Politics

Piñon Post readers come from all different backgrounds, localities, and cultures across New Mexico. What binds them together is the desire to seek truth and hold government accountable in New Mexico–a state where too often government leaders are not held responsible to the will of the people. 

Last week, the Piñon Post launched our official pre-election survey, which ran from October 29 to November 1, where a sample of 434 readers told us how they voted or how they will vote this election.

99.8% of readers will be voting in the upcoming November 3rd election, with only one reader answering that they will not be voting. This statistic shows that the readership base of the Piñon Post is very politically active and excited to make a change at the ballot box.

89.9% of readers have already cast their votes, be they by absentee ballot or through early voting, which ended on Saturday. 10.1% of readers will be waiting to cast their votes on Election Day. Some of this 10.1% figure planned to vote early, as the poll ran during early voting.

A breakdown of respondents shows that 10.6% of readers cast their votes via absentee ballot, 81.1% voted early, and 8.3% will vote on Election Day. 

Respondents were then asked which party they will be voting for, with 97% saying they will be voting Republican, 1.4% voting Democrat, .7% voting Libertarian, and .9% voting for another party. 

Of the respondents, 84.3% of readers identified themselves as registered Republicans, while 6% are Democrats, 6.5% are Declined to State, and 3.2% are Libertarian.

The massive crossover from Democrats, Declined to State, and Libertarians to the Republican Party, getting 97% support at the polls, indicates that many registered Democrats and other parties will be voting Republican this election. It is important to note that Libertarian Gary Johnson won 9.3% of the vote in New Mexico in 2016, and without a robust Libertarian candidate on the ballot, the Piñon Post reader poll suggests that voters who may have gone either for Clinton or Johnson in 2016, may switch over to Trump in 2020. 

A Piñon Post Twitter poll also shows many supporting President Donald Trump over Joe Biden in the General Election, although less scientific.

Polls will open on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. As long as voters are in line by 7:00.pm., they are allowed to vote regardless of how long voters must wait outside a precinct. Voters can find their precinct, their sample ballot, and other voter resources by clicking here. 

A new Federal Election Commission independent expenditure report from the far-left dark money group ProgressNow New Mexico shows the group spending nearly $20,800 on a get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign to help Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District race. 

The initial filing for $17,800 reads, “GOTV campaign – Every vote Counts Drop It Off” showing that it is “[i]n SUPPORT of Xochitl Torres Small.” Another filing reported an additional $3,000 going to the campaign. As well, the group spent $16,192 against Republican challenger Yvette Herrell on October 6, 2020. 

ProgressNow New Mexico is a dark money George Soros-funded group, that also gets funding from other dark money groups, such as America Votes. America Votes is funded by wealthy millionaire and billionaire donors, such as Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, and George Soros. The group’s latest donation to ProgressNow New Mexico was $9,500 on September 27, 2020.

ProgressNow New Mexico is a radical pro-abortion group, supporting abortion up-to-birth and infanticide, calling restrictions on abortion “white supremacy.” The group also has promoted ANTIFA tweets. In July, the radical socialist group supported an Albuquerque ANTIFA group doxxing conservatives by publishing personal information about them online to target them. 

Now, ProgressNow New Mexico is backing radical liberal Xochitl Torres Small, who voted to ban handgun ownership for people under 21, impeached President Trump on two counts, refused to back a bill giving basic medical care to children born alive after failed abortions, and is a backer of New Mexico’s mini “Green New Deal.” 
Xochitl Torres Small faces Republican Yvette Herrell in the November 3, 2020, General Election, where Herrell leads Torres Small by two points in the latest liberal Albuquerque Journal poll.

On Sunday, the Albuquerque Journal released its latest suppression poll showing Joe Biden in a comfortable lead with 54% of the vote, while Trump sat at 42%, according to the Research and Polling, Inc. survey they released.

However, the same suppression poll was massively off in 2016, predicting Libertarian former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson to win 24% of the vote share, with Donald Trump only garnering 31%. The final results in 2016 had Johnson at 9.3%, with Trump at 40%, trailing Hillary Clinton only by 8.3%. 

In a later poll the Journal released right before Election Day, it showed Trump at just 36%, with Clinton at 50% The poll underestimated Trump’s performance while overestimating Clinton’s performance, and overestimating Johnson’s performance.

However, the Journal’s latest poll shows President Trump picking up 3% since its previous poll in late August, showing Trump at just 39%, while Biden’s performance has remained the same at 54%.

One interesting thing noted in the suppression poll was that only 89% of Democrats will be voting for Biden, while 92% of Republicans will be voting for Trump. 

In recent weeks, massive crowds of Trump supporters have rallied across the state, holding events at the state Capitol Building in Santa Fe, in Roswell, Hobbs, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Corrales, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque, and everywhere in between. 

On the other hand, no events by pro-Democrat demonstrators have occurred, showing massive enthusiasm and support for President Trump and Republican candidates, while Democrats’ enthusiasm lags dramatically.

The voter numbers have backed up the enthusiasm, with the latest early voting numbers showing Republicans outpacing Democrats 193,929 to 175,516 with in-person voting, while Republicans’ absentee ballot return rate has crept higher than that of Democrats, beating them by .5%. 

