Morning Word, 10-29-12

The New Mexico news recap

Remember when the Word said that there would be a podcast on Friday? Oops. --- Technical problems and other problems plagued the initial attempts to make a podcast -- but we've figured it out now and it will be available to listen to on your way to work this morning. There will be a full post later, but you can right click and save

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The show features SFR staff writer Joey Peters and myself speaking about the upcoming elections in New Mexico. We speak New Mexico Senate race, some big legislative races and more. Look for the next edition on Friday -- for real this time.

On to the Word:

  • The Albuquerque Journal's poll of the New Mexico Senate race found an eight percent lead for Heinrich --
  • 50 percent to 42 percent
  • . It looks like, barring a major surprise, that Heinrich will win Sen. Jeff Bingaman's Senate seat while leading from wire to wire.
  • A poll by Public Policy Polling showed that
  • Heinrich leads 52 percent to 44 percent
  • . Research & Polling, Inc., which conducts polling for hte Journal, tends to have higher undecided numbers than other pollsters. More on these two polls later today.
  • Barack Obama
  • leads 50 percent to 41 percent in the Journal poll
  • and 53 percent to 44 percent in the PPP poll.
  • Wilson tells Milan Simonich
  • don't be surprised if it is closer than people expect
  • .
  • ABC and Univision
  • looked at the allegations of voter suppression
  • after a Republican poll challenger training where
  • secret recording showed the Republicans looking to become poll challengers
  • were told incorrect information, like that they could ask for photo ID from voters in certain situations.
  • We spoke about it a little in the podcast --- but Andy Nunez is finding out what it's like to be a man without a country -- well a political party.
  • Gov. Susana Martinez's political action committee is going after Nunez
  • . Steve Terrell at the New Mexican:
  • It’s true that Nuñez supported the death penalty repeal. And it’s true that this kind of slightly hysterical attack is common in contemporary campaigns. But again, this is against the guy who carried one of the major flagship bills of the Martinez administration two sessions in a row.Asked for comment Thursday, McCleskey would only say, “Reform New Mexico Now is supporting Mike Tellez in [House District] 36 and has been for a month.”
  • The loyalty for carrying what has been Martinez's top priority as governor is nothing when compared to party loyalty for McCleskey and crew.
  • KRQE reported on the "unprecedented" campaign to unseat Democratic Senate leaders. First at
  • the statewide TV
  • targeting Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings. And
  • also at controversial flyers
  • that accuse the two, and other candidates of siding with child killers.These campaign efforts are on behalf of Reformer New Mexico Now, run by McCleskey.
  • Terrell also looks at
  • Santa Fe area legislative races
  • .
  • The Associated Press looks at the candidacy of Michelle Lujan-Grisham.
  • Lujan Grisham is part of the next generation of college-educated, middle-class Latino congressional candidates. Unlike many of their early predecessors, the new Latino candidates don’t come from union or labor backgrounds, and some are seeking seats outside of predominantly Hispanic districts.
  • The Farmington Daily-Times
  • looks at the 3rd Congressional District race
  • and finds what everyone else who has looked at the race has found -- Rep. Ben Ray Lujan is on his way to cruising to reelection.
  • Both
  • KUNM
  • and the
  • Daily Lobo
  • spoke to U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, who was in town last week to, among other things, campaign for Heinrich.
  • Heinrich and Wilson differ on coal
  • , the Journal writes.
  • Thom Cole of the Journal writes that
  • the trial of former state Rep. Vincent "Smiley" Gallegos has been delayed
  • . Again.
  • Gallegos and Dennis Kennedy — no relation to Justice Kennedy — were set to go on trial this month in state District Court in Albuquerque on fraud, money laundering and other charges related to their work at the state Region III Housing Authority.
  • This came because Gallegos' lawyer is John Paul Kennedy -- who was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez to the state Supreme Court.
  • The CATO Institute says Martinez is off base in trying to use the REAL ID Act to advance her push to repeal the law allowing undocumented immigrants to earn drivers licenses.
  • It wasn’t the U.S. Congress that had the first hearing on REAL ID. It was the New Mexico legislature in September 2006.

    A year and a half after the law passed, New Mexico legislators heard about the costs and consequences of having a national ID. The Wall Street Journal dubbed the federal policy “Real Bad ID” the next month.
  • The election is just over a week away, but that doesn't mean interim committees own't be meeting.


  • The Revenue Stabilization and Tax Revenue Committee will meet in Santa Fe today and tomorrow.
  • See the agenda
  • .
  • A
  • Lincoln County Undersheriff resigned so he could continue his campaign for Sheriff
  • .
  • "Although there has been no determination that I am subject to or in violation of the Hatch Act, I have decided that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Lincoln County that I resign my position as undersheriff at this time," Shepperd said in the press release.

    Shepperd said once the allegation was made his only choices were to resign or drop out of the race for Lincoln County Sheriff.
  • Your daily drought piece. From
  • the inimitable John Fleck at the Albuquerque Journal
  • :
  • More striking than the current drought, though, is the forecast embedded in Williams’ graphs. If climate trends follow even the most conservative projections from scientists who study the effects of rising greenhouse gases, the work by Williams and his colleagues suggests a warming climate will push the Southwest’s forests by the middle of the 21st century into a regime in which the worst tree-killing drought conditions of the last thousand years become the norm.
  • Godo thing htat hte only person who
  • will ask about climate change is MTV's Sway
  • .
  • The Carlsbad Current-Argus writes
  • the lobbyist for Eddy County and Carlsbad
  • who is looking for the DOE to set aside more money for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
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