Politics

Embattled Dem’s latest filing packed with fast food, hotels, 94 ‘Bank Card’ charges

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico state Rep. Joseph Hernandez’s latest campaign-finance report is in, and the spending pattern previously documented by the Piñon Post did not end with the earlier filings.

The Shiprock lawmaker’s First General Report, filed Sept. 14 with the New Mexico Secretary of State, shows another $6,797.40 in campaign expenditures, including hotels, restaurants, fast food, gas stations, convenience stores, taxis, airfare, grocery and retail purchases, and a new reporting description that appears again and again:

“Bank Card.”

A Piñon Post line-by-line review found 99 individual expenditure entries in the new report. Ninety-four of them — nearly 95% — contain “Bank Card” as the transaction description. Those transactions account for $6,407.40 of the $6,797.40 spent during the reporting period.

Using a debit or bank card is not itself unusual or evidence of wrongdoing. But “Bank Card” explains only how the expenditure was paid, while many of the accompanying purpose categories remain broad descriptions such as “candidate travel, lodging, and meals,” “meetings and appearances,” or “fundraising events.”

The filing comes weeks after Piñon Post reported on more than $101,000 in prior Hernandez campaign spending, including restaurants, fried-chicken chains, grocery and big-box stores, hotels, gift cards, cash withdrawals and unusual banking transactions.

The newest disclosure shows many of those same spending patterns continuing.

Another trail of fast food and restaurant charges

The latest report contains at least $1,000 in readily identifiable restaurant, fast-food, diner and coffee-shop spending, not counting grocery stores, convenience stores or many merchants whose names do not make the nature of the purchase obvious.

Among the familiar names are Domino’s, Panda Express, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Golden Corral, Sonic, Which Wich, McDonald’s, Little Caesars, Starbucks and Blake’s Lotaburger.

On July 10, the campaign spent $46.02 at Domino’s in Salt Lake City.

Four days later came $11.48 at Panda Express in Roswell and $17 at Taco Bell in Farmington.

Then came $19 at Dairy Queen in Monte Vista, Colorado, on July 15; $30 at Domino’s in Golden, Colorado, on July 17; and, on July 20, $50.30 at Golden Corral in Pueblo and $28.81 at Sonic in Golden.

The food spending continued into August.

On Aug. 3, the campaign reported $29.57 at Great American Bagel in Chicago, $19.15 at McDonald’s in Shiprock, and $49.39 at Starbucks in Farmington.

Two days later came $61.55 at TJ’s Diner in Farmington, followed the next day by $53.22 at Nataani Nez Restaurant in Shiprock.

On Aug. 7, Hernandez’s campaign reported $34.03 at Little Caesars in Albuquerque.

Three days later came $41 at Domino’s in Shiprock, followed by $5.57 at The Coffee Ship. The next day brought $9.17 at Sonic in Shiprock.

On Aug. 13, the campaign spent $22.03 at Blake’s Lotaburger and reported two charges — $8 and $115.50 — at Daanzho Restaurant in Dulce.

Then came another $7.30 at Starbucks, $13.34 at McDonald’s, $8.09 at Sonic, and $8.75 at The Coffee Ship before the reporting period ended.

A conservative tally of only readily identifiable fast-food and counter-service chains — including Domino’s, Panda Express, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Which Wich, McDonald’s, Little Caesars, Blake’s and Great American Bagel — comes to more than $350 in this single report alone.

That does not include sit-down restaurants, coffee shops, buffets or food purchases from grocery and convenience stores.

The Chicago trip is now in the campaign ledger

The report also provides the most detailed campaign-finance picture yet of Hernandez’s trip to Chicago, where the National Conference of State Legislatures held its 2026 Legislative Summit from July 27 through July 29 at McCormick Place. NCSL’s official schedule confirms the conference dates and shows events running throughout July 29, including a closing event at Navy Pier that evening.

Hernandez later withdrew from his reelection campaign after reports surfaced about a Chicago hotel incident during the conference. Hernandez apologized for his behavior and said he was seeking professional help for “challenges with alcohol.” News reports citing a Chicago police report said officers responded after reports of a man running naked in a hotel hallway and knocking on doors.

His new campaign report now shows $828.40 in campaign-account transactions in Chicago from July 27 through July 30 alone.

On July 27, Hernandez’s campaign reported spending at a Chicago taxi service, HOB Restaurant, four separate Hyatt Regency Chicago transactions and another Chicago merchant.

The HOB Restaurant entry was $48.05. The listed address — 329 N. Dearborn St. — corresponds to the House of Blues Restaurant & Bar in Chicago.

On July 28, the campaign reported another taxi transaction and two purchases at Expresso and Milk.

Then came July 29 — the date associated with the hotel incident in news reports.

Hernandez’s campaign reported seven expenditures that day totaling $378.98: $21.23 at “Chicago Down Town Hotel,” $20.22 at “Cmt Chicago IL,” three taxi charges of $14.41, $17.38 and $24.61, a $17.88 McCormick Place charge, and a much larger $263.25 “Pin Debit Dda” transaction at a Chicago address.

All seven were placed under “candidate travel, lodging, and meals.”

All seven were described as “Bank Card.”

The following day, July 30, the campaign reported another $199.12 in Chicago transactions: $50 and $120 entries at “China Hotel” and two additional taxi charges.

The filings themselves do not establish that any of those purchases were improper, nor do they disclose what specifically was purchased in the $263.25 debit transaction.

Hotels across several states

The latest disclosure also contains substantial lodging expenses outside Chicago.

On June 29, the campaign spent $411.09 at Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero. The next day came $320.55 at Hyatt House Denver.

On July 10, the campaign reported $363.14 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, presumably for the Council of State Governments West conference. Three days later, another Salt Lake City hotel entry — Hyatt Place — cost the campaign $681.39.

Other lodging expenses included $108.97 at Candlewood Suites in Roswell, $123.09 plus a separate $4 charge at a Hampton Inn in Pueblo, and $160.72 at Staybridge Suites in Albuquerque.

There were also repeated gas-station and convenience-store expenditures at Allsup’s, Maverik, Speedway, Sinclair, Shiprock Quickstop, 7-2-11, Circle K and other locations.

And one familiar merchant from Hernandez’s older reports surfaced again.

On Aug. 3, the campaign spent $47.68 at Circle W in Waterflow, categorized once again as “candidate travel, lodging, and meals.”

