We watched Sunday's debate between incumbent Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces, and her Republican challenger Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo. We ended up pleasantly surprised.

Herrell's refusal to debate in 2018 was, to a number of pundits' thinking at least, a contributory cause of her defeat in the Republican-leaning district. It was perceived that she "must have recognized" that she couldn't really stand toe to toe with Small.

After the one-hour debate, sponsored by KOAT-TV, Channel 7 in Albuquerque, we were left wondering what she—or more likely her campaign team—was worried about two years ago.

Herrell easily won the debate.

Xochitl Torres Small

Small apparently came into the debate believing that a machine-gun-like delivery along with a "word salad" approach to all the questions is "the ticket" in any debate. At least that's what she did. Small delivered many of her answers at speeds hitting an astounding 220 words per minute, some 45 to 50% faster than a normal person talks in normal conversation.

And a review of "what" she said is shocking: Word Salad City. Small essentially repeated almost every single question and then went into laborious detail in describing to the audience the meaning of the question and why it was important—something the questioners already knew, as did, presumably, the listening audience. 

The audience definitely knew it when the questioner was Kent Walz. The Albuquerque Journal's senior editor asked questions that were longer than the time allotted to answer them. And they usually included four or five different sub-topics. The candidates needed a scribe to make sure they got to all of them.

But Small's objective was recognizable: eat up time with repetition and non-answers, and make it appear you're being responsive.

In any case, Torres Small just substituted a rapid-fire series of disconnected phrases—very fluently and mellifluously, make no mistake, she's not a verbal bumbler—in place of giving real answers that addressed the actual topics being discussed.

Another flaw in the process, of course, could not be avoided: the pandemic-induced "Zoomery." Forums like these permit all kinds of behind the scenes direction and answer-feeding that the public would be able to see if the debate were live and being held in some sort of normal setting.

As a result, Small got a second shot at the question Herrell posed: "Are you going to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket?"

In her original response or rather non-response to Herrell's question, Small just went directly to her automatic-rifle-speed chatter, and ended up never responding at all to the question. Then, some 10-15 minutes later, Small worked in a response that indicated she will be voting for Biden

This late recovery, so to speak, was almost certainly as a result of a handler either approaching Small, or holding up a cue card—something that simply could not have occurred if the debate had been held under normal conditions. No one would do that in full view of the audience. 

Yvette Herrell
For her part, Yvette Herrell was well prepared and delivered her responses clearly and articulately. What came across was a candidate who established a contrast with the left-leaning incumbent in the right-leaning Second Congressional District.

If there is a criticism of Herrell, it is that she simply did not drive home that contrast anywhere near as strongly as she might have.

Small and her team are obviously banking on winning the election in the same way they won in 2018: based purely on imagery. 

If it's a contest about that—which candidate is going to appear more often with a shotgun, with camouflage outfits, with "conservative-looking" backgrounds and themes, well, Small and her team have all that stuff down pat. They believe that is enough—since they have tremendous amounts of out-of-state money from Pelosi as well as lefty special interest groups. 

Small and special interest groups are spending enough to keep the TV stations afloat for another year.

All the more reason that Herrell should have driven home the stark contrasts and the reality that lie behind the images. If there is one regret for her team, it's probably that she didn't really hammer that home enough. 

Still, Herrell clearly won. Southern New Mexico—whether it's the southeastern counties, or the western counties of Sierra, Luna, Hidalgo, and Catron—is simply not southern California, where Small would be much more at home. So Herrell did enough for the reasonable observer to get the message: Herrell represents your values. Small does not.

Trump Doing Well in CD2

We conclude that polls must be showing the Herrell team that Trump is set to carry the district in November. Thus the question posed by Herrell: "Who you gonna vote for, Xoch?"

If Trump isn't winning CD2, then the question, and making an issue of that question, makes a lot less sense. We think the question does make sense.

Endorsement

The choice in this congressional race is hardly a difficult one. It's hands-down for Herrell, as it was in 2018.

