2 weeks Ago
Politicians seldom do favors for the opposition, at least not if they're thinking strategically. During the self-serving frenzy that was redistricting, New Mexico's dominant Democratic legislators made decisions that might vault a hard-right Republican to the state Senate in next week's election. After the last U.
S. census, state lawmakers were supposed to redraw all 112 legislative districts to account for shifts in population. In certain instances, demographics meant nothing.
Politics counted for everything. The most glaring example was Senate District 12 in downtown Albuquerque, the domain of liberal Democratic Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino.
He won reelection in 2020 with 77% of the vote. Ortiz y Pino told other Democrats he wouldn't run for a sixth term in 2024. His pending retirement made District 12 a target for political looting.
"My district was divided into six other districts," Ortiz y Pino said. To the surprise of no one, Democrats were in power in all those districts. They received the influx of voters from Ortiz y Pino's progressive territory.
This redistribution gutted District 12 as Ortiz y Pino knew it. "They kept the number, but made it a totally different district," he said. Newly configured Senate District 12 includes 51,700 people in the far northwest corner of Bernalillo County and part of Rio Rancho.
The area is much more conservative than the district Ortiz y Pino represented. A statistical analysis authorized by the Legislature says District 12 now leans Republican, 53% to 47%. Redistricting in this instance gave Republican Jay Block of Rio Rancho a solid base to draw from in revamped District 12.
"I'm afraid he has a very good chance," Ortiz y Pino said Tuesday. Block is a Sandoval County commissioner who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. He trounced a moderate Republican, former state Sen.
Candace Gould, in the spring primary. The Democratic candidate is Phillip Ramirez of Albuquerque. He and his sister manage the family's construction business.
Ramirez needs to dominate the Bernalillo County section of District 12 to offset Block's strength in Rio Rancho. Ramirez ran a distant third in his first foray into politics, a race for an Albuquerque City Council seat in 2021. He called it a learning experience.
Block is a more seasoned politician. He is concluding his second term as a Sandoval County commissioner. Block also ran an anemic campaign for governor in 2022.
He finished third in his own county in the five-way Republican primary. Block received only 12,469 votes from all 33 counties. Television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti had more than 21,000 votes in Bernalillo County alone and 68,000 statewide.
Block can forget the sting of being blown away in the governor's race if he wins election as a senator. Democrats control the Senate 25-17, and Republican pickups in urban areas are rare. Republicans through their own neglect already have lost one seat to Democrats.
Crafty mapmaking by Democrats moved Sen. Joshua Sanchez, R-Bosque, out of his District 30. Sanchez is running in a new district, but Republicans failed to find anyone to replace him in District 30.
Democrat Angel Charley will win that seat next week without opposition. Democratic lawmakers demonstrated another creative maneuver in redistricting House District 38 in Southern New Mexico. Its sitting representative when redistricting occurred three years ago was Republican Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences.
She had committed to a long-shot campaign for governor in 2022 instead of seeking another term in the House of Representatives. Dow's exit from the Legislature made it easier for Democrats to redraw District 38. As part of their widespread changes, they shifted Dow's home to a different district.
Like Block, Dow lagged far behind Ronchetti in the Republican primary for governor. Following that defeat, Dow decided she wanted to return to the Legislature. She moved to get back inside the borders of District 38.
Dow is challenging first-term Democratic Rep. Tara Jaramillo of Socorro in the general election. Campaign insiders say their race looks like a close one.
Seeming desperate, Dow is running one of New Mexico's dirtier campaigns. Among her false advertisements is a claim that "Jaramillo voted to allow radical, irreversible transgender surgery on kids without parental consent." Dow is pressing for an advantage by any means.
That puts her in league with foes who saw redistricting as a ticket to protect and expand their turf. Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.
com or 505-986-3080..
