In New Mexico, a New Face for the G.O.P.?

Posted By Josh Goodman | July 15, 2009

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has seven Republicans and all seven of them are white men. That's a good reminder of the demographic challenges facing the G.O.P.

In that context, you can see why the Republicans' own wise Latina is getting some buzz in the New Mexico governor's race. From the New Mexico Independent:

LAS CRUCES -- Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez will formally announce Friday that she is running for the Republican Party's nomination for governor next year.

...

Martinez is Hispanic. She's a woman. She has a proven record of winning the votes of Democratic voters. And she's a prosecutor at a time when some New Mexico Democrats are mired in corruption scandals.

Martinez is in her fourth term as a county-wide officeholder. Doña Ana County, home to Las Cruces, is good base for a statewide run, especially for a Republican. It's New Mexico's second most populous county and has voted slightly more Democratic than the state as a whole in recent presidential elections.

Martinez, though, has plenty of competition for the Republican nomination. The biggest name is former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, but the New Mexico Independent article (linked-above) provides a complete list:

The only other declared Republican gubernatorial candidate is Albuquerque financial adviser and Army National Guard Brigadier General Greg Zanetti. Former state GOP Chairman Allen Weh and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, have formed gubernatorial exploratory committees. Meanwhile, Doug Turner, CEO of the Albuquerque-based public relations firm DW Turner, has joined Wilson in saying he is seriously considering the race.

Josh Goodman

Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..

E-mail: mailbox@governing.com

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