Whether it is the Second Amendment, national defense issues, positions on taxation, re-opening the economy, various aspects of the entire personal liberty issue, or the rampant out-of-control rioting, looting, and mayhem perpetrated by Democrat front groups Antifa and Black Lives Matter, Herrell is on the correct side each time, and Small is hardly more than a Nancy Pelosi look-alike. 

Again, this is the reason that Small is "all-image-all-the-time." Substance is simply not her scene.

We hope Herrell can overcome the shenanigans led by her mentor Steve Pearce and the divisiveness he has brought to her primary battles are not too much to overcome. 

We strongly and heartily urge readers to support Yvette Herrell for CD 2.

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

Democrats ousted five of their incumbent state senators in their June primary. We predicted three of those. "Assuming the challengers' campaigns are competently managed," we expected that Senators John Arthur Smith, Clemente Sanchez, and Gabriel J. Ramos would be defeated.  They were. We were sort of neutral on Mary Kay Papen and Richard Martinez's chances, but kind of expected them to survive. They didn't.

Senate District 28, Background

Several of the Democrat challenger campaigns were indeed run by highly competent, proven winners. The SD 28 race, encompassing all of Grant and Catron Counties, as well as almost all of Socorro County, saw incumbent Gabe Ramos easily dispatched by Democrat Siah Correa Hemphill. And Hemphill's guiding light was one of the Democrats' most experienced and most successful advisers to the Hard Left of the party, none other than the notorious Neri Holguin.

We note this with the greatest of respect—if you are a Democrat, and you have voted more than once or twice in a manner that, say, Rachel Maddow, would not approve of, well...you'd better hold your breath to see if you get a challenger. If you do, and it's a hard-Lefty...and if he or she hires Holguin, well...get ready to clean out your office. 

Here's the thing: the parties are more polarized than ever—and primaries bring out the most polarized voters. The majority of Democrat primary voters generally hang on every word uttered by Maddow or anyone at MSNBC or CNN.

And Ramos, who had never faced the voters, had been appointed to replace former Senator Howie Morales who had just been sworn in as lieutenant governor. All three county commissions sent up Ramos' name, much to the vocal displeasure of Governor Grisham and her fellow "progressives." In short, Ramos found himself out of step with the Democrat base.

All the enthusiasm in the Democrat Party, including in New Mexico, is on the far Left. Just look at the result in SD 28: 4,809 to 2,970, a 62-38 crushing defeat for Ramos. Hemphill raised almost $127,000, spent about 95 grand of that, while Ramos spent almost the same amount, about $96K, after raising about $112,000. 

Funding was not the issue. It was messaging. And once it was established that Hemphill was part of the Bernie Sanders-AOC-Green New Deal-anti-Second Amendment-Abortion on Demand coalition, Ramos and his advisers could simply not match the Holguin-Hemphill team. You're either in lockstep with the modern Democrat Party, or you're not. And if you're not, well, sayonara!

While most observers are zeroing in on the JOhn Arthur Smith district (SD 35), there are a total of five seats that should be followed closely. In addition to SD 28, and SD 35, there is the Clemente Sanchez seat (SD 30), the William Tallman seat (SD 18), and the John Sapien seat (SD 9). All of those should be won by the Republican candidates PROVIDED there are competent campaigns and sufficient funding. 

Senate District 28 Poll and General Election Outlook

In Senate District 28, the Republicans have nominated James "Jimbo" Williams to face the Democrat nominee Siah Correa Hemphill. Here is a poll we have come across from less than two weeks ago. It was conducted by Remington Research Group out of Kansas City. It is a nationally reputable polling firm, which, incidentally, was the earliest to predict that Trump would win Ohio in 2016.

The poll surveyed 422 likely general election voters in Senate District 28.

Q1: What is your opinion of Michelle Lujan Grisham?

Favorable: 50%  Unfavorable: 38%  No opinion: 12%

Q2: What is your opinion of James Williams?

Favorable: 23%  Unfavorable: 15%  No opinion: 62%

Q3: What is your opinion of Siah Correa Hemphill?

