I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Rep. Martin Heinrich still leads in cash on hand going into the homestretch of the campaign against Republican Jon Barela, according to the final campaign finance reports due before the Nov. 2 election.
Heinrich finished the period (pdf), which ended on October 13, with nearly $605,000 cash on hand. Barela finished the same period with just under $430,000 cash on hand.
Barela raised $73,000 between October 1 and October 13 and spent $214,000. Heinrich raised $113,500 and spent over $560,000 in the two-week period.
The most high-profile name that donated to Heinrich was “R.E. Ted Turner” of Alanta, Georgia. This is the founder of CNN who owns Vermejo Park Ranch near Raton. It is the largest tract of land owned by Turner.
Heinrich also received the maximum donation of $2,400 from James Collie of Albuquerque and Alice Russell-Shapiro of San Francisco.
The Laborers’ Political League-Laborers’ International donated $5,000 to Heinrich, bringing the total to $10,000 from that organization. The National Emergency Medicine PAC donated $4,000 to Heinrich for a total of $9,000 this cycle; this is the PAC of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh donted $2,400 to Barela’s campaign, bringing his total for the cycle up to $4,800. Weh ran an unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination for governor this year.
Weh was joined by Dorothy Wickens as another donor who contirbuted the maximum of $2,400. Richard L. Wickens donated $2,200, bringing his total donated up to the maximum $4,800. Brenda and Samuel Blankenship donated $900 and $1,400 to Barela’s campaign bringing their totals up to $4,800 and $2,400 respectively.
Barela received just $9,000 from PACs, the majority of which came from a $5,000 donation from the National Association of Home Builders PAC.
Barela paid SRCP Media $151,596 for media buys in the two week period.
Not surprisingly, Heinrich’s largest expenditures came for media buys. In two separate disbursements, Heinrich spent $462,163.76 on media from “Buying Time, LLC.” Heinrich also spent more than $35,000 on polling from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.