Even another ATM entry

Despite the new emphasis on “Bank Card,” one transaction was reported differently.

On July 20, Hernandez himself is listed as the payee of a $10 ATM transaction.

Its campaign-purpose category reads:

“00-No Category Applies (Explain Below).”

The expenditure entry provides no substantive explanation of what the $10 was used for.

Previous Hernandez reports reviewed by Piñon Post included much larger cash-style and self-directed transactions, including $1,200 “Cash Out” entries, an over-the-counter transaction, ATM withdrawals and a $9,074.35 contribution Hernandez described as a “placeholder” to bring a negative reported balance above zero.

$6,797 spent, $4,245 raised

The new filing shows Hernandez entered the reporting period with $24,295.34 in cash.

He reported raising $4,245 while spending $6,797.40, leaving a closing balance of $21,742.94.

Contributions during the period included $500 from the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club PAC, $300 from the NEA-New Mexico Advocacy Fund for Public Education, $250 from Friends of Liz Stefanics, and $1,500 across two contributions from Craig Corwin. Hernandez also reported a $120 contribution from himself.

His campaign’s final reported expenditure in the filing came on Aug. 24, one day before he publicly announced his withdrawal from the reelection race.

That charge was $233.19 at Shamrock Food Service Warehouse in Farmington, categorized as a fundraising-event expense.

And, like 93 other expenditures in Hernandez’s newest report, its description consisted of the same two words:

“Bank Card.”

To read Hernandez’s latest campaign report, click here.

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Vasquez, Haaland board the Buttigieg baggage train

17 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez and gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland welcomed Joe Biden’s former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Las Cruces on Sunday, tying their campaigns to one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile former Cabinet officials — whose four years overseeing the nation’s transportation system were marked by a series of major failures, safety controversies and federal watchdog warnings.

Hundreds of people attended the rally at Centennial High School, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, where Buttigieg campaigned for both Democrats and praised his former Biden administration colleague Haaland and Vasquez.

Buttigieg told the crowd Vasquez had him “on speed dial” while he led the Department of Transportation, touting federal money directed toward projects in southern New Mexico.

Cunningham, Vasquez’s Republican challenger, responded by highlighting the political company Vasquez was keeping.

“Gabe Vasquez has spent four years telling southern New Mexico he is a moderate,” Cunningham said in a statement reported by the New Mexican. “Today he is on a stage with a woman who ran the Interior Department while Washington froze new oil and gas leasing and a man who wanted to decriminalize illegal border crossing. That is not an accident.”

Vasquez, meanwhile, used social media after the rally to argue his campaign is about “unity, respect, and putting New Mexico values FIRST.”

But Buttigieg’s appearance also revives scrutiny of the record he compiled as transportation secretary from 2021 through January 2025.

Nationwide FAA shutdown on Buttigieg’s watch

One of the most extraordinary breakdowns occurred in January 2023, when a failure of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Notice to Air Missions system forced officials to halt departures across the United States.

It was the first nationwide ground stop of that scale since Sept. 11, 2001.

Buttigieg later testified that contract personnel had unintentionally deleted files while attempting to synchronize the live NOTAM database with its backup. The FAA grounded departures for nearly two hours while the problem was addressed.

The outage ultimately exposed much deeper problems.

A subsequent Government Accountability Office review found that the FAA considered 51 of its 138 air-traffic-control systems “unsustainable,” including systems suffering from obsolete functionality and difficulty obtaining replacement parts. GAO found that 17 were particularly concerning and that some modernization projects remained six to 10 years away.

Air-traffic-controller shortages persisted

The FAA also struggled with chronic controller shortages during Buttigieg’s tenure.

By May 2024, major airlines were publicly pressing the government to address staffing deficiencies, with some critical facilities relying on mandatory overtime and the FAA easing flight requirements around New York because it did not have enough controllers.

The FAA did increase hiring — including 1,811 controllers in fiscal 2024, slightly above its target — but the shortage remained a significant operational problem. Later GAO analysis found that the controller workforce had declined by roughly 6% over a decade while flights using the system increased about 10%. The shortage had roots extending before Buttigieg’s tenure, including pandemic-era training disruptions, but it remained unresolved when he left office.

Watchdog: FAA’s Boeing oversight was ‘not effective’

A separate and particularly serious criticism came from the Transportation Department’s own inspector general.

In October 2024, DOT’s Office of Inspector General concluded that the FAA’s processes for overseeing Boeing 737 and 787 production were “not effective.”

The watchdog said Boeing had experienced repeated production problems and that FAA’s processes for identifying and resolving manufacturing deficiencies needed improvement.

The scrutiny intensified after an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 lost a door plug in flight in January 2024.

The FAA subsequently grounded 171 MAX 9 aircraft, halted Boeing’s planned production expansion and increased inspectors at Boeing facilities.

The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that Boeing’s inadequate training and oversight caused the incident — but it also found the FAA was ineffective in ensuring Boeing corrected known, repetitive manufacturing problems.

East Palestine response became political disaster

Buttigieg also faced fierce criticism following the Feb. 3, 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where cars carrying hazardous chemicals left the tracks and residents raised concerns about contamination and health effects.

Buttigieg waited roughly three weeks before personally visiting the community.

He later acknowledged that he should have acted publicly sooner.

“I could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident, and that’s a lesson learned for me,” Buttigieg told CBS at the time. He later similarly acknowledged that he should have visited sooner.

Transportation secretaries do not ordinarily travel immediately to every derailment, and federal transportation personnel were on the ground earlier. Still, Buttigieg’s delayed public response became one of the defining controversies of his Cabinet tenure.

Billions for EV chargers, sluggish deployment

Another signature Biden-era transportation initiative also suffered a slow rollout.

The 2021 infrastructure law authorized $7.5 billion for two major federal EV-charging programs, including the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program overseen by the Federal Highway Administration.

Yet the first NEVI-funded stations did not open until late 2023.

By April 2025 — several months after Buttigieg left office — GAO found that the NEVI and Charging and Fueling Infrastructure programs combined had produced just 384 publicly open chargers. GAO also concluded that DOT and the Joint Office responsible for the effort had failed to fully define performance goals for major portions of the initiative.

The $7.5 billion was never intended to be spent immediately and was authorized across several fiscal years, but even Congress expressed concern about the pace of deployment, according to GAO.

