Republican enters 1st District race
Former state Rep. Arnold-Jones is first from GOP to announce candidacy for seat
Former state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones is the first Republican to jump in the race for the Albuquerque-based 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Arnold-Jones filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and confirmed in an interview Monday that she’s running.
“I have a rock-solid belief in the state of New Mexico, and my style in governance and debate is sorely needed,” she said.
Arnold-Jones called her approach open-minded discussion and listening to people, even those with different points of view.
In that spirit, she said, she hopes she faces opposition in a Republican primary. “You can’t have a good conversation unless there’s some competition,” she said. “Nobody will pay any attention to the race.”
There’s plenty of competition in the Democratic field already. Among the declared candidates are former state Democratic Party Chairwoman Debra Haaland, Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis, physicist Dennis Dinge, Edgewood Mayor Pro Tem John Abrams, former law professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Damian Lara, president of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association.
Lujan Grisham is not seeking a third term in Congress because she is running for governor.
Arnold-Jones, 65, said she’s aware that her congressional district is leaning more and more Democratic in recent years. No Republican has won in New Mexico’s 1st District since Heather Wilson’s narrow victory in 2006. As of May 31, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, Democrats have a 46 percent to 29 percent voter registration edge over Republicans in the district.
Even so, the National Republican Congressional Committee in February listed New Mexico’s 1st District as one of 36 seats held by Democrats that it will target in 2018.
In a swipe at Democrats, Arnold-Jones said, “I don’t
think standing there yelling at the president is very effective.”
She said she’s “taking a gamble” because there is a chance Democrats could win control of the House next year. “I don’t think that will happen,” she said. “Having been in the minority in the Legislature, I know that’s not fun.”
Arnold-Jones served eight years in the state House of Representatives, first being elected in 2002. In the Roundhouse she earned a reputation as a detailoriented, sometimes “wonkish” lawmaker who made the effort to study issues and the legislation that came before her.
Though she built a generally conservative voting record, Arnold-Jones also showed an independent streak. For instance, in 2009 she was one of only four Republicans in the House to vote to repeal the death penalty, a measure that became law.
But she was perhaps best known for bucking the late House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, by using her own camera and laptop computer to webcast meetings of House committees on which she served. Her defiance was cheered by reporters, bloggers and advocacy groups for open government. It helped pave the way for official webcasting of all legislative committee meetings and floor sessions.
Although, she was elected to the House four times with little problem, Arnold-Jones has not been successful in subsequent elections.
She ran for governor in 2010, finishing last in a five-candidate Republican primary. Gov. Susana Martinez won that race and went on to victory in the general election.
Arnold-Jones in 2012 ran for the 1st Congressional District seat. She was unopposed in the GOP primary, but Lujan Grisham routed her by 18 percentage points in the general election.
Mayor Richard Berry appointed Arnold-Jones to an Albuquerque City Council seat in 2013. She couldn’t hold the seat, losing a close runoff election to Democrat Diane Gibson.