Five Republicans are vying for the opportunity to go up against New Mexico’s incumbent Democratic governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, in the November 8 General Election. Early voting for the June 7 primary is already underway throughout the state.
According to a SurveyUSA KOB-TV Eyewitness News poll released on Monday, May 9, Mark Ronchetti leads the pack of Republican hopefuls by a decent margin, though any match up shows Gov. Lujan Grisham the likely winner in November.
The survey canvassed 2175 adult New Mexicans of whom 577 were identified as registered Republicans. It should be further noted that the poll’s results indicate that 23% of New Mexico’s voters remain undecided as to their candidate of choice.
Mark Ronchetti Polls in First Place
A former Albuquerque meteorologist, Ronchetti was the 2020 Republican candidate for the US Senate. Although he lost to Democrat Ben Ray Luján (51.7% to 45.6%), Ronchetti won Lea County by nearly 80% of the vote.
As a candidate for governor Ronchetti is campaigning on the issues that the “state is far too dependent on government spending”, that state laws be enacted to more easily “keep certain defendants behind bars”, that “catch and release” should be terminated and police should be better supported.
Jay Block Polls in Second Place
According to the KOB-TV poll, next in line with 12% of the vote is Jay Block of Rio Rancho. Block is a Sandoval County Commissioner and nuclear consultant.
Block favors attracting more business to New Mexico by making it easier to do business in the state. He wants to eliminate the gross receipts tax. Although supporting due process, Block is concerned about the “trend toward cashless bail”. He also supports more training for law enforcement.
Greg Zanetti Polls in Third Place
The poll gave financial advisor, who is also a West Point graduate and retired Brigadier General, Greg Zanetti 10% of the vote.
Zanetti wants New Mexico to be known as the “Water, Energy, and Technology State”. Zanetti told the Albuquerque Journal, “We have abundant ‘low-tech’ natural resources and brilliant ‘high-tech’ minds.” Zanetti is also committed to reducing crime. He feels that New Mexico must abandon its policy of allowing “…violent criminals back out on the streets to reoffend.”
Rebecca Dow Close Behind Zanetti
Close behind Zanetti is Rebecca Dow who polled with 9% of the vote. Dow is the District 38 State Representative.
A mom, businesswoman and educator, Dow has “…a proven record of defending New Mexico jobs, defeating overregulation for profitable NM industries like mining, and standing up for our rights – like the Right to Life and 2nd Amendment rights,” states her website.
Ethel Maharg Polls in Fifth Place
Ethel Maharg polled at 2%. The former mayor of New Mexico’s village of Cuba and Director of the New Mexico Right to Life Committee, states on her Facebook page, “I am running for Governor to Breathe LIFE into New Mexico.”
In a KOB4 News video interview Maharg states that she is the only “native born and raised New Mexican” in the race. She also mentions her “strong faith”. She states, “I defend life from conception to death, and everything in-between. I pledge to end abortion in New Mexico – period.”
Who Can Beat Governor Lujan Grisham on November 8?
Ronchetti is “…close to the Democratic governor in a theoretical head-to-head matchup,” states an article posted at KOB.com. None of the other Republican candidates appear to be a real challenge to Governor Lujan Grisham.
University of New Mexico political science professor Tim Krebs says in the KOB News article, “‘It’s obviously very positive news for [Ronchetti]. It shows that the governor has some work to do going into the summer and the fall to win the election.'”
Still, Gov. Lujan Grisham remains popular and incumbents often have an advantage. She beat US Representative Steve Pearce in 2018 by about 100,000 votes, with almost 60% of the vote.
Important Issues to Voters
KOB News reports that the economy and inflation are the issues about which voters care most. Crime, climate change and water supply are also important. Border security is a concern to one out of eight voters, and education and housing additionally made the list of issues important to New Mexico voters.
“Whoever wins [the Primary] is going to have to tack to the middle a little bit as we head into the general election,” says Professor Krebs. New Mexico leans Democratic. Biden easily beat Trump in the 2020 presidential election in New Mexico by over 10 percentage points, making it unlikely that a Republican nominee will win with typical conservative talking points. Still, the November election is a long ways off, and New Mexicans will have to wait to see who the Republican nominee is before the large group of undecideds will begin truly making up their minds.
