One week ahead of New Mexico’s primary election, New Mexico voters will see two very important things about the candidates and the campaigns they are running. First, they will see what lengths candidates will go to earn a vote — be that throwing out low blows on their primary opponents, or see what the outside groups supporting them will do. Second, they will see what lows their supporters will go to hit the other guy as hard as one can, to see if the sleaze they’ve dropped will stick.
Many candidates, mainly Claire Chase, has blatantly fumed hatred for President Trump, calling him an “a**hole unworthy of the office,” and claiming to have voted for pro-abortion Libertarian Gary Johnson for President in 2016. Now, Chase claims she did indeed vote for Trump. But after Trump won the presidency, she joked about moving to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and “Columbia” to escape Trump.
With just a week remaining, Chase, who has hired many of the same consultants tied to Jay McCleskey, the “slash and burn” political hitman, is sure to continue hitting her opponents below the belt with ad-hominem attacks and claims of non-existent “anti-Trump” sentiments, despite her deep-seated hatred for the President of the United States.
Opportunism is a funny thing — especially if it comes in the brand of Claire Chase, a multimillionaire ex-lobbyist whose constitution could not stomach the prospect of Trump as President, saying the 45th POTUS made her “throw up in [her] mouth.” Now, the NeverTrump candidate, whose experience equals a low-level ten-month staff position due to a vacancy in former Congressman Steve Pearce’s office and an eight-month stint at NM Oil and Gas Association, conveniently claims to love the President now, and also to be an avid “pro-life activist.” However, there is no evidence to back up either claim. Chase also claims to have been Pearce’s “most senior” legislative staffer, but that is untrue.
During the 2019 pro-life fight against abortion up-to-birth HB-51, there was silence from Chase on the bill. Also, she has failed to produce a single piece if proof claiming she has done any work whatsoever in or for the pro-life movement. Her opponent, former Rep. Yvette Herrell constantly sponsored pro-life bills, and boldly stood up for Life as a legislator, working alongside Republicans and Democrats to defend the most vulnerable in our society: the unborn.
While Chase worked at NM Oil and Gas for the short period, the organization gave money to anti-oil Democrats while taking a neutral stance on the radical “Energy Transition Act,” New Mexico’s version of the “Green New Deal.” While Chase had the opportunity to act against the measure aiming to completely wipe out New Mexico oil and gas by 2050, she didn’t stand up for the hard-working oil producers in the Southeast corner of our state — despite claiming to be a champion of the industry.
Chase also claimed to have “first-hand experience” as a pecan farmer, but there is no evidence showing she worked for the farm owned by the multimillion-dollar family she married into. Claire Chase was not listed on any ownership paperwork for Chase Farms, and neither was her husband, Chance Chase.
Judging by the groups who have come to support Chase, such as the super PAC, “Defending Main Street,” run by the anti-Trump “Main Street Partnership,” it’s not ambiguous what kind of member of Congress she would be. A PAC called “Citizens for a United New Mexico” is closely tied to Chase’s campaign. Chase’s campaign chair, Nancy Brantley’s husband, George Brantley, gave over $25,000 to the PAC — a clear conflict of interest. The PAC has bashed both opponents Yvette Herrell and Chris Mathys with hit jobs.
Despite working for both Rep. Steve Pearce (who serve in the New Mexico Legislature before serving in Congress), and the late Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), who served in the U.S. Senate for over thirty years, she dares attack opponent Yvette Herrell as a “career politician,” despite Herrell spending a mere eight years in the New Mexico House of Representatives, and signing onto the U.S. Term Limits pledge By working for multiple congressional outfits in D.C. and for serving as a lobbyist in Santa Fe, wouldn’t that qualify Chase as the very thing she’s trying to portray Herrell as? Chase still has her (202) area code phone number, despite living in New Mexico — where a resident would use a (505) or (575) number.
During Herrell’s time in the Legislature, she was ranked the most conservative member and served in leadership roles for the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has hundreds of conservative Republican members from across the country as members. However, Chase and her allies have bashed ALEC, despite their record of conservatism.
If that wasn’t enough, Chase hired Chris Grant of the consulting firm “Big Dog Strategies.” Grant was a legislative aide for disgraced ex-Congressman Chris Collins who was convicted of insider trading and resigned from Congress. Grant benefited from the insider trading tip from Rep. Collins, avoiding him a loss of $11,200. Now, Chase has hired the consultant despite his shady past.
But despite the facts not being on Chase’s side, she has been unrelenting in her bitter campaign against Herrell, sending out mailers bashing the former New Mexico legislator, and falsely claiming from an out-of-state surrogate that Herrell tried to bash Chase’s previous divorce — despite Herrell being divorced herself.
The negative campaigning on behalf of Chase and her anti-Trump surrogates proves that she is willing to go to any low length to win the campaign by slinging mud but won’t address the countless facts showing her lack of a conservative, pro-Trump record, and her deep connection to the Washington, D.C. Swamp.
Unlike my own experience in D.C., working for a non-profit pro-life legal group, as a staffer for Chevron’s government affairs department championing oil and gas policy alongside the Trump Administration, as a manager for one of President Trump’s largest independent ally organizations, and as a pro-life sidewalk counselor on weekends, Chase has skewed her experience and made claims she cannot prove with any relevant experience.
New Mexico’s Second Congressional District needs a champion, and most importantly a REPRESENTATIVE of the people, who will work in their best interest when they get to D.C. The sprawling District full of hard-working, working-class patriots needs a champion for their interests. They need someone who will work day and night to support the values they care about while in the Nation’s Capitol, fight hard against the far-left extremists tearing down the fabric of our nation, support President Trump, and show up for the people of CD-2 when it matters.
It is clear that the only person in this race who has a proven commitment to the people of the Second District is Yvette Herrell, a patriotic champion of, by, and for the people. Yvette isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, and she doesn’t just give constituents lip service. Yvette’s proven, well-documented, and incomparable record of ethical leadership and strong advocacy for our most important issues, such as the Right to Life and our Second Amendment, is the only one in this race who can go head to head with Xochitl Torres Small and win — again.
I’ve worked alongside Yvette while working as a committee aide at the New Mexico Legislature, and she treats everyone, from the janitorial staff to the Speaker of the House with respect, she does her homework, and most importantly, she fights — and fights hard for our rights.
We don’t need a multimillionaire ex-lobbyist who has never done a hard day’s work in her life as our representative — we need a worker. Yvette is the worker we need representing us in Congress.
John Block is the editor of the Piñon Post and a longtime New Mexico political activist. With the Piñon Post, John looks to bring true representation to conservatives in the Land of Enchantment and cut through the mainstream media red tape by providing independent, fair, and conservative journalism to New Mexico. Follow John on Twitter @JohnforNM or send him an email at John@PinonPost.com.
