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.
N.M. Attorney General Gary King
Incumbent Gary King appears to have prevailed over Republican challenger and Clovis District Attorney Matt Chandler after a heated race for the New Mexico attorney general’s office.
The tally was 309,892 votes (53.5 percent) to 269,558 votes (46.5 percent), unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office showed early Wednesday morning.
“I think it was a spirited race and a hard-won victory,” King told The Independent. “I think in the AG’s office, (voters) want me to be more aggressive on some of the things the AG’s office does. I’ll take that into account. Even though I think we’ve worked really hard to fight corruption in New Mexico, I think people want to see us be more aggressive.”
There was not an immediate response to calls for comment from the Chandler campaign as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Earlier in the evening, without conceding the election to King, Chandler campaign manager Henry Varela told The Independent that overcoming King’s family name had proven challenging.
“King has that name recognition, and that’s hard to overcome,” Varela acknowledged.
The race had become heated, with King, 55, and Chandler, 34, accusing one another of lying about Chandler’s murder prosecution record.
In one television ad, King’s campaign alleged Chandler had worked on only “half” the more than 30 murder convictions Chandler claims to have prosecuted. Chandler insisted he had “personally prosecuted” each case, with help from others in his office.
Part of the debate centered around Chandler’s use of the word “murder.” King argued that nine of Chandler’s claimed “murder convictions” were homicide cases that did not rise to the level of “murder,” which requires an intent to kill.
Chandler, in turn, had claimed that King had “turned a blind eye” to political corruption in New Mexico.
King, who holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry as well as a law degree, was a state legislator for 12 years and directed the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Worker and Community Transition from 1999 to 2000. He was elected Attorney General in 2006.
King initiated initiatives against human trafficking initiative and animal fighting during his first term as AG.
King loaned his campaign $202,000 late last month, part of $409,600 in late campaign contributions he reported a week before the election.
