Booze. Cigarettes. Gambling. Prisons.

These might not be the kinds of sources for campaign cash that candidates like to brag about, but the industries behind them are reliable contributors to politicians in both major parties in New Mexico. And this election year is no different.

In the governor's race, it appears that Republican Susana Martinez has a lock on money from private prison operators.

Gambling interests, including tribes who operate casinos, wagered early on Democrat Diane Denish, the current lieutenant governor. The latest campaign finance reports, however, show some of them are hedging their bets by making late contributions to front-runner Martinez, the district attorney in Las Cruces.

Denish, meanwhile, has smoked her opponent in terms of tobacco industry cash and has chugged more money from the liquor industry.

The corrections industry

The state first began contracting with private prison operators in the 1990s under then Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican. But the prison industry didn't start pumping real money into New Mexico campaigns until after Democrat Bill Richardson became governor eight years ago.

Richardson became a favorite of the GEO Group, a Florida company formerly known as Wackenhut, which operates three private prisons in New Mexico. The most recent one, in Clayton, came about during Richardson's watch.

GEO gave Richardson $43,750 for his 2006 re-election campaign — as well as another $7,000 for his 2008 presidential run. According to the Institute of Money in State Government, Richardson has received more money from GEO than any other politician nationwide running for a state office since 2003.

The company also been generous with other state politicians, contributing more than $200,000 in recent decades. New Mexico, which has no limits on contributions, is second only to Florida among the states where GEO made political contributions. In fact, four of the top 10 recipients of GEO contributions since 2003 are New Mexico Democrats — including Denish, who has received $11,000 from the company during that period.

This year, however, Republican Martinez is getting the lion's share of GEO cash. The company has given her campaign $33,000 — including a $25,000 check contributed on Oct. 14.

In contrast, Denish only received $2,500 from GEO for her current campaign, and that contribution came in June 2009.

Corrections Corporation of America, the Tennessee firm that operates the New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility in Grants, has given both Martinez and Denish contributions totaling $2,000 each.

Neither Martinez nor Denish has raised the possibility of de-privatizing the state's prisons in the next four years.

The gaming industry

Both gubernatorial candidates have done well in getting money from gambling interests in the state.

Denish has collected more than $115,000 from casinos, racetracks and gambling tribes. Sunray, which operates a racetrack and casino near Farmington, has given her $26,000. Pojoaque Pueblo has given her $20,000 — plus another $6,000 in in-kind, noncash contributions. Sandia Pueblo has contributed more than $11,000.

Nevada casino owner George Maloof Jr. — whose family has a long history in New Mexico business and politics — contributed $15,000 to Denish.

Martinez's total from the gambling industry, $57,600, equals about half of Denish's take. However, more than $40,000 of that total has come since the first week of this month, according to the campaign finance report she filed Thursday. That included $25,000 from Sunray (which previously had given Martinez $15,000), $10,000 from Sandia Pueblo and $5,000 from Zia Park, a racetrack and casino in Hobbs.

Liquor and smokes

When legislators start talking about raising revenue, they often look first to "sin taxes" on booze and cigarettes. The liquor industry has been successful in fighting off any tax increases in recent years. But tobacco hasn't been so lucky. Early this year, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a law imposing an additional 75 cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes.

Denish has received $23,386 from the liquor industry. This includes $6,700 from Anheuser-Busch, $3,613 from Premier Distributing, $2,384 from National Distributing Co. and $1,400 from Southern Wine and Spirits.

The Democrat has taken in $8,000 from the tobacco industry, including $5,000 from Altria.

Martinez has received only $2,000 from the liquor industry — $1,000 each from the Miller/Coors beer company and Premier Distributing.

Her only contribution from the tobacco industry is $5,000 from RAI Services Company from North Carolina.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.