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Dem legislator tries to defend blatant gerrymander, gets ripped to shreds

On Friday, leftist Sen. Joe Cervantes (D-Doña Ana) took to Twitter to claim the far-left Democrat gerrymandered maps passed in the Democrat-dominated legislature were not gerrymandered but rather were “competitive” maneuvers. The conversation came after GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell narrowly lost the seat to far-left Democrat Gabe Vasquez following the November 8 midterm elections. 

He wrote, “To those charging me with gerrymandering – we did the opposite. We created a competitive district rather than a seat assigned one party. This is how we restore Congress to the founders’ ideals, and turn back tribal extremists entirely beholden to parties.” 

It is unclear what Cervantes meant by “tribal extremists.”

The districts rip away the old one northern, southern, and central district approach, and force communities that have little common factors into adjoining districts. The maps plunge the South Valley of Albuquerque into the southern district while chopping Hobbs in half and splitting it between the Second and Third District. The formerly northern district now snakes down the eastern part of the state to Roswell, while Albuquerque is now adjoined with Lincoln, Chaves and other counties.

After his defense of rigging the map by drawing out the only conservative-leaning district to a Democrat one by an 18-point partisan swing, New Mexicans took to the comments to call him out for his leftist hackery. 

One commenter wrote, “Lying piece of s**t… south valley is not part of the souther[n] portion of the state.”

Another person wrote, “I live in Rio Rancho, I know exactly what you did. Been wishing I could be part of a red district, but I’ve been a part of D3 with Santa Fe for as long as I can remember. 

Then, a miracle, red D2 reached up to Rio-then the South Valley grew right off it, like some weird [appendage].”

“You know damn good and well what you did. If you can’t win fair and square you cheat. It’s the Democrat way. Curry is a red county,” wrote another.

Others replied with GIFs: 

Even Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), the retiring House speaker, admitted to the partisan gerrymander before the redistricting process, saying, “So this is the last election for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District with a map that looks like it looks now.” He added, “So next time it’ll be a different district and we’ll have to see what that means for Republican chances to hold it.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican’s columnist Milan Simonich wrote in a piece after the formerly Republican-leaning district was flipped blue:

Herrell put partisan complaints ahead of everything else. She did it again Wednesday after losing her congressional seat to Democrat Gabe Vasquez.

This time is different. Herrell actually has a valid complaint.

Her 2nd District was redrawn in a blatant example of gerrymandering. The 1st and 3rd congressional districts were manipulated in similar unfair fashion to weaken Herrell.

For instance, the state Legislature, dominated by Democrats, carved Republican-dominated Chaves County into three congressional districts.

But despite the left and right agreeing that what the Democrats did was a blatant gerrymander, Cervantes is doing whatever he feels he needs to justify his partisan power grab.

Ronchetti concedes hard-fought governor’s race: Read his statement

On Thursday, Republican former candidate for governor Mark Ronchetti released a formal concession letter via social media after Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was projected to be the winner of the heated gubernatorial contest: 

Unfortunately, things did not turn out the way we hoped on Tuesday night. After a long year on the campaign trail, the voters of New Mexico chose a different path than the vision our campaign laid out.

I got into this race last year for the same reason I ran for US Senate two years ago – I love this state & would do anything to try to make this a better place to live for New Mexican families. Safe streets, better schools, and more support for working families to make it to the end of the month should be the expectation, and for far too long our leaders have failed to set us on the path to attain that.

I truly hope that Governor Lujan Grisham finds success on those fronts, because that means the people of this beautiful state will be better off.

I also hope the Governor takes note of the results & prioritizes listening to those in our rural communities, and realizes that for far too long rural New Mexico has felt forgotten.

Most importantly, my family and I want to thank the thousands of you who supported my campaign with your time, resources and prayers. This campaign was a grassroots movement of people desperate for change, and it was an honor to represent you on the campaign trail and on the ballot.