Favorable: 31%  Unfavorable: 26%  No opinion: 43%

Q4: For whom would you vote for President if the election were held today?

Donald Trump: 42%  Joe Biden: 52%  Undecided: 6%

Q5: In Senate District 28, the candidates are Republican James Williams and Democrat Siah Correa Hemphill. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

James Williams: 42%  Siah Correa Hemphill: 42%   Undecided: 16%

The survey was conducted from August 26 through August 28, 2020. 422 likely General Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match the expected turnout universe for the 2020 General Election. The Margin of Error is +/-4.9% with the normal 95% level of confidence.

This was the initial baseline poll. It was not a "push poll," or one in which descriptions of the candidates were used to influence the voters' responses. Those facts being the case, the results show that Hemphill is surprisingly weak, running a net 10 points behind Biden. 

Hemphill does have the advantage of being from Silver City, so she's a resident of Grant County, which has 61% of the voting power in the district. Williams has a disadvantage, at least on paper, of being from a much smaller community. He is from Quemado (population 228) which is in Catron County, which has only 10% of the voters in the district.

Still, Hemphill is on the extreme Left of both the Democrat Party. She identifies with entities like Antifa and Black Lives Matter that are the engines of the nationwide riot and looting culture. She has changed her tune in the wake of the primary—with the addition of both independent and Republican voters now in the general election mix.

With Ramos out of the way, Hemphill has removed all of the hard Left rhetoric from her personal appearances, campaign literature, and social media postings. She is going to try to win the general election as a "moderate," something she is decidedly not.

How much the traditional New Mexico Democrats will be put off by her actual political leanings is unknown. But there could be considerable resentment of the kind of campaign she ran in the primary. And the traditional moderate base of the New Mexico Democrat Party, which has been largely Hispanic, may harbor some resentment toward yet another outsider largely supported by outsiders in Silver City (people who have moved in from California and elsewhere over the past 15 years or so) trying to take over the party.

In any case, the results of the poll should be very encouraging for the GOP.

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

A guest op-ed by Former New Mexico Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez

On a picturesque summer day in July, I stood alongside President Trump as he signed the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative. The Executive Order is particularly important to me. I have had the good fortune of living the American Dream and now, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, future generations will have an opportunity to accomplish whatever they set their minds to.

Prosperity has been the bedrock of the Trump Administration and the results were clear at the start of the year and as we approach the next phase of the Great American Comeback. In June alone, New Mexico added 26,300 new jobs. Before the Coronavirus Pandemic, New Mexico saw an addition of 40,000 new jobs, 9,600 construction jobs, and 3,000 manufacturing jobs as a result of the Trump administration.

Now, compare this with the track record of the Obama-Biden Administration and the campaign promises of a Biden-Harris ticket. Under the economic direction of the Obama-Biden Administration, New Mexico lost 8,500 construction jobs and 5,700 manufacturing jobs. The average unemployment rate in the state during the Obama-Biden Administration was 7.1 percent.

So, despite our legislative efforts and accomplishments, we found ourselves beholden and subject to the big government model preferred by Democrats in Washington.

New Mexico is now a top 10 energy producer in America thanks to President Trump’s deregulatory agenda. Fossil fuels support over 90,000 jobs in our state, contributing about $13 billion to our economy over the past four years. Our oil and natural gas boom have revived our state’s budget, too. Schools benefited from the record $2.2 billion in oil and natural gas tax revenues.

(It must also be noted that this is, in large part, thanks to the administration of former Governor Susana Martinez, in which Sanchez served as lieutenant governor.)

Joe Biden—Despite his Record—is Still Peddling Bad Public Policy

Even with an abhorrent track record in Washington, Joe Biden is trying to pitch New Mexicans again this November. What’s worse is that he’s adopted policies that are popular among social circles in San Francisco and New York City but have no place in the actual livelihoods of New Mexicans. Biden and Harris want to repeal President Trump’s tax cuts; making New Mexicans return the $1,391 they were able to pocket thanks to tax reform.

