New Mexico leaders look to recruit more female candidates,
Women underrepresented in state offices
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico voters made history in 2010 when they elected Republican Susana Martinez as the state’s first female governor.
But they have yet to elect a woman to the U.S. Senate, and only three have represented New Mexico as congresswomen. In the Legislature, just over a quarter of the seats are held by women even though they represent half the state’s population.
Women remain underrepresented in elected office in New Mexico and around the country.
Martinez and Debra Haaland, head of the state Democratic Party, are among those on a mission to recruit more female candidates for their respective parties. Results from the recent primary election show their work is paying off. But they acknowledge more has to be done.
“There’s a lot of different things going on, and part of the answer seems to be that women do not appear to be as politically ambitious as men and we’re not sure why,” said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor at The University of New Mexico.
Haaland, the nation’s first Native American woman to serve as chair of a major state party, waited until her daughter was in her late teens before carving out time for herself to pursue political ambitions. In 2014, she was Democrat Gary King’s running mate in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Martinez.
Men usually agree to run for office after being asked once. A woman might have to be asked several times, Haaland said.
“That’s because she worries about everything, worries about the house, worries about her family, the kids, the dog,” Haaland said, laughing. “I think a woman thinks a lot more about whether she wants to take the plunge.”
Some women can win, Atkeson said, noting that there’s no evidence that women raise less money than men or that women are any less successful once they’re in the trenches of an election.
The political prowess of women in the U.S. is in the spotlight now that Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is in line to shatter what she has called “the highest, hardest glass ceiling.” Notable women have been picked as running mates in the past, including Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in 2008 and Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, the first female vice presidential candidate to represent a major political party.
It used to be that one of the only statewide offices that women successfully sought was secretary of state. Former state Sen. Dede Feldman said she believes that was because the office had the word “secretary” in it.
Women have been able to crash through the glass ceiling in the Legislature. But in spite of appointments as various committee chairs, it has been difficult for women to become part of the power circles where key budget decisions are made. Feldman said.
“There are plenty of women running for office now. Whether they can win and once they get there, what kind of power they have is another question,” she said. “Women will only have impact and break that glass ceiling when they get to make decisions, and that will happen only if there’s critical mass.”
The governor remembers campaigning everywhere from small villages to dense Democratic strongholds in 2010. She loved meeting people and sharing her ideas — particularly ones that centered on not taxing families and small business owners.
Martinez laughed when she was asked whether she experienced sexism when she took office.
She said a legislative leader “came up to me, sort of patted me on the back and said, ‘Oh, come on darling. Campaign’s over. Let’s just raise taxes and get rid of this deficit.’
“I looked at him and said, ‘Have you not heard what I promised people when I looked them in the eye and said what I’d do.’ He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that was the campaign, darling.’ ”
In her hunt for prospective female candidates, Martinez said she looks for someone who will stand up for constituents, follow through on promises and leave a trail to follow for young girls who aspire to be leaders.
Among her favorite duties is meeting with schoolchildren. She always asks the girls what they want to be, with the answers ranging from doctors and engineers to governor.
“When I hear governor, I say, ‘What about president?’ and their eyes just get huge. I say why not,” Martinez said.