I could never have made it to Election Day without the support from all of you. Every last one of you who I came into contact with shaped my perspective and vision.

This state has given so much to my family and I, and for that I will always be grateful.

God Bless,

Mark Ronchetti

According to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State, Ronchetti had 324,376 votes (46 percent) to Lujan Grisham’s 369,518 (52 percent). Libertarian Karen Bedonie garnered two percent with 17,361 votes.

City of Hobbs passes pro-life ordinance banning abortion facilities

On Monday, the City of Hobbs in Lea County voted 7-0 to pass an ordinance banning abortion facilities from operating in the city, a move that will effectively stop the big Texas abortion business “Whole Woman’s Health” from relocating to the city, as it previously planned. The ordinance is the first of its kind in the state of New Mexico. Other cities in states such as Texas have passed similar measures.

The sanctuary city for the unborn ordinance “blocks abortion clinics from operating,” according to Reuters. 

The full text of the ordinance reads, in part, as follows:

WHEREAS, Federal law imposes felony criminal liability on every person who ships or receives abortion pills or abortion-related paraphernalia in interstate or foreign commerce, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-62, and all such acts are predicate offenses under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), see 18 U.S.C. § 1961; and 

WHEREAS, the state constitution of New Mexico does not and cannot secure a right, privilege or immunity to act in violation of federal statutes such as 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-62, or to engage in criminal and racketeering conduct as defined by federal law; and WHEREAS, the members of the City Commission are bound by oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the statutory provisions codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-62 are the “supreme Law of the Land” under Article VI of the Constitution and must be obeyed and respected by every person within the municipal boundaries of Hobbs and by every judge in the State of New Mexico. See U.S. Const. art. VI (“[T]he Laws of the United States . .. shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”); and 

WHEREAS, the City of Hobbs City Commission calls upon the United States Attorneys for the District of New Mexico, both present and future, to investigate and prosecute abortion providers and abortion-pill distribution networks under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-62 and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO); and 

WHEREAS, the City of Hobbs City Commission encourages all victims of abortion providers and abortion-pill distribution networks, including the mothers, fathers, and surviving relatives of aborted unborn children, to sue these racketeering enterprises under civil RICO…

Right to Life Committee of Lea County member Lori Bova shared, “I have long advocated for life at the local, state, and national level. Sadly we just don’t have the numbers in Santa Fe to advance pro-life legislation. That is why I am thrilled our city and county leaders have been willing to listen to their constituents and take positive actions to ensure we don’t become an abortion destination in southeastern New Mexico.”

Bova continued, “With our proximity to the Texas state line, we knew even if our cities had protections in place, abortion providers would be able to set up shop in the unincorporated areas. I was encouraged last week as our Lea County Commissioners unanimously voted to move to publish an ordinance requiring clinics to abide by federal statute. I am grateful for their continued willingness to keep the life issue at the forefront.”

Clovis previously tabled a similar ordinance, while Alamogordo recently passed a sanctuary city for the unborn resolution. It is unclear if either locality will soon follow Hobbs and act upon ordinances banning abortions in their cities. 

The Lea County Commission last Thursday voted 5-0 to proceed with a similar ordinance following suit with the City of Hobbs’ to ban abortion facilities from the county.

Athens, Texas voters approved in the Tuesday midterm elections a proposition that will make made them a “sanctuary city for the unborn.”

The move by Hobbs angered rabidly pro-abortion Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who erroneously claimed on Twitter that the “extremist” measure would “criminalize essential reproductive health care,” which is not accurate. 

She added, “This is an affront to the rights & personal autonomy of every woman in New Mexico, and we will not stand for it.”

Democrat gerrymandering ends in win for anti-police Gabe Vasquez

On Wednesday afternoon, Democrat Gabe Vasquez declared victory in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District race against incumbent Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell, who has held the seat since 2021. 