And Joe Biden has locked arms with an unfeasible energy agenda. Banning fracking would cost New Mexico 142,000 jobs and $86 billion in economic activity by 2025. Outside the energy industry, New Mexico households would also feel the sting of a Biden-Harris energy plan. Cost of living would increase by $5,790 per person while household incomes would drop due to a burdensome government. The ramifications of a liberal agenda would have very real, and very detrimental, consequences throughout the state.

Upward mobility is a cornerstone of America’s promise. As a young boy who grew up in abject poverty, I understand the challenges facing all families, especially Hispanic families in this country. Our household of eight children was held together by my mother — a single mother. Her leadership, devotion, and sacrifice toward our personal improvement made me the man I am. It’s also what makes me so passionate about working with President Trump to improve the lives and wellbeing of New Mexicans.

John Sanchez served as the 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico from 2011-2019. He serves as a commissioner on President Trump’s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.

Democrats are at it again—and especially the increasingly aggressively phony Democrat women "spokespersons"— who drone on about how much they now "hate" all Republicans, all conservatives, everyone who doesn't accept Black Lives Matter, Antifa, or Joe Biden. They are all at it again today—lying their butts off. 

This time it's about the 19th Amendment, the constitutional change ratified 100 years ago today that guaranteed women the right to vote everywhere in America. (At least 19 states already had some form of women's suffrage, and about a dozen states provided full suffrage for women.)

Why are they Lying to You? Because Democrats OPPOSED it!

That's right, if it were up to the Democratic Party, women would not have won the right to vote everywhere. It would have been left to the states. Before the states could begin ratifying the proposed amendment, it had to pass both the US House and the US Senate by two-thirds majorities in each.

The House vote in May of 2019, was 304 to 89. But by party it was like this: Republicans voted  200 to 19 to pass the amendment, or 91% in favor. Democrats voted 102 to 70, meaning that if it had been solely up to the Democrats the amendment would have received only 59% support, well below the nearly 67% required for passage.

In the US Senate, the Democrats did even worse. They voted "in favor" of the resolution by only a 19 to 18 vote. The Republican support was overwhelming 37 to 7. When both parties' votes were combined, the result was a 56-25 victory for women's suffrage, over two percentage points more than required to send the proposal to the states.

But it was no thanks to the Democrat Party. 

Just FYI. Don't let them fool you. 

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

Photos and story by Gerald A. Loeb, Freelance Journalist. (Facebook: Jerry Loeb)

In Albuquerque this past Sunday, forty hired thugs from the Black Lives Matter Movement verbally bullied and attacked legitimate peaceful counter-protestors who were merely waving American flags at a contentious demonstration at the Downtown Civic Plaza.

BLM slogans were scrawled  on the Plaza with different colored chalk, producing such gems as,

“Mask it or Casket,” “If you don’t wear a mask, you are the virus,” and “If all  lives matter, put on your mask.”

“We are here to show that we are not afraid of the fascist cops,” screamed one BLM speaker, who was virtually incoherent behind her mask.

At the same time, less than two dozen peaceful protestors for the Unmaskers waved a few American flags and talked quietly among themselves. They were on the northeast side of the Plaza, and well distant from the BLM crowd.

I interviewed some of them. One of the Unmaskers, Matt K., stated:

“I think that people with medical conditions such as asthma or PTSD should not wear masks. It simply deprives people of oxygen.”

Another Unmasker, Vanessa Q, said:

“I’m here at the risk of losing my job. The hospitality industry may never recover from this crisis.” 

 U.S. Army veteran Teil Plont was succinct on his attendance as an Unmasker:

“Look at the Bible in Luke 10, 1-11. I choose the Lord over men.”

The Unmaskers were briefed by a police sergeant who told them a City Ordinance ordered by Mayor Tim Keller prohibited guns in a designated “demonstration area,” and violators would be cited.

Approximately twenty minutes after the Unmaskers arrived, the BLM protestors wheeled their group west to deliberately and verbally attack the Unmaskers. Albuquerque Police Officers enforced the law and stood between two groups.

“Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter,” chanted some of the more frenzied BLM operatives.

“All Lives Matter. All Lives Matter,” responded the Unmaskers.

“Maybe you are in the wrong place,” shouted one BLM protestor at one Unmasker, adding “Maybe I should kick your ass.”

“Maybe you’ll wind up on Youtube. Or in jail,” came the response.

The cops, apparently choosing sides, then firmly asked the Unmaskers leave and move two blocks north, which they did. That did not stop the bellowing BLM from taking a position at the end of the Plaza and screaming epithets like spoiled children.

One female BLM swung her fist at an older man waving an American flag. The police quickly moved in and tear-gassed her into a stupor, but she was not arrested or cited.

(According to a later Tweet sent by the Albuquerque Police Department, “Three armed individuals—one from the protesting group and two from the opposing group – were briefly detained after they refused to disarm. Guns are banned at Civic Plaza.”)

One person I interviewed, an Unmasker who was one of the ones cited, said he was legally carrying his pistol in a holster while at the edge of the Plaza when he was apprehended by APD and led away from the scene. The officers told him he would be cited for a misdemeanor and gave him a paper-sized citation.

The scene was best summed up by Kim F., who said of the Black Lives Matter miscreants:

“I kinda felt like they really didn’t care. We have to be (normal) people and just live okay, but they (the Left) are coming after everything.”

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

The Pizza Inn in Carlsbad has refused to commit financial suicide by shutting down. So in retaliation, Grisham has her Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions issue an edict:

”New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions Extends Unemployment to all Pizza Inn Employees in Hobbs and Carlsbad Who Leave Employment Due to Safety Concerns.”

A Biden Administration? The St. Louis City Prosecutor is a harbinger of things to come.

If you wonder how life will change in a Biden Administration, the actions of the prosecutor in the City of St. Louis, Missouri serve as a great example: Rioters, or a mob—provided it is rioting or looting on behalf of a leftist cause, Democrats, BLM, Antifa—will have protection. Meanwhile, homeowners who seek to protect their own lives or property will be prosecuted.

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

On Tuesday, September 25, 2018, a group of wannabe #MeToo-ers, who wrote styling their prose as being "by New Mexico Democrats," published a scathing attack on Supreme Court nominee and on then-US Senate nominee, Republican Mick Rich.

They titled their condescending missive as "Mick Rich's Comments on Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford Show a Callous Disregard for Sexual Assault Survivors Everywhere."

Of course now we know that there is not a single shred of evidence to support a single allegation by Blasey Ford. She did put on a show, initially winning over lots of people with her testimony in which she adopted the voice and sound of a 6-year-old girl, not to mention all kinds of cheap and poorly performed histrionics that led one to believe she was waiting to be told when to do what by some off-stage parent or guardian.

But it has all fallen apart as not a single person—including close friends and even her own father—has been willing to back up anything she has said. In short, it was a repeat performance of the Anita Hill travesty in that it was orchestrated by Democrats and special interest groups willing to go to any lengths at all to stop a textualist (actually just someone who just reads the law rather than makes up stuff) from becoming a supreme court justice. 

Here is What the 65 Democrats Said Two Years Ago

"The reality is that our culture of rejecting sexual assault claims will continue as long as people who are in positions of power use their perches to first blame survivors, cast aspersions on their credibility and character, and minimize the trauma they have experienced.

"That’s why we take Rich’s comments as more than just hurtful and wrong. He used his platform to undermine survivors everywhere, and to remind those who have committed these acts that there are any number of excuses they can use to explain why their actions don’t count, and their crimes don’t matter.

"We ask that Mick Rich not just issue an apology, but to articulate that he understands the severity of his words, and that in the future he will support survivors rather than contributing to their silence. We believe that anything short of this disqualifies Mick Rich from representing the people of New Mexico."

We certainly hope Mr. Rich did not apologize. To our knowledge, he said nothing wrong. And nothing has ever come to light that even begins to corroborate any of Blasey Ford's statements, let alone support her evil and conscienceless accusations of an innocent man, motivated purely by the most cynical and amoral political prejudice.

So Here's Our Question

So now that public legal records reveal that Virginia Giuffre has testified that both the late Jeffrey Epstein and his socialite accomplice, the now-jailed Ghislaine Maxwell, directed her to have sex with former New Mexico Governor, and celebrity Democrat, Bill Richardson, here is our question:

Will the same 65 New Mexico Democrats sign a similar letter condemning Richardson? 

After all, the existing evidence regarding Richardson is obviously infinitely more compelling than the zero-evidence egg laid by wannabe 6-year-old Blasey Ford—who promptly went back to talking in a normal tone of voice when her "show" was over.

Here are the 65 New Mexico Democrat Wizards, Rocket Scientists, Masterminds, and Mental Giants 

This is how they signed their "sincere" letter concerning Kavanaugh and Mick Rich:

Signed by

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democratic candidate for Governor
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Speaker Brian Egolf
Senate Majority Whip Mimi Stewart
Senator Howie Morales
Rep. Debbie Armstrong
Rep. Gail Chasey
Rep. Liz Thomson
Rep. Nathan Small
Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero
Rep. Javier Martinez
Rep. Angelica Rubio
Rep. Matthew McQueen
Bernalillo County Assessor Tanya Giddings
Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller
Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid
Deb Haaland, Candidate N.M. Congressional District 1
Xochitl Torres Small, Candidate N.M. Congressional District 2
Brian Colon, Candidate for State Auditor
Joy Garratt, Candidate N.M. House 29
Abbas Ahkil, Candidate N.M. House 20
Andrea Romero, Candidate N.M. House 46
Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, Democratic candidate for Land Commissioner
Former U.S. Senator Fred Harris
Marg Elliston, Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico
Joe Kabourek, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico
Dr. Ellen Bernstein, President, Albuquerque Teachers Federation
Kathy Chavez, AFT National Vice President; AFT NM Executive Vice President; President, Albuquerque Educational Assistants & Transportation Workers Association
Stephanie Ly, President, AFT New Mexico
Neri Holguin
Caroline Buerkle
Natasha Ning
Drew Setter
James Jimenez
Alicia Manzano
Felicia Salazar
Justine Freeman
Sharon Miner
Jessie Lane Hunt
Heather Brewer
Melanie Aranda
Rachael Lorenzo
Joan Lamunyon Sanford
Theresa Trujeque
Deanna Archuleta
Jennifer Ford
Oriana Sandoval
Amber Walin
Sarita Nair
Reena Szczepanski
Garrett VeneKlasen
Marsha Garcia
Anathea Chino
Marianna Anaya
Pamelya Herndon
Indigenous Women Rising
Southwest Women’s Law Center
AFSCME Council 18
Equality New Mexico
Brava Media New Mexico
New Mexico Asian Family Center
University of New Mexico College Democrats
New Mexico Federation of Labor

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.

Over the 4th of July weekend, five New Mexico State Police officers were patrolling Brantley Lake State Park. The state park is located 12 miles north of Carlsbad.

Were they looking for suspects in recent crimes committed in Carlsbad or Eddy County?

All boating traffic was being stopped and inspected by state park personnel, but state police were taking extra measures.

All vehicles with Texas license plates (or any other of state license plate) were told they could not put their boat in the lake and were told to leave.

If by chance the driver had a New Mexico driver's license to show that he or she was a resident, that person may have been allowed to go into the lake.

One oilfield worker who has been living in Carlsbad since last year argued with the police, saying he had come to this lake nearly every week since March. After a long, somewhat heated argument, he was turned away, told he had to leave the park.

Several people went to nearby Champion Bay, which is part of the extended lake area, but not a part of the state park. However, New Mexico State Police officers or State Park Service personnel got on jet skis, and motored over to that part of the lake and made those folks leave too.

The governor's order requires 14-days of "quarantine" if you cross state lines. We are not sure if Governor Grisham, in her home in Santa Fe, is even remotely aware of how many people live on the Texas-New Mexico border and work in the oil fields on the New Mexico side. 

Is this good policy? We don't know, but we are just making you aware of what is going on.

Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.