64 percent are Democrats, while the remainder are Republicans. Independents and minor party voters can't cast a ballot until November. As of the close of early voting Friday evening, 2,215 early, in-person votes and 672 absentee ballots had been cast in Dona Ana County, according to numbers from the county clerk's office. Of the early, in-person votes, Democrats had cast 1,480 of the ballots, while Republicans cast 735. Of absentee votes, 155 were from Democrats, and 517 were from Republicans. Assuming all absentee ballots are valid, turnout as of Friday was about 3.7 percent. Early voting was slated to wrap up Saturday evening. Voting sites at various locations in Dona Ana County will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. IF YOU GO --What: Primary election day --When: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday --Where: various polling locations To see more of the Las Cruces Sun-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lcsun-news.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |