Turner & Weh Co-Chairing Duran SOS Campaign

Allen Weh, who was defeated in the Republican gubernatorial primary by Susana Martinez, has yet to get behind Martinez candidacy.

However, he has united with a fellow GOP primary candidate Doug Turner in getting behind state Sen. Dianna Duran, who is running for Secretary of State against incumbent Democrat Mary Herrera.

According to a statement from Turner, who finished third in the gubernatorial primary, "As we look toward the next presidential cycle in 2012, it is also essential that we have a Secretary of State that will ensure that we have honest elections and one who will work to eradicate voter fraud in our great state."

Roundhouse Roundup: Dancing With the Candidates

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 13, 2010

Susana Martinez once won a ballroom dancing competition. Doug Turner enjoys ’70s cinema. Pete Domenici Jr., a lawyer for more than 20 years, has been quietly taking graduate classes in community and regional planning. Janice Arnold-Jones likes the UNM Lobos better than any professional sports team.

These are just some of the fun facts gleaned from a recent questionnaire I sent to Republican candidates for governor. I included several “personality questions” along with the serious issues questions that were part of my candidate profiles that were published in this newspaper on Sunday. (All the answers to those issue questions can be found online HERE)

The fifth GOP candidate, Allen Weh, chose not to participate in the questionnaire.

Of course, this might seem frivolous and it’s doubtful anyone will chose a governor based on favorite books and movies. But some voters like to know a little about the personalities and personal lives of the people who might become chief executive.

There actually are at least two dancers among the GOP candidates. Arnold-Jones listed dancing along with gardening as her hobbies. But Martinez actually won the “Dancing with Las Cruces” ballroom dance contest last year.

Martinez listed that under the category “Talents some people might not know you had.” Answering that same question, Domenici mentioned his status as a grad student at The University of New Mexico School of Architecture. He said he has 45 hours of course work completed for a degree in planning.

Arnold-Jones, besides her talent in dancing, also mentioned that she was chief coach for the American Youth Soccer Organization in Albuquerque, where she not only coached kids, but taught other adults how to coach.

Turner’s secret talent was cooking. There he faces serious competition from Weh, whose campaign has released videos of the candidate preparing soup and curry dishes.

I asked the candidates which book they read most recently. Arnold-Jones answered Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. Turner listed two: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and I Claudius by Robert Graves. Martinez, a district attorney, apparently likes courtroom drama. She said her most recent book was The Summons by John Grisham.

Domenici said his most recent was The Mouse and The Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. He clarified that he read this with his 10-year-old daughter.

Asked about their favorite movies, Domenici went with a Western, 3:10 to Yuma. (I’m not sure if he meant the 1957 original with Glenn Ford or the 2007 remake with Russell Crowe.)

Two of Arnold-Jones’ film picks were sports films — Field of Dreams and The Replacements. She also listed In Harm’s Way, a World War II movie starring John Wayne.

Turner listed three movies from the ’70s. Two dramas — Three Days of the Condor and Serpico — and a Peter Sellers comedy, Being There.

As for professional sports teams, Martinez likes the Dallas Cowboys, while Domenici is a fan of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. Arnold-Jones said, “the Lobos! (OK so it’s collegiate! Still love ’em.)”

Turner didn’t answer the favorite professional sports. But unsolicited, he named his favorite modern philosopher — libertarian heroine and Atlas Shrugged author Ayn Rand.

I also asked the candidates to name their favorite figure in American history. Martinez and Turner chose a safe bet as far as Republican primary voters go: Ronald Reagan. (Turner also listed Thomas Payne and Teddy Roosevelt.)

Arnold-Jones went with another Republican president, one Abraham Lincoln. She liked Honest Abe's "Team of Rivals" aspect. "He governed by consensus, and surrounded himself with people who would enrich his decisions. That’s what I have done as a state representative and it’s what I will do as governor," Arnold-Jones wrote.

Domenici went with one outside the realm of politics: Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

R.I.P. Jetter Johnson: A local civil-rights pioneer and longtime state worker died Tuesday at Christus/St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. With her late husband, Jetter Johnson, 89, started the Santa Fe chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the early ’70s.

Johnson worked for many years at the county welfare office, first as a Food Stamp worker, then a Food Stamp supervisor, retiring in 1984. I first got to know her because she worked with my mom in the ’70s and ’80s.

She was a sweet and wonderful lady.

