More than a million dollars recently flowed into the campaigns of both candidates in the race to represent New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes part of Chaves County.
October quarterly campaign finance reports, which chronicle fundraising activity and spending of each candidate between July 1 and Sept. 30, show that the campaigns of Republican US Rep. Yvette Herrell and her Democratic challenger Gabriel Vasquez each received a massive infusion of cash during that period .
During those three months, Herrell’s re-election campaign took in $1,148,119, while Vasquez, a former Las Cruces city councilor, brought in $1,561,124.
In that same time frame, Herrell outspent Vasquez $1,757,948 to $1,561,124.
Herrell ended the reporting period with $1,085,614 left on hand, substantially more than the $293,596 Vasquez had remaining in his campaign coffers.
So far this election cycle, reports show Herrell’s campaign has amassed $3,597,426 in contributions, while Vasquez has collected $2,736,377.
Of those fundraising totals, $425,724 in contributions to Vasquez and $666,049 to Herrell have come from New Mexico donors.
The large cash hauls reflect the competitive nature of the contest, in a district greatly reshaped by redistricting.
In the past, the 2nd District was predominately conservative, with Republicans winning the seat by large margins in all but two election cycles since 1981.
Traditionally the district has stretched from southern Albuquerque down to communities on the US border with Mexico, and has extended from the state’s eastern border with Texas to its western border with Arizona, taking in oil patch communities, ranches and the city of Las Cruces.
But in the latest round of redistricting, the district’s boundaries were altered, swapping out parts of reliably Republican southeastern New Mexico and replacing them with the more Democratic-friendly south valley of Albuquerque.
Chaves County, which previously had been completely in the 2nd District is now divided between all three congressional districts. The part of Chaves County the 2nd District has retained is a single precinct located in the southwest “boot heel” area of the county.
With the Republican advantage diminished in the district, the seat now held by Herrell has become more competitive.
Political observers are monitoring the contest as one of several that could determine which party controls the US House of Representatives come next year.
Republicans need to win five additional seats to wrest control of that chamber away from Democrats.
Most nonpartisan election forecasters, such as the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, rate the contest in the 2nd district as a toss-up.
Augmenting those contributions made directly to the campaigns is spending by independent organizations, commonly known as Super PACs, seeking to influence the election’s outcome.
So far, Herrell retains a lopsided advantage from these groups, who have spent $717,521 to support Herrell’s re-election bid.
The House Freedom Fund, an organization aligned with the heavily conservative House Freedom Caucus, of which Herrell is a member, has pumped $398,641 into the race to aid Herrell’s re-election.
Vasquez by contrast just received a $10 contribution from Sierra Club Independent Action.
Both candidates have been the recipients of a deluge of negative spending from Super PACs.
All $636,636 against Vasquez this cycle has come from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a group that aims to help Republicans retake the majority in the House.
Per reports, several outside groups have pumped $284,335 into efforts to unseat Herrell. Of that amount, $269,196 came from Sierra Club Independent Action.
Other races receive less funding
Cash also continued to pour into the state’s two other congressional races within that same time frame.
The money that has made its way into the campaign accounts in New Mexico’s 1st and 3rd Congressional District races is less than in the battle for the 2nd District.
In both seats, Democratic incumbents seeking re-election managed to surpass their Republican challengers in contributions to this quarter.
Democratic US Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who represents the 1st Congressional District, during the July 1-Sept. 30 reporting period, accumulated $411,512 in contributions. That is nearly four times more than the $125,963 received by her Republican opponent, Michelle Garcia Holmes.
Stansbury also deployed more resources between July and the end of September: $278,208. Garcia Holmes in that same period spent $26,662, according to reports.
After spending, Stansbury entered October with $380,610 in cash on hand, compared to Garcia Holmes’ $256,135.
The latest figures bring the total raised by Stansbury and Garcia Holmes this election cycle to $1,144,302 and $349,960 respectively.
Super PACs spent more for or against Stansbury than they spend on Garcia Holmes.
Per reports, so far this cycle, outside groups spent $45,823 to boost Stansbury’s re-election bid. The largest donor among those organizations is the People For the American Way, which put down $23,968.
PACs aligned against Stansbury have spent $97,643 against her so far. Of that, $94,643 has come from The Freedom Forward Fund, based in Utah.
Groups have ignored Garcia Holmes, though. Reports show that no money has been spent by Super PACs in support of her candidacy, while Planned Parenthood Votes spent only $9 against her.
Following the latest round of redistricting, the 1st District takes in most of Bernalillo County, reaching as far south as East Berrendo Road in Roswell.
Most of Chaves County under the new maps falls within the 3rd District, encompassing much of northern New Mexico and reaching as far south as Hobbs.
In that contest, first-term Democratic US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez is in a rematch with her 2020 opponent for the seat, Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson.
Per records, in this last fundraising quarter, Leger Fernandez added $850,183 to her war chest, nearly eight times the $146,046 Martinez Johnson raked in.
After spending $1,036,217, Leger Fernandez has $1,033,796 in her campaign account. Martinez Johnson spent $115,163, leaving her campaign with $59,572 in cash.
Leger Fernandez has taken in a total of $2,734,702 since the start of her re-election campaign, while Martinez Johnson has raised $223,098.
No data was available on whether Super Pacs have spent money supporting or opposing Martinez Johnson’s campaign.
Records do show that such groups spent $179,506 to back Leger Fernandez. The biggest injection of cash has come from the Illinois-based America United, which spent $178,000.
Early voting in New Mexico continues until Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Comments are closed.