Tag: Ben Lujan

Public Policy Polling (2/18-20, registered voters):

Martin Heinrich (D-inc): 45

Jon Barela (R): 36

Undecided: 19

Harry Teague (D-inc): 41

Steve Pearce (R): 43

Undecided: 16

Ben Lujan (D-inc): 40

Adam Kokesh (R): 32

Undecided: 28

Ben Lujan (D-inc): 42

Tom Mullins (R): 36

Undecided: 22

(MoE: ±4.9%)

PPP’s NM-Gov sample comes with an added bonus: results for each of the Land of Enchantment’s three House races. The big ticket item here is NM-02, where Rep. Harry Teague is considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents going into November. That’s not so much because of the district’s lean (it’s R+6 and has a Hispanic plurality — Walt Minnick and Bobby Bright would kill for R+6) but because Teague is facing off against ex-Rep. Steve Pearce, who held the district for a number of years until his ill-fated 2008 Senate run, and is still well-thought-of here (as seen by his 43/31 favorables). While I’d certainly prefer to see Teague leading, all things considered, the 43-41 lead for Pearce feels not-that-bad. Like Tom Perriello in VA-05, Teague seems to have been already written off as a casualty by mainstream media pundits, not only having won a superficially-fluky victory in a reddish district but also having voted for cap-and-trade instead of cowering with the Blue Dogs. And yet (just like Perriello) PPP finds him in a dead heat.

The race in the 1st — between freshman Rep. Martin Heinrich and Jon Barela, the former head of Albuquerque’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — is one that, even before this poll, I’d have classified as “Likely D,” given the district’s lean (D+5) and Heinrich’s convincing 2008 victory. The Republicans will have to make a serious dent in the currently “Likely D” seats in order to retake the majority, but it’s looking like NM-01 isn’t on track to be one of those seats where they do.

In fact, the Republicans actually come a little closer in the 3rd, which is the state’s traditionally most Democratic-friendly district at D+7 (although this was briefly held by a Republican in the 1990s after a surprisingly strong Green Party performance in a special election). Part of the problem may lie with its Rep, Ben Lujan (the only one of the three to sport negative approvals, at 31/40 — Teague, by comparison, is at 41/36), but I suspect the 3rd is also a very difficult district to poll. It’s a rural, impoverished district where a sizable number of the Democratic base voters may not speak English or have landlines, which may give more weight to the district’s Republicans clustered around Farmington.

RaceTracker Wiki: NM-01 | NM-02 | NM-03

Speaker of the House Ben Lujan (D) says he will support easier ballot access once again according to Heath Haussamen.

“Yeah, I will support any possible way of getting more people to be able to participate in the process,” Lujan said. “The more the merrier.”

This is an about-face from previously when Lujan only grudgingly admitted it might be needed; when he said he would instead push for an “instant run-off”, and then only if no candidate received the 20 percent support necessary.

More under the fold.

Originally posted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Now, after political pressure from all sides, Lujan seems to be changing his tune a bit.  This change by Lujan just ahead of the January 15 start to the Legislative Session may be because of a potential backlash against his son, Ben Ray Lujan (D).  Ben Ray is running for Congress in the Third Congressional District, and is currently viewed as the frontrunner.  Because of that, he may be the one with the most to gain from less people on the primary ballot.

There is an additional hurdle to jump, however.  To implement such a bill before the June pre-primary nominating conventions, the bill would need to receive at least two-thirds of the votes in both the state House and Senate.  This is because it would be an emergency clause.

This is doable, however, because of broad bipartisan support for such a measure.  In the Senate, both party leaders support such a bill.  This is because the new rule could effect both Republicans and Democrats in the coming elections — Democrats in the Third Congressional District and Republicans in the Second Congressional District.

Lujan deciding to support such legislation should help.  Without the support of the the Speaker of the House, a bill has virtually no chance of being heard let alone passing.