Hundreds of watchdog recommendations remained open

The problems were broader than individual headline-making episodes.

By April 2024, GAO reported that DOT had 212 open recommendations, including 20 designated as priority recommendations because addressing them could improve safety, government operations, transparency or the stewardship of federal money.

DOT’s own inspector general also identified aviation safety, air-traffic modernization, surface transportation safety, infrastructure management, grant stewardship, cybersecurity and fraud prevention among the department’s major management challenges during Buttigieg’s final full year in office.

Haaland and Vasquez are presenting Buttigieg as a successful former Cabinet colleague who helped steer federal money toward New Mexico. Their opponents have a markedly different record to point to: a nationwide FAA shutdown, persistent controller shortages, ineffective Boeing oversight, a painfully delayed East Palestine appearance, a sluggish multibillion-dollar EV-charger rollout and hundreds of outstanding federal watchdog recommendations.

As Buttigieg attempts to build his own national profile ahead of 2028, Vasquez and Haaland are making clear that they are comfortable putting his Biden-era record alongside their own on the 2026 campaign trail.

Vasquez, Haaland board the Buttigieg baggage train Read More »

Vasquez attacks rival’s national spotlight, backlash follows

28 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez went on the offensive against Republican challenger Greg Cunningham after Cunningham used a nationally televised GOP convention speech to hammer crime, border security and fentanyl in New Mexico — accusing his opponent of abandoning New Mexicans to “kiss the ring” of President Donald Trump.

Cunningham, a retired Albuquerque police detective and Marine Corps veteran, spoke Thursday at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, where he was among candidates from competitive congressional districts given a national platform. KOAT reported that Cunningham’s appearance underscored the growing national attention surrounding New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District race.

Vasquez responded with a video recorded from his truck.

“While New Mexicans are struggling to make ends meet, my opponent, @cunninghamfornm, is choosing to fly to Texas to stand on a stage and support President Trump and this extreme MAGA administration,” Vasquez wrote.

In the accompanying video, Vasquez contrasted Cunningham’s Dallas appearance with his own campaigning in southern New Mexico.

“I’m sitting in my truck heading to our campaign office to make some calls with some of our volunteers here in Las Cruces,” Vasquez said, adding that he had recently traveled through Silver City, Hatch, Deming and Las Cruces.

Then he turned his attention to Cunningham.

“So where’s my opponent today?” Vasquez asked. “Well, he’s in Dallas speaking at the Trumpapalooza. He’s kissing the ring, he’s cozying up with MAGA donors who are making millions in the Trump economy.”

Cunningham used stage to focus on New Mexico

Cunningham’s actual convention address, however, was heavily focused on New Mexico and his law-enforcement background.

He recounted serving in the Marine Corps during Desert Storm before joining the Albuquerque Police Department, where he said he worked patrol and narcotics and spent years undercover targeting gangs and cartels.

Cunningham then criticized Democratic leadership over crime, drugs and border security.

“Well, where has that gotten us?” Cunningham asked after noting Democrats control New Mexico’s governorship and Legislature and currently hold the state’s congressional delegation.

He also attacked Vasquez directly over his past rhetoric concerning policing and immigration enforcement.

“New Mexicans do not have to live this way,” Cunningham said. “Yes, the border can be closed. Illegal crossings can be stopped.”

The Dallas appearance was hardly accidental. Cunningham was specifically included among Republican nominees from competitive House districts featured at the convention, and national coverage singled out NM-02 as one of the races receiving attention.

Vasquez instead sought to turn the focus toward household expenses.

“Meanwhile in New Mexico folks here are digging deeper and deeper just to stay afloat, to buy a tank of gas, a gallon of milk, to pay for their prescriptions, to pay for their utility bills,” he said.

He opened the video by pointing out that national diesel prices had crossed $6 per gallon.

That claim is accurate. The national average exceeded $6 for the first time this week amid major global supply disruptions, including the conflict involving Iran and attacks on Russian refining infrastructure, according to Reuters.

The cost-of-living issue has also become politically difficult for the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, with Reuters reporting that high prices remain a major concern as the midterms approach.

Vasquez’s sharpest personal attack involved Trump’s recent social-media posts floating the name “New America” for New Mexico.

“Greg just stepped off the stage where just yesterday President Trump was openly mocking New Mexico and not a peep from Greg,” Vasquez said. “Pretty spineless if you ask me.”

Trump recently posted an altered image replacing “Mexico” with “America” in the state’s name, prompting widespread reactions from Democratic elected officials. Trump cannot unilaterally change New Mexico’s legal name; doing so would require changing the state Constitution.

Vasquez then took the argument further.

“This should give an idea to all New Mexicans of how Greg would govern in Congress,” he said. “For Donald Trump and for New America, not for the gente.”

“Or should I say for the people because I’m not sure Trump is going to let you speak Spanish in his New America,” Vasquez added.

That latter remark was political rhetoric; there has been no announced proposal to prohibit New Mexicans from speaking Spanish.

Vasquez’s post also drew a wave of criticism in the replies on X.

Some commenters simply wrote “As he should” in response to Cunningham attending the convention, while another posted “New America.” Others accused Vasquez of being responsible for New Mexico’s economic problems or dismissed his attack as a “dumb take.”

One user told Vasquez, “New Mexicans are struggling because of your leadership,” while another predicted, “you’re gonna lose.” Another mocked what the user described as Vasquez being “ratioed again.”

Social-media replies are not a scientific measure of voter sentiment and can be shaped by algorithms, activist accounts and national audiences. But the response showed that Vasquez’s attack did not go unanswered online.

The increasingly sharp rhetoric reflects the stakes in NM-02.

Vasquez and Cunningham are running in a district Trump carried in 2024 even as voters reelected Vasquez to Congress. Trump defeated Kamala Harris there 49.9%-48.1%, while Vasquez defeated Republican Yvette Herrell 52.1%-47.9%. The district is one of 23 Trump-won House seats currently represented by Democrats.

Cunningham is attempting to make the race about crime, policing, the border and Democratic control of New Mexico.

Vasquez, meanwhile, is increasingly framing Cunningham as an extension of Trump and arguing that economic costs should dominate the campaign.

After Cunningham took that argument to a national Republican audience in Dallas, Vasquez made clear he was not going to let the moment pass quietly.

Vasquez attacks rival’s national spotlight, backlash follows Read More »

Cunningham puts NM’s crime crisis in national spotlight at GOP convention

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Republican congressional candidate Greg Cunningham used a national stage in Dallas Thursday to put New Mexico’s crime, border and fentanyl problems at the center of his campaign against Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, delivering a roughly four-minute address at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention.

Cunningham, a retired Albuquerque police detective and Marine veteran challenging Vasquez in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, was the only New Mexico candidate listed on the convention’s announced speaking schedule. The official program placed him in the opening block Thursday at the American Airlines Center, alongside other congressional candidates and Republican officials.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other high-profile Republicans headlined the two-day gathering, which the GOP organized in an effort to energize its voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

But Cunningham kept his speech almost entirely focused on New Mexico.

“Ever since my first ride-along, I knew I was born to be a police officer,” Cunningham told the crowd.

After serving in the Marine Corps and seeing combat during Desert Storm, Cunningham said he returned to his home state and joined the Albuquerque Police Department, eventually spending more than two decades in law enforcement.

“I worked on patrol and narcotics,” he said. “I spent years going undercover to fight gangs and cartels.”

Cunningham then turned directly to politics, arguing that Democratic control in Santa Fe and New Mexico’s all-Democratic congressional delegation had failed to make the state safer.

“Well, where has that gotten us?” Cunningham asked.

He cited New Mexico’s violent crime, property crime and drug-overdose problems as evidence.

The most recent fully comparable FBI-derived state data from 2024 showed New Mexico with 717 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, second only to Alaska among states — making New Mexico the highest among the contiguous 48 states. New Mexico also had the highest property-crime rate of any state, at 2,751 offenses per 100,000 people.

Nationally, violent and property crime fell sharply in 2025, according to newly released FBI figures, though those national declines do not necessarily reflect identical trends in every state or community.

Cunningham takes aim at Vasquez

The Republican reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Vasquez.

“My Democrat opponent, Gabe Vasquez, pretends to be a moderate,” Cunningham said, before pointing to Vasquez’s past rhetoric on policing and immigration enforcement.

During the 2020 racial-justice protests, Vasquez wrote that Americans needed to “deconstruct and rebuild the systems of oppression that keep black people in perpetual harm.” In another 2020 social-media post responding to a discussion about abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Vasquez wrote: “The only ICE we need to be melting.” Those past statements have repeatedly resurfaced during his congressional campaigns.

Vasquez’s more recent record includes calls for changes at ICE while supporting funding for other Department of Homeland Security agencies. In March, for example, he described himself as “steadfast” in seeking “serious, substantive reform for ICE,” while demanding funding for TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard.

Cunningham also highlighted Vasquez’s vote this year against a House resolution honoring law enforcement officers and crediting their work in reducing crime. Vasquez was among Democrats voting against the measure.

“New Mexicans do not have to live this way,” Cunningham said. “Yes, the border can be closed. Illegal crossings can be stopped.”

He credited Trump and congressional Republicans with changing immigration enforcement and targeting fentanyl trafficking.

Emotional tribute to Charlie Kirk

Cunningham closed on a more personal note, marking Thursday’s one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University.

“I very literally would not be here if not for Charlie,” Cunningham said.

He told the audience that Kirk had visited his church and inspired him “to take a stand and answer a call to serve on this new battlefield.”

“And his horrific assassination exactly one year ago today convinced me that I needed to step up and run for Congress,” Cunningham said.

He finished by returning to the themes of public safety and border security.

“Law-abiding, hard-working New Mexicans want to live in peace and safety,” he said. “We want to keep our borders secure.”

NM-02 gets national attention

Cunningham’s convention appearance comes as national Republicans devote increasing attention to the Vasquez race.

House Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to Albuquerque last month to campaign with Cunningham, who emphasized his 22 years in law enforcement during that visit.

The district is also unusual nationally: it is one of a small number of congressional districts that Trump carried in 2024 while remaining represented by a Democrat. Vasquez won reelection that year, and the district has produced close races in recent cycles.

Financially, the two candidates have also attracted substantial support. Federal campaign-finance figures reported by KOAT in July showed Cunningham raising $901,786 during the second quarter, narrowly exceeding Vasquez’s $900,884 during the same period, although Vasquez remained ahead in total cycle fundraising at that point.

Thursday’s appearance gave Cunningham an opportunity to make his case well beyond New Mexico.

His message in Dallas was straightforward: he wants the 2nd District contest framed around crime, law enforcement, the border and the direction of a state whose government is currently dominated by Democrats.

Whether those issues ultimately persuade voters will be determined in November, but Cunningham used his biggest national speaking opportunity yet to make clear what he wants the race to be about.

Cunningham puts NM’s crime crisis in national spotlight at GOP convention Read More »

NM race to get national spotlight at GOP midterm convention

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Republican congressional candidate Greg Cunningham is set to appear on the national stage this week as the GOP puts New Mexico’s closely watched 2nd Congressional District contest in the spotlight at its first-ever midterm convention in Dallas.

Cunningham, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, is among a relatively small group of House candidates scheduled to speak at the Sept. 9-10 event, according to a preliminary speaker list first reported by Axios.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the convention, while Vice President JD Vance will also deliver a keynote. The broader lineup includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr., former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other Republican officials and candidates. The convention is intended in large part to boost Republican turnout ahead of November’s elections.

For New Mexico, however, Cunningham’s inclusion stands out.

According to the announced roster, he is the only New Mexico congressional candidate currently listed among the speakers. New Mexico Political Report similarly noted that Cunningham is, so far, the only New Mexico candidate or elected official on the announced agenda.

Cunningham, a retired Albuquerque police detective and Marine veteran, won the Republican nomination for the 2nd District in June and is challenging Vasquez in November.

On social media Sunday, Cunningham confirmed that he plans to attend the Dallas gathering.

“I’m going to be highlighting the State of New Mexico for the rest of the country,” Cunningham said, according to New Mexico Political Report.

Addressing Vasquez directly in a video, Cunningham said he intends to use the national platform to focus on “what you and your party have done to our state.”

The appearance comes just weeks after Johnson traveled to Albuquerque to campaign with Cunningham, another sign that national Republicans are putting attention on the southern New Mexico-based congressional contest.

