Pence rallies in Roswell for state GOP candidates
Vice president was joined by Pearce, congressional hopeful Herrell
ROSWELL — Vice President Mike Pence rallied a boisterous crowd of several hundred party loyalists here Thursday afternoon, enthusiastically acclaiming the two most prominent New Mexico Republicans on the Nov. 6 ballot as “principled conservatives” and vowing to accelerate the Trump administration agenda, including the construction of a wall across the country’s southern border.
“Oh, we’re building it,” Pence said, smiling, as chants of “build that wall” echoed through an aircraft hangar where the rally was held.
“We need new, strong allies,” Pence added. “Make you a promise: You send Steve Pearce to the statehouse, you send Yvette Herrell to the Congress of the United States of America, we will build that wall. We will secure our borders.”
One glaring problem: Pearce, the Republican gubernatorial nominee who has represented the state’s southern section in Congress for seven terms, has consistently expressed opposition to a wall, saying it would be expensive and inefficient.
Pearce campaign manager Paul Smith acknowledged as much after Pence finished his 28-minute speech. “[Pearce] supports securing the border,” Smith said. “He thinks a wall doesn’t make sense in all places.”
That was of little concern to the exuberant crowd, who cheered lustily at the mere mention of the president, his long-promised wall and the newest Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh.
The rally amounted to a show of political muscle for New Mexico Republicans, who are seeking to maintain control of the Governor’s Office as well as bump incumbent Democrats from statewide offices but face what political analysts have said is likely to be a surge of Democratic turnout in a midterm cycle.
Pence urged the crowd Thursday to prove pundits wrong and pray — “if you’re so inclined,” he said.
“They keep talking about this blue wave,” he said. “Let’s make sure it hits a red wall in New Mexico.”
Pence began his appearance by somberly noting authorities had detained a suspect in the series of packaged bombs mailed to liberal Trump critics and former President Barack Obama.
“These acts are despicable,” Pence said. “And they have no place in our society.”
From there, the vice president leapt into a rousing campaign trail speech, reading from prepared notes as he touted Pearce and Herrell and listing what he said had been the accomplishments of the Trump administration.
He also echoed Trump’s comment that the caravan of asylum-seekers currently wending north from Central America represented an “assault” on the U.S., saying there were “dangerous criminals, gang members, maybe terrorists” among them.
“To those in the caravan we simply say: Turn around,” Pence said, to extended cheers.
Pearce has trailed Democratic nominee Michelle Lujan Grisham in polling, but he and other state Republicans argue the race has tightened since Pearce began a barrage of bracing advertisements attacking Lujan Grisham.
Herrell, a conservative Alamogordo state representative who is running to fill Pearce’s congressional seat, is locked in one of the nation’s tightest U.S. House races, one that could prove consequential in Republican efforts to maintain control of the chamber. Her opponent is water rights attorney Xochitl Torres Small.
Pearce, in brief remarks before Pence spoke, reiterated his now familiar campaign message that Lujan Grisham would represent a return to “cronyism and corruption” he said had marred the administration of former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson.
Like Pence, Pearce stirred up the crowd with chunks of conservative red meat.
“You know [Lujan Grisham] said she’s gonna take away your guns,” Pearce said. Amid a chorus of boos, a man in the crowd screamed, “Bullsh—!”
Herrell, in even briefer remarks, touted her record as “pro-God, prolife, pro-gun, pro-business.”
“It is truly about holding onto our America,” she said, referring to the Nov. 6 election. “This is where the rubber meets the road.”
Attendees, specked with a few dozen red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps, included many southeastern New Mexico Republicans who said Trump and his agenda were foremost in their minds as Election Day approached.
“He’s gotten a lot done,” said Sharla Nasta of Roswell. “The Supreme Court, that’s very important.”
“I’ve never seen a president do as much as he has, and I’m 72 years old,” added her husband, Rusty Nasta.
“The things [Trump] hasn’t gotten done, it’s because he hasn’t had the right Republicans there to support him,” Sharla Nasta said.
John Donahue, a Roswell man who worked in information technology until he became semi-disabled, said only one gubernatorial candidate would sufficiently support the state’s oil and gas industry. “We need to keep the oil wells open,” said Donahue, who wore a camouflage baseball cap bearing an image of a Bible and the words: “When all else fails, read the instructions.”
Some others explained their enthusiasm for Herrell by way of association with Trump.
“Yvette is a big supporter of Trump,” said Ted Jordan of Carlsbad. That’s it? “That’s it.” “Before Donald Trump even decided to run, that was the candidate I was looking for: America first,” added Jordan, an employee at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the underground repository for nuclear waste near Carlsbad. “He needs more support in Washington.”
Pence was scheduled to fly from Roswell to Yuma, Ariz., to stump for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Martha McSally. From there, the vice president was headed to Las Vegas, Nev.
The Lujan Grisham campaign slammed Pence’s visit.
“This isn’t about Democrat or Republican, this is about electing a governor on what the candidates will actually do,” spokesman James Hallinan said. “Bringing in Pence is an attempted distraction from [Pearce’s] horrific record. It’s a sad, sad attempt, and New Mexicans aren’t gonna buy it.”