Capital Expense

In the world of campaign finance, political action committees, or PACs, are key players—and Santa Fe County's two partisan PACs lead the state in combined fundraising and spending.

According to the New Mexico Secretary of State's office, the Santa Fe County Democratic Party raised and spent the second-most money of any county party this election cycle. (The Republican Party of Bernalillo County came in first.) Santa Fe's Republican Party is also a heavy hitter, coming in sixth in fundraising and fourth in spending—mostly on campaign contributions to Republican candidates. (Local Dems spent more on staffing, mailers and events.)

In total, county party PACs have raised and spent just over $400,000, with Republicans raising and spending approximately $100,000 more than their Democratic counterparts.

Though candidates for three key Santa Fe seats—state Sen. Peter Wirth, state Rep. Brian Egolf and Carl Trujillo, the Democratic candidate to replace former House Speaker Ben Luján—will run unopposed in November, they can still exert influence: Wirth's True Blue PAC has a nearly $50,000, virtually untapped war chest; Egolf's New Mexico Defense Fund is sitting on upwards of $70,000.

Santa Fe Reporter