Trump, Vance and major GOP figures headline

The Dallas convention will feature Trump prominently across the two-day event, with organizers framing it as a way to keep Trump-aligned voters engaged even though the president himself is not on the ballot.

Axios reported that roughly 100 Republican lawmakers and candidates are expected to participate either as speakers or attendees.

Among the congressional candidates scheduled to appear are Republicans running in competitive races in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Texas.

Cunningham’s placement alongside that group suggests national Republicans are treating NM-02 as one of the contests worth showcasing during the convention.

The event will also include Senate candidates such as Michigan Republican Mike Rogers and North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley, along with sitting lawmakers including New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Pennsylvania Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, according to Axios.

Vasquez attacks Cunningham over Trump alignment

Vasquez’s campaign has responded by trying to make Cunningham’s participation a liability.

According to New Mexico Political Report, Vasquez criticized Cunningham over the weekend for appearing at a Trump-centered event shortly after Trump posted a meme depicting New Mexico as “New America.”

Trump shared an altered map in which “Mexico” was crossed out and replaced with “America,” prompting responses from several Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.

Vasquez wrote separately that Trump did not have the right to “erase New Mexico” and argued that Cunningham’s appearance at the Dallas convention demonstrated his alignment with the president.

That dispute now gives both campaigns a preview of the message they may take into the final weeks of the race: Cunningham is embracing the opportunity to appear alongside national Republican leaders, while Vasquez is seeking to connect Cunningham as closely as possible to Trump and his agenda.

National attention turns to NM-02

The convention comes as Republicans focus heavily on turnout and congressional control.

Axios reported that organizers are particularly concerned about whether voters who turned out for Trump in 2024 will return to the polls in a midterm election when his name is not on the ballot.

That makes candidates such as Cunningham important to the event’s broader strategy: tie competitive congressional races to national Republican messaging while giving candidates a chance to introduce themselves to activists and donors around the country.

For Cunningham, the Dallas appearance provides perhaps his largest national platform yet.

Rather than simply attending, he is on the announced speaker roster alongside some of the highest-profile figures in Republican politics.

And with Cunningham preparing to use the convention to make his case about New Mexico while Vasquez attacks him for standing with Trump, the already high-profile NM-02 race is poised to receive even more national attention this week.

NM race to get national spotlight at GOP midterm convention Read More »

Trump jokes about new name for NM — and libs take the bait

35 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

President Donald Trump spent Sunday doing what he has repeatedly proven capable of doing: posting an outrageous meme, sitting back, and watching Democrats rush to respond.

This time, New Mexico’s entire Democratic political establishment practically lined up to take the bait.

Trump shared an altered map of New Mexico on Truth Social in which the word “Mexico” was crossed out and replaced with “America,” turning the state into “New America.” The official White House X account subsequently amplified the image, where it quickly racked up millions of views.

Trump later leaned even further into the joke.

“Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA,” Trump wrote. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

There is no executive order renaming New Mexico, and Trump cannot simply rename a state on his own. The post followed an online satirical claim that he had already done so, which was false. But rather than shrugging off the obvious provocation, New Mexico Democrats responded as though the state’s 47th star might vanish from the flag overnight.

Democrats take the bait

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich posted:

“Three things I will always call by their actual names…

The Gulf of Mexico

Lake Ontario

New Mexico”

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández similarly fired back, writing, “Nope. We are older and prouder than your newest distraction.”

Second Congressional District Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez devoted an even longer response to the meme.

“You don’t get to erase New Mexico,” Vasquez wrote. “Not our name. Not our history. Not our culture. The President may want to call us ‘New America,’ but we know who we are.”

Vasquez then attempted to turn Trump’s trolling into an attack on his Republican congressional opponent, Greg Cunningham.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján went further, responding to the president with a personal insult.

“It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be,” Luján wrote. “Just like how you’ll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury also erupted over the post.

“Oh hell no!” she wrote. “Our state’s name carries generations of history, culture, and family—and it belongs to us. We’re New Mexicans. Period.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham joined in, insisting New Mexico’s name “isn’t up for debate” and accusing Trump of using the post as a distraction.

All of that over a meme.

Trump has been on a renaming streak

The joke did not come completely out of nowhere.

Trump famously ordered the federal government shortly after returning to office to use “Gulf of America” in place of the Gulf of Mexico.

Then, on Aug. 27, Trump signed another executive order directing the Interior Department and federal Board on Geographic Names to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” for official U.S. federal purposes.

The order directed the government’s Geographic Names Information System to adopt “Lake America” and instructed federal agencies to use the new designation in maps and other government communications.

Apple and Google subsequently began showing “Lake America” to users in the United States, although Canada and international users continue to see Lake Ontario.

So when Trump posted a map changing “New Mexico” to “New America,” the setup was obvious.

Unlike bodies of water under federal geographic-naming authority, however, Trump does not possess unilateral authority to change a state’s name. Such a move would require considerably more than a Truth Social post and almost certainly action involving New Mexico itself and Congress.

That distinction did not stop the meltdown.

One meme, an entire delegation responding

The reaction illustrates a political formula Trump has used for years: throw something deliberately provocative onto social media and force opponents to decide whether to ignore it or give it vastly more attention.

New Mexico Democrats chose option two.

Within hours, both U.S. senators, multiple members of Congress, and the governor were publicly assuring residents that, yes, New Mexico was still New Mexico.

Meanwhile, the official White House account amplified the original image to an audience of millions.

Whether Trump was actually testing another naming campaign or simply trolling a heavily Democratic state, the result was the same: one altered map consumed the attention of New Mexico’s top Democrats for much of the day.

And if the goal was to get a reaction, it worked spectacularly.

Trump jokes about new name for NM — and libs take the bait Read More »

Romero scandal explodes as taxpayer-funded Epstein PR firm quits

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

The controversy surrounding Democrat state Rep. Andrea Romero is widening after a taxpayer-funded public relations firm hired to assist New Mexico’s Jeffrey Epstein “truth commission” became entangled in Romero’s personal political crisis — and then abruptly parted ways with the commission.

Romero, who chairs the Survivors Truth Commission examining Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, was already under fire after resigning from a part-time job at the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Attorney General Raúl Torrez determined that an ongoing paid position with a prosecutor’s office was unlawful for a sitting legislator, rejecting Romero’s contention that his office had previously given her permission to hold both jobs.

