GOP governors target Lujan Grisham in new ad

The Republican Governors Association is going after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as she seeks a second term in office.

The association, whose primary objective is electing and supporting Republican governors, is launching a five-figure digital ad campaign against Lujan Grisham that seeks to portray the Democratic governor as an out-of-touch politician who flouts the very rules she’s asked everyday New Mexicans to follow during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The campaign will remind New Mexico voters that they sacrificed their freedoms and finances as Lujan Grisham lived extravagantly on the taxpayers’ dime and made personal exceptions to lockdown orders,” a news release states.

The one-minute digital ad starts off with a map of the United States and the words, “great hardship during the pandemic” superimposed over the state of New Mexico.

The ad then pans to people standing in long lines at the grocery store and a news anchor stating that “a lot of New Mexicans are struggling right now” with their health, money and even food.

“Michelle Lujan Grisham’s policies have made it harder for the state to recover, but they seem to be working just fine for her,” a voice-over states.

The ad then switches to another television news report asserting that “a nonessential store” opened its doors in April so Lujan Grisham could buy jewelry “when she ordered nonessential stores to shut down.”

The Governor’s Office has acknowledged the transaction but said no state guidelines were broken.

“The store was never ‘opened,’ and a good safe process was followed,” the governor’s press secretary said at the time.

A more recent controversy is highlighted in the ad next.

“Would you like to see what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been shopping for with your tax dollars?” the same anchor featured in the first segment asks, referring to more than $6,500 the Governor’s Office spent on groceries in the second half of 2020, including hundreds of dollars on bottles of liquor and Wagyu beef.

“Lockdowns. Masks. Social distancing. A global health crisis,” the voice-over states. “You stepped up and made hard sacrifices when asked, but what about Michelle Lujan Grisham?”

In a virtual news conference with reporters Feb. 19, Lujan Grisham acknowledged the “bad press” that resulted from her discretionary fund spending. She also said she had “dropped the ball” and should’ve found a way to pay for food for needy children or those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

“When people are struggling, should it be fair that residents [of the governor’s mansion] literally have a locked-up grocery store closet … that has libations and catering stuff and food?” the governor said last month.

“I don’t want New Mexicans to feel like I don’t take seriously their hardship,” she added.

The ad, of course, doesn’t include the governor’s point of view.

It is scheduled to appear on various streaming, social media and other internet platforms, said Will Reinert, an association spokesman.

“Families are in serious need, the state coffers are bare, and people have sacrificed their freedoms as the pandemic rolls on,” Reinert wrote in a statement. “However, nothing is stopping Lujan Grisham from using state funds to fuel her lavish lifestyle or from making exceptions to the rules for herself. Wagyu beef, Crown Royal, taxpayer money, lockdown carveouts, just add Governor Lujan Grisham, and you have a recipe for terrible leadership.”