Johnson is preceded in death by her husband, Tom Johnson Sr., who died 10 years ago this month. She’s survived by her children, Tom Johnson Jr. and Bea Johnson. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Republican Gubernatorial Race

The New Mexican published my profiles of the GOP governor contenders this morning.

The main story is HERE

A story about the candidates' stances on various issues questions I asked , which appeared in the print edition, is HERE

The complete answers to those questions are HERE

Janice Arnold-Jones' profile is HERE

Pete Domenici, Jr.'s profile is HERE

Susana Martinez's profile is HERE

Doug Turner's profile is HERE

Allen Weh's profile is HERE

Roundhouse Roundup: Everyone's a Front-runner

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 1, 2010

So who’s the front-runner in the Republican gubernatorial primary?

If you look at a recent poll by Dialing Services LLC, it’s Pete Domenici Jr. That automated telephone survey (robo-poll, as they’re called) of 2,250 likely Republican voters on March 22 showed lawyer Domenici with 30 percent of the vote.

Runner-up was Allen Weh, former state GOP chairman, with 21 percent. Las Cruces District Attorney Susana Martinez came in with 17 percent, Albuquerque public relations man Doug Turner had 8.5 percent and State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones had 4.5 percent.

All the calls for this poll were made between the hours of 6 and 8:30 p.m. I bet those robots were tired after that! The poll claims a 2 percent margin of error.

One caveat though. And it’s a big one. This poll was commissioned by the Domenici campaign. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but you’ve always got to take polls commissioned by campaigns with more than a few grains of salt.

Domenici’s poll came on the heels of another poll — this one independently done by Rasmussen Reports.

This one wasn’t measuring the horse race in the primary. Instead, it looked at matchups between each of the five GOP candidates against Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who is unchallenged in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

In these results was a surprise: Dark Horse Turner did better against Denish than the other Republicans. Denish beat him 43 percent to 34 percent — 9 percentage points. Rasmussen said Denish beat Weh 45 to 35 percent, a 10-point margin.

In the other matchups, Denish led Domenici by 17 percentage points (52 percent to 35 percent); Martinez by 19 points (51 to 32); and Arnold Jones by 22 percentage points (52 to 30).
In a news release, Rasmussen noted, “None of the GOP primary contenders draws more than 35 percent support against the two-term lieutenant governor.” Of course, it’s a long way to November.

Rasmussen’s poll is based on interviews with 500 likely voters in the state on March 24. The margin of error for this poll is 4.5 percent.

But just a month before these polls, North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling (a Democratic pollster) robo-called 990 New Mexico voters Feb. 18-20. Results showed Domenici running best against Denish. He was only 5 points behind her. Denish beat the rest of the GOP by 14 to 18 percentage points.

The state Republican Party last month blasted the “liberal data” from a “Democratic firm.” But the Dem poll showed the race closer in some matchups than the independent Rasmussen reported.

Public Policy Polling attributed Domenici’s stronger showing to name identification. (His dad was a U.S. senator for 36 years and made a few headlines during that time.)

But maybe there’s another explanation: Perhaps the robots doing the robo calls prefer Domenici.

Speaking of political families: As I reported earlier this week, the state Public Regulation Commission hired Johnny Montoya as its chief of staff.

Montoya, who has worked for the agency for two years, is the husband of state Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, and therefore related to PRC Commissioner David King (who is Rhonda King’s cousin), not to mention Attorney General Gary King, who is cousin to Rhonda and David and son of the late former Gov. Bruce King.

But that’s not the only former governor to whom Montoya is related.

“I’m from Las Cruces,” Montoya told me Tuesday. “Jerry Apodaca first brought me to Santa Fe. I’m also related to him.”

The Rasmussen Poll

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, the Democrats' nominee for governor, beats all five of her Republican opponents in a new poll by the Rasmussen Company.

Among the GOP field, Doug Turner scores best. Denish's lead over him is only 9 percentage points -- 43 percent to 34 percent. She beats Allen Weh 45 to 35 percent.

As both Turner and Weh have noted in news releases over the weekend, in these match-ups Denish scores less than 50 percent.

According to Rasmussen, Denish leads Pete Domenici, Jr. by 17 percentage points (52 percent - 35 percent); Susanna Martinez by 19 points (51-32); and Janice Arnold Jones by 22 percentage point (52-30 percent.)

Rasmussen interviewed 500 likely voters in the state on March 24. The margin of error for the survey is 4.5 percent.

Rasmussen notes, "None of the GOP primary contenders draws more than 35% support against the two-term lieutenant governor." Of course, it's a long way to November. The numbers indicate that relatively few have strong opinions of the Republican candidates, which indicates they aren't that well known. That'll change, especially after the primary.