Now Republican lawmakers say Romero compounded the problem by involving Dini von Mueffling Communications, the Manhattan public relations firm taxpayers were paying to handle communications for the Epstein commission.

The firm’s contract with the Legislative Council Service began Aug. 11 and carried a maximum value of $60,000, according to Source NM. Its role was to manage media inquiries and communications connected to the commission’s work.

Instead, the firm issued a statement on Romero’s behalf concerning her resignation from the district attorney’s office — a matter involving Romero personally rather than the commission’s investigation.

That prompted Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, to call for Romero to resign both as commission chair and from the New Mexico House.

“The evidence suggests she used taxpayer dollars appropriated for a truth commission investigating one of the most notorious predators in modern history to instead pay a contractor to clean up her own political mess,” Sharer said, according to Source NM. “That is not what that money was for, and it is exactly the kind of self-dealing New Mexico’s Governmental Conduct Act was written to stop.”

Sharer said he has also asked the State Ethics Commission to investigate.

PR firm exits after lawmakers ask questions

Republican commission members Reps. Andrea Reeb of Clovis and William Hall of Aztec said the situation became even more troubling when they sought additional information from the PR firm about its communications with Romero.

According to KOB and the Santa Fe New Mexican, rather than provide the requested details — including emails between the firm and Romero — Dini von Mueffling Communications resigned from its role with the commission.

“We are deeply concerned with Representative Romero’s misuse of the Epstein Truth Commission’s PR firm – Dini von Mueffling Consulting – for a personal employment issue,” Reeb and Hall said in a joint statement reported by KRQE and KOB.

They added that the firm’s decision to leave rather than provide additional information was especially troubling.

“The credibility of this committee is of the utmost importance, and unfortunately, recent events have jeopardized that credibility,” they said.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported the firm’s responsibilities included “composing and editing press and media releases and responding to public inquiries” for the Epstein commission.

Romero says it was a mistake

Romero has acknowledged that the commission’s communications contractor became involved in her personal statement, but she insists it happened accidentally.

In an email obtained by KRQE, Romero told fellow commissioners she had separately worked with the House Democratic communications team on her resignation statement while also contacting the commission’s PR firm to prepare language intended to protect the commission’s integrity.

She said that amid a “flurry of emails and drafts,” she mistakenly approved the PR firm’s version.

“For this, I’m deeply sorry,” Romero wrote. “I want to be clear with you all: this was an individual error on my part and I take full responsibility for that mistake.”

In a subsequent public statement, Romero again apologized, saying she had been out of the country grieving the death of a loved one, making communications more difficult.

“This was unintentional and I sincerely apologize for the confusion created,” she said, according to Source NM and KRQE.

Romero also announced that the PR firm and commission were “parting ways.”

Republicans say explanation raises more questions

Reeb and Hall pushed back after Romero emphasized that commission statements normally require approval from all members.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Republicans stressed that they had not approved the statement involving Romero’s employment dispute and only learned about it after it appeared publicly.

“Her latest statement appears to be an attempt to rewrite the record after the fact and avoid responsibility for her own actions,” they said. “That only raises further concerns about her judgment and the credibility of this Commission.”

A House Democratic spokesperson said Romero was not claiming that the other commissioners had approved the statement.

Torrez-Romero feud still simmering

The controversy stems from Romero’s earlier resignation from the Santa Fe prosecutor’s office.

After Torrez clarified that state law bars sitting lawmakers from holding ongoing paid positions with district attorney offices, Romero initially accused the attorney general of disrupting the Truth Commission’s work.

Torrez’s office fired back forcefully.

“We appreciate her frustration at losing her part-time job at the District Attorney’s Office, but we reject any insinuation that our recently released guidance on that issue was motivated by anything other than the law,” his office said, according to KOB.

Torrez’s office then added a particularly pointed jab, saying it hoped Romero’s “newfound commitment to victims’ rights” would be evident in the coming legislative session, “not just on social media.”

Romero has since softened her position, saying Thursday, “I acknowledge and support the AG’s decision and encourage any other lawmakers in the same position to follow this guidance.”

Calls for Romero to step down intensify

Republicans are now arguing that the PR controversy, layered on top of the district attorney employment dispute, has damaged Romero’s ability to credibly lead the Epstein commission.

“Essentially, she created another set of victims, and in this case, the victims are the taxpayers of New Mexico,” Sen. Steve Lanier, R-Aztec, told KOB.

Republicans have also renewed questions about the commission’s interim report and the absence of gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland’s name, with Lanier alleging Romero removed it without other commissioners’ knowledge. Those allegations have previously been reported by KOB and remain part of the broader dispute over the commission’s handling of politically sensitive material.

For Romero, what began as a controversy over an allegedly unlawful government job has now spread into questions about taxpayer-funded communications, the resignation of the commission’s outside PR firm, multiple ethics complaints, and calls for her to leave both the commission and the Legislature.

Romero says she wants to move forward.

Republicans say the controversy is nowhere near over.

Romero scandal explodes as taxpayer-funded Epstein PR firm quits Read More »

Too late: NM Supreme Court boots Dem replacement candidates

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico Democrats have lost their effort to place replacement candidates on the November ballot in two state House districts after the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the party missed a clear statutory deadline.

The divided decision, with Justice Michael Vigil dissenting, leaves Republican candidates unopposed in House Districts 4 and 23 after the original Democratic nominees withdrew too late for the party to legally replace them, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver had asked the state’s highest court to resolve competing interpretations of New Mexico’s ballot-vacancy law after litigation erupted in both districts.

Republicans celebrated the ruling.

“If they won’t follow basic rules, how can New Mexico voters have any confidence in them to turn our state around on serious, complex issues?” New Mexico Republican Party interim Chairman Mike Nelson said.

At the center of the dispute was Section 1-8-8 of state law, which governs vacancies occurring after a primary election.

The statute allows political parties to fill a general-election ballot vacancy when that vacancy occurs “ninety or more days before the general election.”

Another provision in the same section says an appointment to fill such a vacancy must be submitted at least 70 days before Election Day.

Democrats argued the 70-day language allowed them to submit replacement candidates even though the original nominees had not withdrawn before the 90-day threshold.

The Supreme Court rejected that interpretation Thursday, ruling the provisions must be read together rather than treating the 70-day filing deadline as an independent opportunity to create a replacement vacancy.

