On Sunday night, both Republican New Mexico Rep. Yvette Herrell and Democrat U.S. Rep Xochitl Torres Small came together remotely for the first televised Second Congressional District debate on KOAT 7, where the candidates revealed a stark difference between themselves and their visions for the sprawling Southern New Mexico district.
Torres Small came off as a party-line Democrat despite her spouting the continuous phrase that she “worked with President Trump,” while she voted to impeach him twice. Herrell made sure to bring up Torres Small’s vote to impeach the President that she claimed to work with, and she went on the defense.
She repeated the debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory that the impeachment charges stemmed from, claiming, “I felt like our national security was at risk when there was a potential that the President was using his office for political gain and misusing military support to do so.” President Trump was acquitted by the U.S. Senate and exonerated by the Department of Justice of any wrongdoing from the Democrats’ flimsy accusations.
When it came to the Second Amendment, Herrell strongly supported gun ownership without any red tape from the government bureaucracy. “I will not support any ban, in fact, I would not support any legislation that would have an impact on our Second Amendment,” said Herrell.
In contrast, Torres Small touted her vote to ban the private transfer of firearms and criminalize people under 21 from owning handguns through her support of a “Universal Background Check Bill,” H.R. 8. She said, “There shouldn’t be loopholes when it comes to our legislation either. There’s no shortcuts; that’s why I did support comprehensive background checks.”
The rural Second Congressional District has many gun owners, and Torres Small’s vote to take those away should not bode well for her as she moves forward on the campaign trail.
Regarding defunding the police, Torres Small claimed that the American system of law-and-order is one of “systemic” racism, throwing law enforcers under the bus. In stark contrast, Herrell stood proudly by law enforcers, saying “We need to be talking about defending the police, not defunding them.”
Torres Small also admitted to be voting for Joe Biden, despite refusing to speak publicly about her vote for president, especially with her role as a public figure.
Herrell came off as in-tune with the needs of the district and as a champion of rural New Mexico, while Torres Small’s support for Joe Biden, Ukraine conspiracy theories, and anti-gun policies showed her as a weaker and more DC-influenced politician who can be bought and swayed, as evident with her 95% Nancy Pelosi voting record, according to ProPublica. Herrell came off as the clear winner and the best choice for the people of CD-2.
Watch the whole debate here:
Nice analysis.
I did not watch the debate but it appears Herrell came out the winner. She most definitely reflects the majority of voters’ beliefs and values in the Southern district. The challenge now is to make certain thousands of “missing ballots” don’t suddenly appear out of Valencia and Dona Ana Counties late election night or the next day. We don’t want a repeat of what happened two years ago.