Rep. Herrell wrote the following in a concession statement: 

While we are disappointed by the final results, I am incredibly proud of our team and the work we did serving our district, and I am grateful for the steadfast support of so many who helped us along the way. I’d also like to congratulate Gabe Vasquez on his victory.

Two years ago, the Democrats in Santa Fe announced they would gerrymander our district to ensure they would totally control our state’s federal delegation. Unfortunately, they did just that, ignoring the will of the people in the process by splitting up communities of interest and concentrating power in urban areas at the expense of rural New Mexico voices. While this was enough to give them a victory by less than 1% in this election, I am confident in our party’s ability to retake this seat next cycle as Joe Biden’s agenda continues to damage our great nation. Stay tuned!

Vasquez, who was hand-picked by Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich, who lives in Maryland, to run for the seat, only won due to Democrats’ aggressive partisan gerrymandering of New Mexico’s congressional map, which is currently pending in court. The map totally disregarded communities of interest and cut major chunks of the formerly conservative district into others, leaving three Democrat-dominated districts.

During the redistricting process, Democrat groups paid activists to show up at Citizens Redistricting Committee meetings and spew leftist propaganda to push for gerrymandered maps. The Democrat-controlled Legislature ultimately chucked out all the work of the supposed “nonpartisan” committee and instead just rammed through extreme partisan maps for political gain.

If the case is won by the Republican Party, it would switch the district back to the compact, non-gerrymandered previous maps, which had one central Albuquerque District and the northern and southern districts, the north leaning Democrat, while the south leaning Republican. 

The move was pushed by Democrat soon-to-be former New Mexico House Speaker, who was accused of using his power to ram through nakedly partisan maps via a dark money group, the Center for Civic Policy. 

As of Tuesday night, Vasquez and Herrell both were tied at 50 percent, with the Democrat narrowly leading by 1,277 votes.

The loss in the Second District comes as national Democrats, including U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, dunked tons of cash into the race to help Vasquez cross the finish. Polls in the race consistently showed a nearly tied contest.

Vasquez is a rabid opponent of the police, who backed “deconstructing” and defunding police departments. He supports full-term abortion, the Green New Deal, and a whole swath of other extremist left-wing policies.

After election win, MLG flees NM for Egypt ‘climate’ excursion

One day after winning a second term as governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham was reported to be leaving the state to go to an eco-leftist climate conference in Egypt.

The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Daniel Chacón reported, “New Mexico @GovMLG is traveling to Egypt on Friday to attend the second week of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference.” 

This is certainly not the first time the governor has fled New Mexico to go to a climate change function. 

In October of 2021, Lujan Grisham jetted off to a swanky climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where she brought along many of her political appointees to wine and dine with world leaders and speak about “climate change.” 

It is unclear how Lujan Grisham will travel to Egypt or how she will offset her carbon footprint, especially if she flies via jet as she did to Scotland.

Election results: MLG gets another term, GOP makes slight gains in state House

On Tuesday, New Mexico Republicans suffered losses in the 2022 midterm election, which was mired by obsessive talk about abortion by Democrats while key issues such as crime and inflation were swept under the rug by leftists. 

In the governor’s race, Democrat scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham won reelection against Republican Mark Ronchetti. Unofficial results as of 2:30 a.m. Wednesday showed Lujan Grisham with 52 percent of the vote, Ronchetti with 46 percent, while Libertarian Karen Bedonie garnered two percent. Ronchetti conceded to Lujan Grisham, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

In the state House, Republicans did not succeed in most attempts at knocking off Democrat incumbents, although Jenifer Jones of Deming is leading incumbent Democrat state Rep. Candie Sweetser of Deming by 49 votes, potentially triggering an automatic recount. 

Another seat the GOP flipped appears to be Albuquerque-based House District 68, currently held by retiring Democrat Rep. Karen Bash. Republican Robert Moss leads Democrat Charlotte Little by 12 votes. In the Sandoval County-based 23rd District, Republican Alan Martinez won over Democrat Ramon Montano, flipping the seat currently held by retiring Democrat Rep. Daymon Ely to the Republican column.

