GOP can prioritize women’s issues
Members of the New Mexico House GOP are indicating they are willing to buck their caucus and vote for a Democratic speaker of the House — so long as that person is a woman. As Democratic members of the House, and as women, we appreciate the GOP’s new willingness to support Democrats and the confidence they place in the members of our caucus. However, we strongly support our current speaker, Brian Egolf, and have selected him to lead our party.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, and for the first time in our state’s history, the New Mexico House of Representatives celebrates its first female majority. With 37 women in the House, New Mexico is poised to accomplish major policy changes that affect women, children, our economic recovery, and the resilience and quality of life of our families.
If these House GOP members want to break ranks and vote with the Democrats, let it be on one of the many issues that affect women across the state. We can come together in support of paid family and parental leave, protecting reproductive health care, expanding affordable health insurance for families and those with preexisting conditions, raising the minimum wage, or increasing the Working Families Tax Credit. These are issues that will make a concrete difference in the lives of women that House Democrats have been and will continue fighting for this next session, and they’re issues that deserve bipartisan cooperation.
As Democrats, we know representation matters, and we don’t reserve that
opinion for the op-ed pages. We go out and make it happen.
Today, House Democrats have the most diverse caucus in state history. We have been majority women since 2018, and seven more women have joined our ranks this year. All of the leadership positions in our caucus are held by women.
The GOP House members now indicate that representation is a priority for them, too, but their own caucus still has far to go. In a recent GOP caucus vote, they elected only one woman to a leadership position. In 2021, the House GOP will have eight women members and 17 men, while the Democratic caucus will have 29 women and 16 men.
Electing Democratic women, champions for their districts, took years of work by candidates, voters and organizers. We are proud to count Speaker Egolf among our key allies in that effort.
Egolf has helped recruit women to run for office and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support their campaigns. He led the Democratic effort to retake the House majority in 2016. In every election cycle since, our caucus has become more diverse.
As speaker of the House, Egolf put in countless hours traveling across our state meeting with local and rural leaders about what’s needed to uplift their communities. He is working with every member of our caucus, and many from the Republican caucus, on priority legislation. And as we are about to embark on one of the most consequential legislative sessions in history, his experience building coalitions and ensuring every voice is fairly heard makes him, without question, the right person to lead the chamber through it.
We will graciously accept any good-faith efforts by Republicans to work across the aisle for women and families, and reject any attack on an effective Democratic leadership team. As the Democratic female leadership of the House, we invite any GOP House member who is ready to shake things up to join us in passing legislation that supports New Mexico’s women and working families.