Hernandez withdrawal came after hotel scandal

In House District 4, Democrat Rep. Joseph Hernandez of Shiprock had been seeking reelection to a second term before abruptly ending his campaign last week.

His withdrawal followed reports tying him to a late-night disturbance at a Chicago hotel. Police reports and witness accounts alleged Hernandez had been “running around naked” and banging on hotel-room doors.

After Hernandez exited the race, San Juan County Democrats selected former state Rep. Anthony Allison as their replacement nominee.

But San Juan County Clerk Alyssa Kuhn determined Hernandez had withdrawn after the statutory deadline and declined to accept Allison as a valid replacement.

Democrats sued.

Thursday’s Supreme Court decision sided with the interpretation that Hernandez’s withdrawal came too late to trigger the party’s replacement authority.

Republican Heather Ellison of Kirtland will consequently have no Democratic opponent in the District 4 general election.

Same problem for Democrats in House District 23

A nearly identical battle unfolded in House District 23.

Democrat Elise Falanga Taylor withdrew from the race against incumbent Republican House Whip Alan Martinez of Rio Rancho after the 90-day deadline had passed.

Sandoval County Democrats then selected Matthew Herman to replace her.

Sandoval County Clerk Anne Brady-Romero initially refused to put Herman on the ballot, concluding state law did not permit the replacement because Taylor had withdrawn too late.

A district court temporarily ordered Herman onto the ballot while the legal issue was considered. But the judge subsequently ruled that Brady-Romero’s original reading of the law had been correct.

The Supreme Court affirmed that conclusion Thursday.

The high court also directed a district judge handling the parallel San Juan County case to enter a ruling consistent with its interpretation.

90 days means 90 days

Both Democratic withdrawals occurred after the 90-day cutoff but before the separate 70-day filing deadline, creating the legal fight over which provision controlled.

The Supreme Court’s answer was that both matter.

In other words, the 70-day deadline establishes when a properly selected replacement must be filed; it does not erase the requirement that the underlying vacancy itself occur at least 90 days before the election.

The outcome leaves Democrats without candidates in two House races they had initially planned to contest.

It is not expected to dramatically alter control of the New Mexico House, where Democrats currently hold a 42-26 advantage, with two seats vacant following early departures by incumbents.

But it gives Republicans two uncontested races as the party attempts to cut into Democrats’ large majority.

All 70 House seats are on the ballot this year, although fewer than half feature contested general-election races.

For Democrats, the ruling also closes the door on weeks of litigation seeking to salvage the two candidacies.

The candidates withdrew after the statutory window had closed. Democrats attempted to fill the resulting vacancies anyway.

And on Thursday, the New Mexico Supreme Court said the law did not allow it.

Too late: NM Supreme Court boots Dem replacement candidates Read More »

AG Torrez torches state Rep. Andrea Romero after ‘unlawful’ prosecutor job

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Democrat state Rep. Andrea Romero’s short-lived stint working for the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office ended with her resignation — but the political fireworks only intensified after New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez publicly torched the Santa Fe lawmaker following her criticism of his office.

Romero resigned from the six-figure-paying part-time prosecutor’s office job after the New Mexico Department of Justice issued guidance concluding that, with narrow exceptions, it is “unlawful” for a sitting legislator to simultaneously work as an employee of a district attorney’s office, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Romero attempted to defend the arrangement, saying she accepted the position only “after receiving prior guidance from the AG’s office that it was permissible.”

But she has reportedly declined to release the correspondence showing precisely what advice she received.

Torrez’s office, meanwhile, said any supposed confusion stemmed from a much narrower 2024 opinion concerning legislators serving as special assistant district attorneys on specific cases — not taking broader employment inside a prosecutor’s office.

Torrez wrote that “any district attorney’s office currently employing a sitting legislator in a capacity other than a special assistant district attorney appointment properly confined to a specific case or matter … should treat that arrangement as unlawful and correct it without delay.”

Romero’s exact job at the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office has itself been murky.

According to the New Mexican, there was no written job description, while government records variously referred to her as an “assistant district attorney,” “assistant trial attorney,” and “document review attorney.”

The controversy had already prompted ethics complaints and demands for an investigation.

House Republican Whip Alan Martinez of Rio Rancho called on Torrez to determine whether Romero’s May 23 hiring violated state laws prohibiting sitting legislators from receiving certain state compensation — violations Martinez said could potentially carry felony consequences.

“This is not a technical ethics question that can be brushed aside,” Martinez said. “State law appears clear, and the Attorney General’s own office has previously stated that a legislator cannot serve as an assistant district attorney.”

Martinez also asked Torrez to investigate First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ role in authorizing Romero’s employment.

“No legislator is above the law,” Martinez said.

The DA’s office responded that it was “disappointed” with the attorney general’s conclusion but would comply.

Then Romero apparently took aim at Torrez.

According to a subsequent report, Romero criticized the attorney general’s decision and suggested the controversy could affect work involving New Mexico’s Survivors Truth Commission, which she chairs.

Torrez’s office responded with a statement that was anything but diplomatic.

“Rather than moonlighting as a part-time prosecutor, Attorney General Torrez has spent the better part of twenty-years working as a real prosecutor and standing up for victims’ rights,” his office said.

The statement then turned directly to Romero’s legislative record.

“That’s why he advocated to protect survivors of sexual assault from the abusive pre-trial witness interviews that traumatize hundreds of survivors each year — a bill that Representative Andrea Romero voted against.”

Torrez’s office did not stop there.

“We appreciate her frustration at losing her part-time job at the District Attorney’s Office, but we reject any insinuation that our recently released guidance on that issue was motivated by anything other than the law.”

And in perhaps the sharpest line of the entire exchange, the attorney general’s office added:

“We remain committed to supporting Epstein survivors through our ongoing criminal investigation and hope that Representative Romero’s newfound commitment to victims’ rights will be on full display in the upcoming legislative session, not just on social media.”

That statement transformed what had begun as a legal and ethics controversy into a remarkably public Democrat-on-Democrat feud.

Romero maintains she relied on previous guidance before taking the job. Torrez’s office says that guidance did not authorize the kind of ongoing employment arrangement she ultimately accepted.

And instead of quietly allowing Romero to blame the attorney general’s office for the fallout, Torrez effectively told the Santa Fe Democrat that the law was the law — while publicly reminding voters that her record on victims’ issues may not match the rhetoric she is now using.