One Republican incumbent lost reelection, Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert of Corrales, who was defeated by Democrat Kathleen Cates. That leaves Republicans with 26 seats in the 70-member chamber if the results hold. This is a slight gain from the current 24 seats held in the state House. 

The losses in the state legislature came after Democrats’ aggressive partisan gerrymandering to benefit far-left Democrats. 

Both Democrat U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury of the First District and Teresa Leger Fernandez of the Third District easily won reelection, while Republican Congresswoman Yvette Herrell’s seat in the Second District remains too close to call. 

Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson trailed Leger Fernandez 42 percent to 58 percent. Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes trailed Stansbury 44 percent to 56 percent.

All statewide races for secretary of state, state treasurer, state land commissioner, attorney general, and state auditor swung toward Democrats, while all Democrat Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judges won their seats, keeping a 5-0 Democrat majority on the state’s highest court. 

All constitutional amendments and bond issues passed overwhelmingly, one of which will rob billions from the state’s Permanent Fund for socialist “free” daycare programs. 

Other high-profile races, such as Bernalillo County’s sheriff race, where billionaire Michael Bloomberg dunked large sums of cash into to help the Democrat, John Allen, swing in his favor also. 

More information will be added to this article when it becomes available.

Ronchetti holds massive closing rally in ABQ ahead of Election Day

On Monday night, Mark Ronchetti’s campaign held a final rally before Election Day in Albuquerque as a finale of his “Ronchetti on the Road” tour. During the tour, which began in late October, Ronchetti hit all 33 counties, with stops all across the map.

At the rally. Ronchetti said that the Santa Fe elites “want us to believe the lie that it can’t get better,” but it can get better by electing new leadership.

His team wrote on Twitter, “​​Don’t believe what the elites in Santa Fe tell us. We can have cleaner streets, educate our kids better, and put more money in your pocket.” 

A rival event Democrat Gov. Lujan Grisham had on Thursday appeared only to have a few dozen people in attendance. Ronchetti’s had hundreds, if not at least 1,000.

Photos of the crowds show the magnitude of the support Ronchetti had garnered.

Lujan Grisham, the incumbent governor, has been polling within the margin of error with Ronchetti, with one poll showing him beating her by a single point. He has outraised the governor during three separate reporting periods, proving how strong the “red wave” could be against the embattled, scandal-ridden governor. 

Both candidates, as well as Libertarian Karen Bedonie, will battle it out at the ballot box on Tuesday, with polls opening at 7:00 a.m. and closing at 7:00 p.m. for more information about voting, visit this article.

NM House Speaker Egolf does the unthinkable before Election Day

Far-left New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), who is retiring after his current term ends, is weaponizing his political committee, “The Speaker Fund,” to viciously attack Republican state legislative candidates, specifically Greg Cunningham running against far-left state Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Bernalillo) in the Albuquerque-based District 29. 

Egolf is funding a commercial that portrays police officers as the Gestapo stopping women from getting abortions in New Mexico. The commercial features a woman driving a young woman named “Grace” to an abortion appointment. The officers in the commercial interrogate Grace about if she is pregnant. Then it shows the officers forcibly rejecting the two women from the car, with the words “REJECT GREG CUNNINGHAM” in bold, ominous letters. 

The extreme portrayal, in the attempt to stigmatize pro-life legislation, angered police officers who put their lives on the line each day to protect communities. 

The Albuquerque Police Officers Association took great offense to the commercial, writing, “Disgusting, ridiculous and insulting. Shame on you Brian Egolf – Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives this portrayal of officers is beyond awful. Your fear-mongering knows no limits.”

The advertisement is running on television. The race has been rated a “toss-up” by political commentators and is one of the races slated for Republicans to take back on Tuesday in the General Election. 

