Dem Apodaca launches show on conservative radio station
Former gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca — who suffered a decisive loss in June’s Democratic primary to U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham and angered many in his party by appearing with GOP candidate Steve Pearce at a recent campaign event — has a new radio show on the conservative KKOB.
Apodaca is co-hosting the show with the station’s longtime conservative talk-show host Scott Stiegler.
The 13-week series Turnaround Tuesdays, which launched this week, airs at 5 p.m. Tuesday on KKOB, 770 AM and 94.5 FM, as well as on the Facebook pages of KKOB and New Mexico Democrats for Democracy, a political action committee that backed Apodaca for governor and recently hired him as its spokesman.
A joint news release from Democrats for Democracy and Cumulus Media, KKOB’s parent organization, said the series will be “focused on reaching across the aisle and discussing issues that affect ALL New Mexicans. Each week ‘Turnaround Tuesdays’ will focus on one topic, debating where candidates
stand.”
In the first episode, Apodaca talked about the flak he’s taken since appearing at a campaign event with the Republican gubernatorial nominee, U.S. Rep. Pearce.
Apodaca stressed he was not endorsing Pearce “or the Republican agenda” by appearing with the candidate at a meeting with New Mexico business leaders.
“During the campaign, both Michelle Lujan Grisham and I talked about how important it is to reach across party lines, talk about the issues and solve issues together,” Apodaca said. “If we can’t sit down and talk to each other, especially during the campaign, how are you going to solve New Mexico’s issues, whoever wins?”
Apodaca acknowledged that staying in the public eye after losing the primary rubs some Democrats the wrong way, he said. “There are people out there saying, ‘You’re a sore loser. Hey, why don’t you go away, Apodaca?’ ”
He would have left the political stage, Apodaca said, but many of his supporters implored him to stay involved.
Apodaca on the show said it was a tracker from the Lujan Grisham camp who took a photo of him shaking hands with Pearce. “… They blasted it on social media, and I was attacked as a traitor to my own party,” he said. Some Democrats, he noted, “have turned on me, attacked me on social media.”
Lujan Grisham’s campaign decried the allegation as a “lie” and pointed out the photo in question was tweeted by Associated Press writer Russell Contreras.
“I wasn’t aware that accomplished journalist Russ Contreras and the esteemed Associated Press were ‘trackers for the Lujan Grisham campaign,’ ” Lujan Grisham spokesman James Hallinan said in an email.
On the first episode of Turnaround Tuesdays, Apodaca was not overly critical of Lujan Grisham.
Speaking of the meeting he had with her shortly after the primary, Apodaca said she was “a little dismissive” of some of his ideas. But he later said of his former opponent, “I think we’re on the same page on many issues. But there are many other issues that need to be addressed.”
Asked to respond to Apodaca’s comments, Lujan Grisham’s spokesman said the Democratic nominee is “focused on working with all New Mexicans who share [her] commitment to making New Mexico a safer and more prosperous place for our children, working families, veterans and seniors.”
Before the primary, New Mexico Democrats for Democracy spent nearly $20,000, mostly on social media advertising that praised Apodaca and bashed Lujan Grisham. The group’s internet platforms continue to criticize her.
“My goal is not to divide the party,” Apodaca said on the show. “My goal is to bring the party back together.”