SocraticGadfly: A shitstorm US Senate race in New Mexico

October 05, 2020

A shitstorm US Senate race in New Mexico

I remember, just over 20 years ago, when Greens were so strong in northern New Mexico that they actually did lead to a Republican, Bill Redmond, being a short-term GOP Congresscritter for the First District. Now, they can't even muster a statewide candidate for this year's Senate race, featuring an inside-player neoliberal House member, Ben Ray Lujan (and a grifter off a New Mexico insider family name) as the Dem candidate. The sadness is even greater when you note that the Libertarian in the race is a climate change denialist, Lujan is a neoliberal minimizer, and the Rethug wouldn't even answer questions. Let's add in that the Libertarian, Walsh, is an ex-Dem.

Yes, I know that the pandemic has hindered third-party registration efforts. 

But, at least in the gov's race, Greens haven't run a candidate since 2002. And, they did well, with David Bacon taking 5.5 percent. Since then? Nada? Tom Udall, vacating the Senate seat, had no Green (or Libertarian) opposition in either 2008 or 2014.

It's like the momentum in the Place Different from Nader's 2000 prez run, which had the pre-2000 background in the north, has wasted away.

No comments: