Political roundup, March 1, 2018

In an interview Wednesday, Apodaca described the convention process as “basically rigged,” contending “this process definitely protects and favors the establishment.”

Apodaca charged collusion between Lujan Grisham’s campaign and the state Democratic Party (the party says it has given “equal access to the delegate selection process to each campaign.”)

Still, Apodaca collected enough signatures on his nominating petitions to get on the ballot even if he does not get much support from delegates at the March 10 state party convention.

And running as a businessman, the allegations fit into his overall argument, which is that the state needs a political outsider rather than the opponents he labels “career politicians.”

He is not the only Democrat running for governor to raise these issues. State Sen. Joseph Cervantes, who also is in the running, wrote on Twitter over the weekend about county convention rules “being cheated and ignored.”

In Santa Fe, he wrote, campaigns violated the rules at the county convention but the party “won’t do any more than retrain for next time.”

Not long after Albuquerque political blogger Joe Monahan posted about the allegations Wednesday morning, Lujan Grisham’s campaign blasted out a poll showing her leading in the primary election with 72 percent of the vote, Apodaca winning 13 percent, Cervantes claiming 6 percent and Santa Fe resident Peter DeBenedittis with 2 percent.

Of course, those are the campaign’s own numbers.

But it made the campaign’s subtle point that the congresswoman remains the candidate to beat.

Asked about the allegations, Lujan Grisham’s campaign manager, Dominic Gabello, called Apodaca’s claims “baseless.”

“We understand that Jeff and his campaign are disappointed by the lack of support for his campaign, but to try cast doubt on the votes of hundreds of New Mexicans who turned out to vote for Michelle is unfortunate and a slap in the face to the thousands of volunteers organizing for Michelle across the state,” he said in an email.

Mick and The Beast: Mick Rich, the only Republican running for U.S. Senate this year, announced he will “barnstorm” the state next week in a 23-city “Hard Hat Town Hall Tour.”

According to a news release, Rich and his staff will be riding in what they are calling “The Beast,” an “off-road camper wrapped in campaign branding.”

“The Beast is a good vehicle for Mick and his campaign,” said Evan Machan, Rich’s campaign manager. “We go anywhere, and we have the tools to get the job done.”

No-contest convention: Libertarians are a major party in New Mexico now. So just like the Republicans, who had their pre-primary convention last weekend, and the Democrats, who are having theirs on March 10, Libertarian Party members convene Saturday at the Doubletree Hotel in Albuquerque.

Unlike the Democrats, who have several contested primary races, including governor and two congressional seats, and the Republicans, who had just one, (the 2nd Congressional District seat), the Libertarians have no contested primaries.

The party has fielded candidates for several offices, including U.S. Senate (state Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn); two congressional primaries (Lloyd Princeton in the 1st District and Christopher Manning in the 3rd); attorney general (Blair Dunn, the son of Aubrey Dunn); secretary of state (Sandra Jeff); and land commissioner (Michael Lucero).

Former Santa Fe resident Adam Kokesh, an announced Libertarian presidential candidate for 2020, isn’t scheduled to be at the convention. But his chief strategist, Ben Farmer, will be on hand at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cervantes Restaurant and Lounge in Albuquerque. In an email, Farmer said he hopes to flood the convention with Kokesh supporters.