In other poll questions, the bad news for Gov. Bill Richardson is only 39 percent approve of his job performance, while 58 percent disapprove. The good news is that these numbers are better than last month's PPP poll, which showed a 28 percent approval rating (with 63 percent disapproving.)

On national issues, 53 percent of the New Mexicans polled by Rasmussen favor the Health Care reforms passed by Congress, while 44 percent disapprove.

President Obama remains popular here, according to Rasmussen. 54 percent approve of the way he's handling the job while 46 percent disapprove.

Domenici Jr. Leads in NMSU Poll

Actually Pete Domenici Jr. is in second place behind perennial candidate I. Dunno.

The poll is the first scientific one I've seen for the governor's primary. It was conducted Feb. 9-13 by political science students at NMSU. 444 registered Republicans who voted in at least one of the last two GOP primaries. They were asked which candidate they supported for governor.

Results (including those who said they are leaning toward a candidate):

Not sure or refused to answer: 42.6 percent

Pete Domenici Jr.: 29.3 percent

Susana Martinez: 11.5 percent

Allen Weh: 7.4 percent

Doug Turner: 6.8 percent

Janice Arnold-Jones: 2.5 percent.

Name recognition apparently is a big factor here. More than 36 percent named Domenici as a candidate without prompting. (His dad, Pete Sr. was a U.S. senator from New Mexico for 36 years.) More than 21 percent named former state GOP Chairman Weh. Martinez was named by 18-plus percent, while more than 16 percent named Turner. A little less than 8 percent named Arnold-Jones without prompting.

In today's Las Cruces Sun, spokesmen for two of the candidates disputed the poll. Weh's spokesman said the poll was biased, claiming Jose Garcia, the NMSU professor in charge of the class that conducted the poll, is a Martinez supporter. Garcia denied it, pointing out that he's a Democrat.

Arnold-Jones' spokesman apparently consulted the Golden Treasury of Campaign Clichés, when he responded, "The only poll that matters is the one taken by the voters on Election Day, and I am confident the voters will respond to Representative Arnold-Jones' message."

It should be noted that the poll was taken before the recent controversy over Domenici Jr.'s admission in a radio interview that he tried cocaine and marijuana as a young man and his stumbling statement that about which Republicans could beat Democrat Diane Denish in November. (He initially said none of the GOP candidates could win, then went on to correct himself -- sort of -- saying he thinks he can win, but not all the Republicans could.)

How that big number of undecideds reacts to that interview could be a major consideration in this race.

The full poll with all the questions is below.

20100220 GOPPoll.results

Johnson Returns to Roundhouse

Former Gov. -- and not currently a presidential candidate -- Gary Jonson will retiurn to the state Capitol Tuesday morning, a spokeswoman for his PAC says.

"Both Gary and Doug Turner will be participating in the protest (complete with picket signs," Sue Winchester told me in an e-mail. "They will be protesting Governor Richardson's proposed tax increases."

Turner, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, served as Johnson's campaign manager for his gubernatorial bids in the '90s.

The protest starts about 10 a.m. Tuesdayand will go on until Gov. Bill Richardson's State of the State address, which is scheduled for shortly about the Legislature convenes at noon.

Turner's In

Doug Turner, owner of an Albuquerque public relations company and campaign manager for former Gov. Gary Johnson, made it official today, declaring he's running for governor in the Republican primary.

Turner joins for GOP state chairman Allen Weh, state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and Las Cruces District Attorney Susana Martinez in that race. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is the only declared candidate.

In a news release, Turner, a self-described moderate, stressed working across party lines for "common sense solutions."

The release said:

"Turner has been part of non-profit organizations and is devoted to community service. He served three terms as Chairman of the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission and on the Albuquerque Development Commission. He is currently a board member of the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools Association. Turner is also a life member of the National Rifle Association, the American Council of Young Political Leaders and the Republican Party.

So far none of his primary opponents have reacted to Turner's entry.

However, the state Democratic Party executive director Josh Geise had a warm welcome for Turner, reaching across party lines to poke him in the eye.

"We wish Doug Turner luck as he begins his transformation from a political operative and special interest lobbyist to a candidate for public office.

However, while Turner may have an impressive track record helping politicians and special interests get ahead, New Mexicans deserve a Governor with an impressive record of helping families get ahead.

New Mexico families need a Governor who is prepared to make our state a leader in the 21st century economy and, needless to say, that’s not Doug Turner."