Ride New Mexico’s blue wave with caution

If results at the national level were mixed — Democrats regained control of the House but Republicans increased their Senate majority — the conclusions in New Mexico were clear and convincing.

At the state level, voters chose Democrats up and down the ticket, expanding a majority in the state House, winning all statewide judicial and other offices, from the governor on down. They took the U.S. Senate and appear to have won all three U.S. congressional seats; the southern district remained in doubt until Wednesday evening.

For the first time in eight years, Democrats will control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature. That is both an incredible opportunity, as well as a challenge to do the people’s business well.

But what of the GOP, that party that took the reins of government after Bill Richardson’s two terms, even winning control of the House in 2014 for the first time in 60 years? The GOP lost seats in the Albuquerque area that had been reliably Republican for decades. It turned over control of the State Land Office to the Democrats and lost all competitive statewide judicial races.

For a party that just eight years ago featured an up-and-coming GOP governor, Susana Martinez, as well as a legislative savvy and plenty of ambition, the results Tuesday night are a low point.

Losing so badly means that conservative voices will be muted as the governor and Legislature work on policy solutions for New Mexico’s challenges.

The opportunity to temper initiatives — whether spending for preschool education or the legalization of recreational marijuana — are fewer.

Citizens are served better when strongly held philosophies battle it out for the best way forward, no matter the issue. With Republicans in decline on the state level, we are in danger of failing to have the arguments that can improve policy. Debate, the right kind, can serve to improve legislation and initiatives. We look forward to a reenergized GOP — which will occur as the political cycle turns.

For now, those sorts of debates will be happening mostly inside one political party — the Democrats. We likely will see a more liberal House of Representatives being countered by a more conservative Senate, or perhaps the liberal House dragging the Senate along. Debate is a two-way street, after all.

Above it all will be the governor. That’s Michelle Lujan Grisham, who describes herself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative. She is a practical politician, savvy in how laws are written and capable of bringing people together for consensus. Those skills will come in handy in her new job.

Consider these positions, definitely to the right of the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Lujan Grisham has not jumped on the single payer or Medicare-for-all-bandwagon, noting from her years in health care policy that the numbers might not work. She declined to join the progressive caucus in Congress because she did not like its stance on national defense.

She won’t scapegoat the oil and gas industry, either, although she is strong booster of adding renewable energy in New Mexico.

From those stances alone, it is clear there will be plenty of differences to debate as the next administration prepares to govern. And if there isn’t a strong opposition party — for now, at least — the Democrats offer a broad enough tent to have plenty of disagreements.

Those arguments aren’t a bad thing, either. Nuanced and principled debates result in better programs and policies, especially if they are conducted with service to citizens in mind. The GOP will have its role in the discussions, perhaps not from a position of strength, at least not in the beginning. But minority status — in a Legislature that operates in orderly fashion — still offers the opportunity to amend bills and shape legislation. Outside of the lawmaking arena, we suggest Republicans get busy recruiting and grooming candidates for future elections.

When there is a wave — and in New Mexico that wave was blue — the winners should act with graciousness despite the bad examples in Washington, D.C. Listen to those who fell short. Heck, some of the GOP legislators who lost on Tuesday could be solid picks for a bipartisan Cabinet. Be inclusive and respectful.

Because in the end, governing is what matters, not power or politics. Forgetting that is a recipe for failure.