Candidate claims collusion in governor’s race
Dem leaders improperly aiding Lujan Grisham, Apodaca says
SANTA FE — Democratic rivals of gubernatorial candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham are crying foul about some of her campaign’s alleged tactics at recent county conventions and ward meetings, accusing state party leaders of taking sides in a testy primary contest.
The criticisms come as Democrats are readying for a pre-primary convention — set for March 10 in Albuquerque — that will determine ballot position and who qualifies for the June 5 primary election.
One candidate, former media executive Jeff Apodaca of Albuquerque, this week accused top state party officials of colluding with the Lujan Grisham camp.
Specifically, he said his campaign had documented proxy voting and Lujan Grisham staffers helping delegates to fill out their ballots at county conventions. Proxy voting, in which voting is done on behalf of another party member, is prohibited by state party rules, but there is no rule about staffers mingling with supportive delegates.
“We’ve been complaining for a month, and we know the fix is in,” Apodaca told the Journal.
In response, the state Democratic Party said it has worked diligently to ensure proper procedures are followed.
“The Democratic Party of New Mexico has given equal access to the delegate selection process to each campaign,” state party spokeswoman Felicia Salazar said. “It is each campaign’s job to ensure they have the delegates needed to reach their goals.”
Dominic Gabello, Lujan Grisham’s campaign manager, called Apodaca’s allegations “baseless.”
“We understand that Jeff and his campaign are disappointed by the lack of support for his campaign, but to try cast doubt on the votes of hundreds of New Mexicans who turned out to vote for Michelle is unfortunate and a slap in the face to the thousands of volunteers organizing for Michelle across the state,” Gabello told the Journal.
Lujan Grisham, a former state Cabinet secretary who has held the Albuquerquebased 1st Congressional District seat since winning election in 2012, has outraised her rivals in the four-way Democratic primary.
Whoever wins the party’s nomination will face Republican Steve Pearce in the November general election, and other Democratic gubernatorial candidates have also expressed concern in the runup to the pre-primary convention.
Peter DeBenedittis, a political outsider from Santa Fe, said the delegate selection process was rife with rules violations — including breaches of neutrality by the chairpersons of some county-level organizations.
“There’s clearly not a level playing field between the campaigns in the Democratic Party,” he said.
In some cases, he said, party officials have acknowledged violations but refused to fix them, which damages people’s faith in the party’s work.
And Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces said an internal party report read at a recent meeting also acknowledged problems, including unqualified people voting in the process.
The candidate ultimately nominated by the party, he said, needs to be “beyond any reproach.”