The incumbent, Garratt, who supports abortion up-to-birth and infanticide policies that require no protections whatsoever for medical professionals, doctors, and children, is running on a rabidly anti-life ticket. 

Cunningham has focused on his ending of late-term abortion in the state, but the soon-to-be former House Speaker is keen on using his last bit of influence to attack any and every Republican running in districts where Democrats are vulnerable.

Cunningham wrote after the commercial dropped, “In the final hours of her reelection campaign, Joy Garratt… should denounce this disgusting attack on police officers which is being run on her behalf. The sad reality is that her party has become so anti-law enforcement that she prefers to score political points at the expense of the hardworking police officers of Albuquerque.” 

In fact, the only women who have been arrested in New Mexico are those who abortionists had arrested after they botched the woman’s abortion. In 2020, a woman was arrested at an abortion facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after she suffered a twice-botched abortion.

Instead of focusing on the issues New Mexicans truly care about, such as crime, inflation, and getting the economy back on track, Egolf and the Democrats are trying to use abortion as a wedge issue to push their weakest Democrats to victory. 

According to his latest New Mexico Campaign Finance System report, Egolf’s PAC, which is heavily funded by state House Minority Leader Javier Martínez, spent at least $113,400 on TV ad time and booking through November 1, 2022. Martinez dunked $89,100 into the committee during the last reporting period alone.

The Speaker Fund spent at least $54,023.96 to help Garratt during the last financial period. She also got $4,399.89 in aid from Planned Parenthood.

Election day is Tuesday, November 8. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Reports of voter intimidation in NM: What you need to know for Election Day

Tuesday is Election Day, and there are some reports already of voter intimidation during early voting that concluded on Saturday. 

According to elections expert Erin Clements, Otero County Clerk Robin Holmes “is telling her poll workers that if voters want to use their own blue pen to fill out their ballots… to WRITE DOWN THEIR NAMES AND REFER THEM TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY,” adding, “That’s  VOTER INTIMIDATION from a public official!”

According to NMSA 1-12-57, “After marking and preparing a paper ballot in a polling place, the voter: A. shall not show it to any person in the polling place in such a way as to reveal its contents; And B. shall feed the paper ballot into the electronic vote tabulator.” 

Therefore, the poll workers should not be able even to know if the individual used a blue or black pen to fill in the ballot.

The state statute affirms in NMSA 1-12-59 that such activity “may constitute the crime of offering a bribe, coercion of employees, coercion of voters, intimidation or conspiracy to violate the Election Code.” 

According to a guide promulgated by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, “A ballot properly marked with any device other than the marking device provided to the voter shall be counted,” no matter what color or type of utensil was used to fill it out.

After this revelation from Clements, Professor David Clements wrote, “I personally reached out to the Otero County Sheriff and District Attorney this evening and demanded assurances that they would take no part in the corrupt Otero county clerk’s scheme to threaten voters.” 

The Clements and others are informing voters that they should fill out their ballots on Election Day with blue ballpoint pens instead of those provided at the precinct. This will leave an indentation on the ballot that cannot be replicated by printing mechanisms in the machine, which cannot leave such a mark. Many legal documents are signed with preferably blue ink, and ballots are no exception. The machines do not have the capability of printing in blue ink.

What you need to know before you vote on Election Day:

  • To prepare to vote, you can view your sample ballot by searching your voter registration here. It is advised to print out a copy of your sample ballot and fill it in or to write down what/who you would like to vote for so that when you get to the polls, you will be prepared. 
  • There will be multiple bond issues, constitutional amendments, and judicial retentions on the ballot. All the judges up for retention are Democrat judges. All the constitutional amendments will result in either higher taxes or an increase in government overreach. All bond issues will either extend or increase taxes, while millions in tax revenue from the previous bonds have not even been spent yet. Take this into consideration before voting. 
  • All voting locations for Election Day can be found by visiting your local county clerk’s website or by searching by your address here. Polls are open Tuesday between 7:00 am and 7:00 p.m. If you are in line to vote before 7:00 p.m. and while you are waiting, the time goes past 7:00 p.m., you are still allowed to vote. Stay in line. 
  • Voting does matter. For people who say their votes don’t count, many elections across the state have been determined by a handful of votes. Every single vote counts, especially for the statewide races.
  • If told at the precinct that you already voted, voters are advised to call the sheriff. Call the sheriff if any other issues of voter intimidation or potentially illegal activity arise. All sheriff offices’ phone numbers across New Mexico can be found here. It is advised you have your local sheriff’s phone number saved on your phone for easy access.
  • If election workers try to take away your writing device or attempt to stop you from voting with it, call the sheriff. That is voter intimidation. You can vote with a blue ballpoint pen, and your vote is legally required to be counted.
  • If you spoil your ballot at the voting location (such as voting incorrectly and wanting to fix it or any other incident), please make sure your ballot reads “SPOILED” on the ballot itself to indicate it has been rejected and you are issued a new one.
  • If you have an absentee ballot and it has not been returned yet, DO NOT PUT IT IN THE MAIL. Hand-deliver it to a voting precinct on Election Day to make sure it is counted. If you put it in the mail at this late date, your vote will not count.
  • New Mexico has same-day voter registration. If you are not registered to vote yet, YOU CAN STILL VOTE. At the polling location, you can register to vote on Election Day by bringing a form of identification, such as a driver’s license and a utility/phone/mortgage bill to register. 

For any other information about voting, New Mexicans are urged to visit NMVote.org. The phone number for the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office is 505-827-3600 (Option 2).

Soros family, Bloomberg spend last-ditch cash to help Lujan Grisham

According to Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign filing between October 4, 2022, and November 1, 2022, the far-left governor got a last-ditch surge of cash from the George Soros family — this time from Soros’ third child Jonathan and his wife, Jennifer.

The billionaire’s son and his wife gave $10,000 each to Lujan Grisham on October 6. 

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA)-linked PAC “A Stronger New Mexico,” which is helping Lujan Grisham, received an October 7 surge of cash from Democrat billionaire ex-New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. He dunked $1 million into the PAC to help save the governor’s hide. His anti-gun group “Everytown for Gun Safety” also dunked $100,000 into the PAC. 

Other contributions to the pro-Lujan Grisham PAC included $150,000.00 from the abortion up-to-birth group EMILY’s List, as well as $4.7 million from the DGA, and $150,000 from the enviro-Marxist Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Votes.

On Lujan Grisham’s campaign financials, she was outraised by Republican Mark Ronchetti, who beat her in the fundraising period by around $80,000. Ronchetti brought in $1,414,005.53, Lujan Grisham raised $1,334,096.93, while Libertarian candidate Karen Bedonie brought in $10,242.74.

Lujan also received contributions from many Democrat state senators and representatives, including Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo) and Katy Duhigg (D-Bernalillo), among others. State Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Bernalillo), who is angling for an appointment to a vacant state Senate seat left open by Jacob Candelaria, gave Lujan Grisham a $1,000 contribution on October 11. He then gave Lujan Grisham an additional $5,000 contribution on October 25 — six days after Candelaria’s sudden resignation.

Approximately 81 of her contributions during the period came from attorneys, 13 from those identifying themselves as “CEOs,” 20 from professors, and 15 from artists, among others. She also received $3,000 from far-left actress Jane Fonda. The Planned Parenthood abortion business gave her $1,325.66 in in-kind contributions during the period. 

Expenditures from Lujan Grisham were mostly for airtime and expenses paid through the Democrat Party of New Mexico. She paid her former communications director Tripp Stelnicki $10,000 during the period for “consulting services” while also spending big on polling, such as a $26,925.00 expense on October 28 and a $34,800.00 expense on October 14 to the pollster Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc. in Washington, D.C. 

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