New Mexico did fairly well in our voting, with the State continuing to trend Democratic or, as they say on television, Blue.
Biden won the State by a solid ten points over Trump. In the US Senate race, Ben Ray Lujan won by five points, something I had predicted to friends all along (state polling data, always a bit off due to rural voting patterns, had Ben Ray up by as much as 10 points). Ben Ray was popular in the district in which I live, but was largely unknown to the rest of the state when he made his move. He had lots of money and could trounce any progressive, but I like him more than any other establishment Democrat, I have to say. The Republican candidate was a tv weatherman who successfully conveyed a folksy charm in his tv ads, and I was worried for Ben Ray throughout the race.
Two of New Mexico's three Congressional seats went strongly for Democratic Party women who at least pose as progressives (now second term, Deb Haaland, and newcomer Teresa Fernandez-Leger, replacing Ben Ray). However, the first-term "moderate" (meaning corporate bound) Democratic Party Congressional incumbent, Xotchil Torres-Small, went down to what appears to be a significant defeat to a woman Trumpist, after XTS' fluke win in 2018, which win based upon high young, progressive, and Hispanic turnout in that mid-term, and Trumpist voters staying home after a bruising, divisive primary. XTS was a major disappointment to young people and progressives, as she lacked any real enthusiasm for her re-election campaign among the natural Democratic Party base in this still Republican oriented district. XTS ran away from the Green New Deal, never once trying to say it was really a jobs bill, voted against increasing the minimum wage, and looked for votes from elusive "moderate" Republican so beloved on cable news, as noted in my earlier morning post on the national election. She was far better off hanging with The Squad in Congress than coming off as a phony who was neither progressive nor conservative.
State legislature races reveal New Mexico's progressive wing of the Democratic Party scored net gains in the State Senate and House of Representatives, though some seats in conservative districts were lost. The great news overall is the conservative Democrats in the Senate certainly have had their wings cut, and, where I live, voters replaced, in the State Senate, a conservative Democrat with a liberal-progressive, Brenda McKenna. Our state House rep, Daymon Ely, cruised to victory over a well-funded Republican.
Interestingly, Sandoval County overall voted for Biden over Trump by over seven points, which is somewhat surprising, considering how rabid the Republican white voters in my area were for Trump. However, the County Commission, which votes in districts, and not county-wide, retained its 3-2 Republican (and right wing) control, with our local Commissioner, Jay Block, winning re-election by about 300 votes (not sure if all counted). I had thought Jay would win, on the power of incumbency, most of this cycle, and I worried about the gravitas of our Democratic Party candidate. Jay and I became friendly, at least for awhile, though I was very clear, at least I hoped I was, that he and disagree on too much for me to make my vote a personal vote as opposed to a policy vote. I hope, though, Jay will take me up on my idea to bring In-And-Out Burgers to Rio Rancho...:). It looks like, though, for the next four years, I'll be fighting Jay on the cultural issues that creep into county politics, and especially the environmental issues. Local government tends to be more about fixing streets and such, and there, Commissioner Block's good work there I believe helped him convince some Dems in our district to vote for him. He was the only Republican to score the Firefighter's Union vote, which I felt was pivotal in this close race.
