Associated Press
By: Barry Massey
May 15, 2014

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/81b89ee2df2449d9b4d370266c12b303/NM–New-Mexico-Governor

ESPANOLA, New Mexico — For Democrats, the road to victory over New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez leads through predominantly Hispanic communities across the north of the state.

The incumbent Republican, however, has become a rising national star and favorite to win re-election because of her crossover appeal, especially in places such as Espanola where Democrats typically win big.

“Overall, I think she’s done a good job in tough times, tough economic times,” said Lucas Fresquez, a Democrat and Espanola school board president.

Fresquez recently listened to Martinez speak to students about a summer meals program and said he’s inclined to support her in November. He won’t be sure until after his party selects a challenger in a five-way June 3 primary.

This uncertainty underscores the Democrats’ challenge. The party relies on sweeping wins among northern New Mexico Hispanics for statewide success, but Martinez has cut deeply into that support.

Four years ago in becoming the nation’s first Hispanic female governor, she took 40 percent of the votes in Rio Arriba County, where Espanola is the largest city. The county is 71 percent Hispanic and Democrats traditionally dominate.

When President Barack Obama carried New Mexico in 2012, he received 75 percent of the vote in Rio Arriba. Similar Democratic support has long been present in other northern counties with similar demographics.

Martinez fares better than other Republicans in these areas in part because she’s Hispanic and “surname is very powerful in New Mexico,” said Maurilio Vigil, a retired political science professor at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas.

But the governor also “has actively cultivated the Hispanic community in these counties” with frequent visits and support for local projects, he said.

Democrats hold a 3-to-2 registration edge in New Mexico, giving them a built-in advantage in statewide elections, but it’s not enough of a margin that the party can afford to lose big chunks of its base and still expect victory.

The Democrats aiming to challenge Martinez are two-term Attorney General Gary King, state Sens. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque and Howie Morales of Silver City, former government agency administrator Lawrence Rael and wealthy Santa Fe businessman Alan Webber.

They have spent recent weeks attacking Martinez, pointing to a report showing the state lost 1,000 jobs in the one-year period ending in March, ranking it last in the region, and another last year that indicated children in the state were worse off than in any other.

FILE – This May 3 2014 file photo shows Howie Morales speaking during the Democratic Party for New Mexico 2014 Governor Forum in Albuquerque. Morales is among five Democrats running for the party’s gubernatorial nomination in New Mexico’s June 3 primary election. The winner will face Republican Gov. Susana Martinez in the November general election. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz, file)

Carl Newton, a Democratic political activist, said Martinez “and her team work very hard at building up her image, but you’ve got to have something more to lead the state in the direction it should go. Her record is dismal.”

Martinez casts the election as a choice between past and future.

“The other side’s candidates, clearly in all of their discussions, want to go back to the way things were, and that’s not acceptable,” she said.

Her policies have exhibited a political independent streak.

Unlike some other Republican governors, she was an early supporter of key components of the federal health care overhaul such as expanding Medicaid.

She has pleased conservatives with her efforts — although unsuccessful — to end New Mexico’s practice of issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants in the country illegally.

Martinez has a concealed carry license, but she supported legislation to expand background checks on firearms purchases.

With no primary opposition, she has prepared for November by stockpiling campaign cash and making further overtures to fence sitters in the north, launching TV ads far ahead of her Democratic rivals.

One campaign spot features praise from prominent northern New Mexico Democrats, including Las Vegas Mayor Alfonso Ortiz.

Ortiz said he hasn’t endorsed Martinez, but he was “speaking the truth about some of her accomplishments” in the ad.

“I have been in politics for all my life,” Ortiz said. “And I’ve never had this kind of cooperation with a governor that I am getting now and that the community is getting now.”