For Romero, losing the part-time prosecutor job may turn out to be only the beginning of the political headache.

AG Torrez torches state Rep. Andrea Romero after ‘unlawful’ prosecutor job Read More »

Will judge follow the law? Dem ballot case puts political ties in spotlight

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

The judge overseeing Democrats’ attempt to force a replacement candidate onto the ballot in New Mexico House District 23 has extensive ties to the state’s Democratic political establishment — including a marriage to one of New Mexico’s most prolific progressive fundraisers and strategists.

That history is drawing fresh scrutiny as Thirteenth Judicial District Judge James A. Noel prepares to hear arguments over whether Democrat Matthew Herman can legally replace Elise Falanga Taylor on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The underlying law appears straightforward.

Section 1-8-8(A) NMSA 1978 states: “If after a primary election, but ninety or more days before the general election, a vacancy occurs” the political party may fill that vacancy through its central committee. Subsection D separately gives parties until 70 days before the election to file an appointment for a vacancy that qualifies under Subsection A.

The distinction matters. Lawmakers specifically changed the vacancy threshold from 70 days to 90 days in 2023, while preserving the separate 70-day filing deadline.

For the Nov. 3 election, the 90-day mark was Aug. 5.

Falanga Taylor did not announce her departure until Aug. 16, after alleging Republicans had used “vile tactics” involving information about an abusive former partner. Republican incumbent Rep. Alan Martinez, the House minority whip, denied that he or anyone connected to his campaign had anything to do with the alleged attacks, and Falanga Taylor’s campaign did not identify who supposedly circulated them when questioned by local media.

Sandoval County Democrats subsequently selected Herman on Aug. 23.

Sandoval County Clerk Anne Brady-Romero initially concluded that was too late under the 90-day statute.

Then Noel intervened.

He ordered Brady-Romero to place Herman on the ballot or appear Sept. 2 and explain why she had not done so. The clerk ultimately complied Friday but maintained that her original interpretation was correct and announced Sandoval County would still argue that “no replacement candidate could be submitted because of statutory deadlines.”

Now the political background of the judge handling that dispute is receiving attention.

Noel was appointed to the bench in 2020 by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and subsequently ran for the position as a Democrat. Before becoming a judge, Noel served as a cabinet secretary under Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson and as executive director of the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission.

More significantly, Noel is married to Amanda Cooper, a longtime Democrat political strategist with deep ties to New Mexico’s progressive political infrastructure. Contemporary reporting has repeatedly identified Cooper as Noel’s wife.

Cooper is also the stepdaughter of former Democrat U.S. Sen. Tom Udall.

Her political résumé stretches back decades.

Richardson’s own presidential campaign identified Cooper as his reelection campaign manager and fundraising director, crediting her with overseeing $14 million raised for his gubernatorial reelection and helping raise another $28 million during Richardson’s chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association. She later became a senior figure in Richardson’s presidential campaign.

Cooper also managed Udall’s successful 2008 U.S. Senate campaign.

Perhaps more relevant to current New Mexico politics, longtime political blogger Joe Monahan identified Cooper in 2024 as one of the figures heading Better Future for New Mexico, a major progressive independent-expenditure PAC, alongside consultant Nick Voges and Jim Gollin. A strategy letter published by Monahan was signed by all three and outlined efforts to defeat centrist and conservative Democrats while advancing priorities including abortion rights, climate policy, paid family and medical leave, and other progressive causes.

The PAC remains a financial powerhouse.

Its April and May 2026 campaign-finance filings disclosed three major contributions totaling $525,000: $250,000 from the North Fund reported in its April filing, followed by $175,000 from Grove Action Fund and $100,000 from Green Advocacy Project in its May report.

The May filing shows Better Future then sending tens of thousands of dollars for “voter contact” to organizations including Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico, NM Working Families Party PAC, CVNM Verde Voters Fund, and Native American Advocacy Fund. An earlier filing shows another $20,000 going to ProgressNow New Mexico Votes.

The PAC has also repeatedly paid Dream Train Consulting, while Voges publicly identifies Dream Train as his consulting firm.

Cooper and Voges have additionally appeared together as sponsors of Emerge New Mexico, an organization devoted to recruiting and training Democrat pro-abortion, far-left women and “nonbinary” candidates.

According to information provided to Piñon Post, former Democrat state Rep. Daymon Ely, a trial attorney who previously represented House District 23, is also meddling in Democrats’ legal push surrounding the replacement candidate, in typical fashion. He recently attacked state Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences), unsuccessfully attempting to boot her from the ballot. Public reporting has separately identified attorney Kate Ferlic as representing Herman in the case.

There is another historical wrinkle.

In 2008, Noel was tapped to become New Mexico’s elections director while Cooper was managing her stepfather Tom Udall’s U.S. Senate campaign. Republicans raised conflict-of-interest concerns over having a candidate’s son-in-law overseeing state elections. Noel ultimately withdrew from the election job and remained with the Judicial Standards Commission.

That history makes the current case especially noteworthy.

New Mexico’s Judicial Ethics Handbook states that a judge must disqualify himself or herself when the judge’s impartiality “might reasonably be questioned.” But New Mexico case law also makes clear that mere political disagreement or fear of an unfavorable ruling does not itself establish judicial bias; there must be a reasonable factual basis for questioning impartiality.

There is no evidence Cooper is a party to the HD23 lawsuit, that she has a direct financial interest in Herman’s candidacy, or that Noel has acted improperly because of his wife’s politics.

But the optics are unavoidable.

A Democrat-appointed judge, married to a longtime progressive fundraising operative connected to one of New Mexico’s most powerful left-leaning PAC networks, is now deciding whether Democrats can keep contesting a Republican-held House seat despite a statute that expressly says a post-primary vacancy must occur 90 or more days before the election.

Falanga Taylor’s vacancy did not.

The Democrats created the vacancy. Their candidate waited until after the 90-day threshold to quit. The Legislature deliberately changed that threshold from 70 days to 90 days only three years ago.

So the question heading into Wednesday’s hearing is simple: Will the court enforce the statute as the Legislature wrote it, or find a way around a deadline Democrats plainly missed?

With control of legislative seats hanging in the balance — and Noel’s own family history deeply intertwined with Democratic politics — New Mexicans will be watching closely.

Will judge follow the law? Dem ballot case puts political ties in spotlight Read More »

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