NM-02: Torres Small's Appeal Moves Race to Toss Up
This rural southern New Mexico seat is the state's most GOP-friendly: it voted for President Trump 50 percent to 40 percent in 2016. But it's not uncharted territory for Democrats: in 2008, when GOP Rep. Steve Pearce ran for Senate, a conservative Democratic oil and gas businessman won it for a term. Now that Pearce is leaving again to run for governor, 2018 is shaping up to be another ripe opportunity for Democrats.
Democrats may have a star in charismatic Las Cruces water rights attorney Xochitl Torres Small. Torres Small, 33, grew up in Las Cruces, graduated from Georgetown and UNM Law School, and became Sen. Tom Udall's regional point person. She's well-connected with Las Cruces's liberal activists but is also an enthusiastic hunter. In her first ad, she walks through farms and ranches touting she's "spent her career protecting water rights."
Torres Small's real opportunity may lie in exploiting GOP divisions. Freedom Caucus-backed state Rep. Yvette Herrell won the June GOP primary with 49 percent to 32 percent for former state GOP chair Monty Newman. A self-styled "Trump conservative," Herrell has long been at odds with moderate GOP Gov. Susana Martinez, who questioned after the primary whether Herrell could "represent New Mexico in a fair and reasonable way."
Before the primary, the AP reported that Herrell failed to disclose $440,000 in income from properties she rented to state agencies on ethics disclosures, an issue Democrats will highlight in the final stretch. Herrell backers will try to caricature Torres Small as a liberal, Georgetown-educated lawyer, but Herrell may need help from outside groups: she ended June with $100,000 on hand to Torres Small's $495,000.
XOCHITI TORRES SMALL
https://www.xochforcongress.com
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