Republicans are expected to outnumber Democrats on Election Day, which will help them close the gap from the Democrats’ large absentee voting numbers. In 2016, despite the polls, Americans sent President Trump to the White House, and it is likely in President Trump’s second election, New Mexico will be a state that helps him stay there. 

President Trump and Republicans have noted their excellent chances at flipping New Mexico, with unheard-of enthusiasm in the Land of Enchantment, as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democrats have locked down the state, leading to poverty and economic catastrophe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Early voting ended on Saturday, October 31, but polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on November 3rd for in-person voting.

On Friday, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that according to the New Mexico Secretary of State, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, county clerks in New Mexico could take up to two days to count ballots after the polls close, raising red flags about the integrity of the November 3rd Election. 

The New Mexican reports: 

In a virtual news conference Thursday, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver warned unprecedented voter turnout is likely to leave county clerk’s offices counting ballots for at least a day or two after polls close, potentially delaying results in tight races.

She did not rule out the possibility of delayed New Mexico results for the presidential election…. 

“I’m feeling optimistic that we should be able to get through the absentee vote count within a day or two after Election Day,” said Toulouse Oliver. “I think that we’ll know what we know on election night in terms of the distribution of the votes and the margins of potential victory, and we should be able to make some pretty clear calls on election night in a lot of races.”

There is “no doubt many races around the state will be impacted by outstanding ballots still to count,” she added.

The extra time the Secretary of State is allowing may raise red flags as to the integrity of the election, with the New Mexico Supreme Court rejecting to hear a suit from the Republican Party of New Mexico regarding the Secretary of State barring Republican poll watchers from observing the counting of ballots on election night. 

According to the Secretary of State’s data as of October 27, 265,739 absentee ballots had already been mailed back to county clerks across the state, 166,655 being from Democrats, 56,747 from Republicans, and the rest from minor parties and voters who decline to state a party affiliation.

The Democrat Party of New Mexico has already begun its ballot harvesting initiatives, according to Pameyla Herndon, a caucus chair for the party, who urged supporters during a closed fundraising call to harvest votes from senior citizens to favor Democrat candidates.

As of October 30, Republicans outnumber Democrats with in-person early voting, while Democrats outnumber Republicans dramatically with absentee. During the 2018 race in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District, thousands of irregularities were found in Doña Ana County, where Republican Yvette Herrell won the race on Election Day. However, once absentee ballots were “counted” later, the race was swung in Democrat Xochitl Torres Small’s favor. An audit revealed multiple signs of election fraud.

Just this year, two individuals have been convicted of voter fraud using absentee ballots, following New Mexico’s long track record of fraudulent election activity, which can be read more about here.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, even more absentee ballots are being cast for the November 2020 election, and the more absentee ballots without oversight from poll challengers are ripe for fraud.

Earlier this week, the Piñon Post exclusively reported on state Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Bernalillo) harassing a Catholic priest on Twitter and sending him sexually suggestive graphics, while he claimed to get death threats with homophobic language to his phone.

He previously begged for Police to come to his house because “as a state senator,” he felt as if he deserved Law Enforcement to jump at his beck and call when he gets a little bit of hate mail.

Now, the ABQReport has uncovered a body cam video from one of the State Police officers who responded to Candelaria’s multiple calls. 

The exchange with Candelaria began with the state senator berating the officers about their response time to his calls, with him ultimately threatening to call Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and trying to use his office to twist the officers’ hands to supposedly take him to a secure location despite no known individual coming to his residence to harm him or his husband.

Candelaria said to the officers who responded to the call, “Please don’t talk down to me because I will get the governor, on the phone, or whoever, because I don’t understand why this is my problem.” 

“You may not have respect for me, but I am a member of the Senate,” said Candelaria, adding, “I took an oath, to this day, and I don’t deserve to have my life threatened.” 

Candelaria continued on his trade, saying in a raised voice, “I’m Senator Jacob Candeleria. I received a death threat last night at two o’clock in the morning…. So I got a death threat. My husband and I are leaving the city of Albuquerque right now because we don’t feel safe. I don’t know what it’s going to take. It’s been thirteen hours, guys, thirteen hours.”

One officer asked Candelaria to sit down, to which he replied, “No. I’m a senator. This senator is getting ready and leaving. I was told that you were coming to help us leave town. So Senator Candelaria and his husband are leaving their home. If you want to watch us while we get in our car and go out and tell them to protect our lives.” 

After playing the recording of the message Candelaria received, he asked the officers if it was a threat to which they replied, “Sir, that’s how it can be interpreted.” 

Candelaria kicked them out, saying, “Leave my house. You are asked to leave. You don’t have a warrant. You don’t have the authority to be here. Get out.”

Candelaria has since made plans to “pursue reforms that make police more responsive to threats against elected officials – including those who may be especially vulnerable to discrimination,” which would put lawmakers above the constituents they represent.

On Wednesday, Candelaria bemoaned on Twitter, “I live with PTSD. No American should ever be made to feel fear for their beliefs, or who they are or who they love. Every moment has been a struggle since we received the death threat on Saturday.”

The Governor’s office appears to have blocked out Candelaria and dismissed his melodramatic tirade: