Updates on House races
All 70 New Mexico House seats are up for election this year.
In state House campaign finance reports:
■ Embattled state Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, reported spending nearly $54,000 during the recent reporting period and got donations from several fellow GOP lawmakers.
Youngblood was convicted of aggravated drunken driving in September and was sentenced to one day in jail and a year of probation. Since then, she has been the target of hard-hitting campaign mailers sent out by a pro-Democratic Super PAC called Patriot Majority Now.
But Youngblood has responded with campaign mailers of her own that target her Democratic opponent, political newcomer Karen Bash. Youngblood has also reported paying a firm run by Jay McCleskey, Martinez’s political adviser, to help with that effort.
For her part, Bash reported raising about $34,000 and spending nearly $27,000. The two candidates are vying for the House District 68 seat. The district covers a chunk of northwest Albuquerque.
■ Albuquerque Democrat Melanie Stansbury emerged as the leading fundraiser in a contested House race.
She has raised about $176,000 so far this election cycle, more than any legislative candidate except House Speaker Brian Egolf, a Democrat who is unopposed. Egolf has raised about $208,000 this cycle and is doling out campaign contributions to Democratic candidates, among other spending.
Stansbury is facing incumbent Republican Rep. Jimmie Hall in House District 28, which covers much of the Sandia foothills and part of Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights.
Hall has been a successful fundraiser, too, collecting about $95,000 altogether for his re-election bid.
■ Democrats also held a cash advantage in two campaigns to claim open seats in the Albuquerque area.
In District 15, Democrat Dayan Hochman has outraised her opponent, Republican Brad Winter, in the race to succeed Republican Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, who is not running for re-election.
Likewise, in District 30, Democrat Natalie Figueroa has raised more than Republican John L. Jones in a campaign to succeed the top Republican in the House, Nate Gentry, the minority floor leader.