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.
In recent days out-of-state interests have pumped nearly half a million dollars into the 1st and 2nd Congressional District contests, pushing the amount of out-of-state spending in those two races closer to $5 million, records show.
The latest cash infusion, which goes through Oct. 25, continues the trend of out-of-state interests swooping in to New Mexico‘s two hottest congressional contests.
So far, the money spent in opposition to one of the four candidates in the two races easily outpaces the dollars meant to support the candidates, with nearly 90 percent, or more than $4.3 million, spent in opposition TV and radio attack ads as well as direct mail advertisements, records show.
The emphasis on negative campaigning seems to point to studies that show such efforts are more effective than positive messages.
Former congressman Steve Pearce, who hopes to unseat first-term Democratic Congressman Harry Teague in the 2nd Congressional District race, has the biggest bullseye on his back, attracting more than $1.5 million in opposition money, records show. The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has led that opposition effort, spending nearly $800,000 to oppose the Republican, records show. Meanwhile Teague has been the subject of more than $1 million in money opposing his candidacy, with the largest portion of that effort coming from the National Republican Congressional Committee, records show.
In the 1st Congressional District race, first-term Democratic Congressman Martin Heinrich has attracted $1.3 million in opposition money, while his Republican opponent, Jon Barela, has had more than $525,000 spent against him.
Like Teague, the biggest spender opposed to Heinrich’s re-election is the National Republican Congressional Committee. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee meanwhile is responsible for nearly all of the money spent against Barela.
Only about $410,000 has been spent in favor of one or more of the candidates.
The amount of money coming from out-of-state groups have functioned almost as a shadow campaign, with the spending from these groups largely keeping pace with the spending of the candidates’ campaigns themselves.
The organizations in question, which vary from the Democratic and Republican congressional committees to advocates of all political stripes, have paid for everything from TV and radio ads to voter surveys and direct mail campaigns, records show.
The 3rd Congressional District race in which first-term Democratic Congressman Ben Ray Lujan is facing a challenge from Republican Tom Mullins has largely missed out in the spending bonanza by out-of-state groups.
