Danger for Democrats in New Mexico: Investment raining down to make it a battleground state

It has been several years since New Mexico has been considered a Democratic state. Indeed, the last time it voted for a Republican for president was 20 years ago, and it has had two Democrats in the Senate for 15 years, who, in election cycles, care more about primaries than the general election. However, the dynamics could be different in the November elections, since there is a heavy investment to make this state more competitive, particularly in the race for the Senate.

Like the rest of the country, New Mexico has suffered the consequences of the last four years of the Biden-Harris administration. Inflation, crime and particularly the migration crisis hit the state's neighbors. The state happens to be one of the six that directly borders Mexico. At the same time, it has the highest percentage of Hispanic population in the country, 47%.

In addition to voting for president, New Mexicans will go to the polls in November to elect their senator. In this race, Democrat Martin Heinrich will seek a third term against Republican Nella Domenici, a historic surname for the state since her father was in the Senate for 36 years.

The heavy investment that could complicate things for Harris and Heinrich in New Mexico

The Senate election map for 2024 is particularly hostile for Democrats, given that they must defend many seats in competitive states: Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Montana.

However, there is a strong investment in New Mexico joining this roster. The effort is led by Election Freedom Inc., a nonprofit organization that has been producing ads and sending emails to raise awareness of Democratic candidates in the state.

Derek Dufresne, an Election Freedom Inc. consultant, spoke exclusively with VOZ and explained the strategy heading into the November election, which is based on telling voters about the results of policies pushed by Harris and Heinrich.

“In New Mexico, we are running an aggressive seven figure, complete, issue-based campaign, focusing on the significant policy failures of Kamala Harris and Martin Heinrich, which will continue through November," he said.

"The reality is that New Mexicans deserve an honest conversation about the issues impacting them and their families. In a state dominated by a far-left liberal agenda, they haven’t had that. Educating these hardworking people on the specific policy failures of both Harris and Heinrich is crucial to laying the ground work for change. We are very confident that our contribution to the important dialogues happening around kitchen tables across the state will have a significant impact in the weeks to come and beyond," Dufresne added.

"They don't care about us"

As for Election Freedom Inc. content, one of the most viral was a video titled " They don't care about us" (" No les importamos"), of which they also released a Spanish-language version for New Mexico's huge Hispanic community.

The video focuses primarily on how policies pushed by Harris from the White House and Heinrich from the Senate impacted families in the state.

"Heinrich and Harris voted for dangerous policies that make life unaffordable for New Mexico families. Heinrich and Harris vote as if they don't care about us. In fact, their policies sold us out," the ad's voiceover narrates. As for its impact, it has already surpassed one and a half million views on Youtube.

Who is Martin Heinrich?

Heinrich spent four years in the House of Representatives before running for Senate in 2012. He won his seat after defeating Republican Heather Wilson, who later served as secretary of the U.S. Air Force for part of the Trump administration.

As for the Biden-Harris administration, Heinrich voted for the White House position 98% of the time, including the American Bailout Plan Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

In turn, he introduced legislation to admit Puerto Rico to the union and was one of the first senators to endorse Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy in July of this year.

"She brings incredible strenght and you saw for moment one that Kamala was in command of this campaign apparatus and she was treating the campaign the way she prosecutes a case. (...) She represents stability," Heinrich said of Harris in late July.

Heinrich will face Republican Nella Domenici, daughter of former Senator Pete Domenici and former chief financial officer of Bridgewater Associates.