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Tea party participants gathered on the Santa Fe Plaza Thursday. Photo by Patricia Sauthoff
Most of the participants interviewed by The Independent at tea party events in Albuquerque in Santa Fe Thursday said they will probably vote in the Republican primary in June—but they haven’t yet settled on a candidate.
In Albuquerque, The Independent’s Matthew Reichbach talked to 75 of the hundreds of protesters who lined Menaul Boulevard, while Patricia Sauthoff interviewed 30 of the folks who were gathered on the Santa Fe Plaza this tax day. Both reporters asked participants the same short set of questions for this completely unscientific poll:
“Do you plan to vote in the Republican primary in the governor’s race?” If the respondents answered no, the reporters asked, “Why not?”
If they answered yes, the reporters asked, “Are you supporting a particular candidate?” listing the five candidates (Janice Arnold-Jones, Pete Domenici Jr., Susana Martinez, Doug Turner and Allen Weh) in a different order each time.
Several recent national polls have shown that folks who identify themselves with the tea party movement mostly call themselves conservative and identify with the Republican Party. Our informal interviews at tea party protests mostly aligned with national trends.
Of the 75 people The Independent interviewed in Albuquerque, 52 (69 percent) said they would vote in the Republican primary on June 1; but 32 of them (62 percent) said they hadn’t yet decided who to vote for.
(In order to vote in parties’ primary elections, New Mexicans must be registered as a member of that party.)
Those who said they had settled on a candidate named Allen Weh slightly more often than the other candidates. Here’s a full tally of the yes responses:
Allen Weh: 6
Janice Arnold-Jones: 5
Doug Turner: 4
Susana Martinez: 3
Pete Domenici Jr.: 1
One supporter of Susana Martinez told Reichbach she will vote for Martinez because she will “end all of the corruption in Santa Fe.”
Another respondent said she thinks it’s time to have a strong conservative woman in the governor’s office, and said she’d vote for Janice Arnold Jones.
Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, 21 of the 30 attendees (70 percent) The Independent interviewed said they would vote in the Republican primary, but the majority of those (14, or 67 percent) said they didn’t know who they’d vote for.
Of the tea party protesters in Santa Fe who said they had chosen a candidate, two chose Susana Martinez, two Allan Weh and one Janice Arnold Jones.
Three said they couldn’t vote in the primary because they are registered in another state; two said they couldn’t because the are registered as Independent and four are registered as Democrats.
Bottom line: GOP candidates still have time to sway this important voting bloc. Democrats, especially the party’s candidate for governor, Diane Denish, might wonder what they can do to pull their voters back into the fold.
