Republican candidates for governor in New Mexico are struggling to compete with Democrats in campaign fundraising, raising only one-tenth of the funds collected by their opponents. Democratic candidates Sam Bregman and Deb Haaland have raised a combined $15 million, nearly 10 times the amount raised by the three Republican candidates. According to KOAT political analyst Brian Sanderoff, many potential Republican contributors remain undecided. “There appears to be a lot of Republican potential contributors who are still sitting on the fence and waiting to see what’s up and whether they’re willing to contribute to some of these Republican candidates,” Sanderoff said. Among the Republican candidates, cannabis CEO Duke Rodriguez leads the fundraising efforts with $514,000, though nearly all of it is self-funded. “He’s not a party insider. So it’s not surprising to hear that he is self-funding his campaign,” Sanderoff said. Public relations executive Doug Turner has raised $506,000, with most of his contributions coming from petroleum companies and the Yates family, known for discovering commercial oil on state lands over a century ago. “Those people can help garner lots of funds when they really want to,” Sanderoff said. Rio Rancho Mayor Greg Hull is in third place, raising $494,000, primarily from Rio Rancho business owners. “When you look at Greg Hull’s contributions, what do most of them have in common? They’re business people who run businesses. What is Greg Hull? He’s the same,” Sanderoff said. Combined, the Republican candidates’ fundraising totals are significantly lower than those of the Democrats, and the gap widens further when excluding self-funded contributions. “The Republicans have not raised nearly as many dollars as the Democrats, and if you exclude the self-funded monies, it’s even less,” Sanderoff said. Sanderoff noted that the Republican candidates share similar business-oriented backgrounds and political experience, which may contribute to donor uncertainty. “The three Republican candidates are all business-oriented people with some political experience. They’re not that far off ideologically,” Sanderoff said. Another stark difference is the source of contributions. Nearly 99% of donations to Republican candidates come from within New Mexico, while Democratic frontrunner Deb Haaland has raised $8 million from out-of-state donors, accounting for 72% of her total funds. “Local elections in New Mexico are influenced by national politics. And we’re about to have a mid-term general election,” Sanderoff said. Looking ahead, Turner is scheduled to speak at a fundraiser at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in the coming weeks. Sanderoff suggested this event could impact Turner’s campaign. “It’ll be interesting to see how much money is contributed to the Republican candidates in the closing months. That could really make the difference in the Republican primary,” Sanderoff said. Sanderoff added that while the fundraiser might help Turner in the primary, it could hurt him in the general election if he secures the Republican nomination.You can view the complete breakdown of where the democratic candidates’ money is coming from here.
Republican candidates for governor in New Mexico are struggling to compete with Democrats in campaign fundraising, raising only one-tenth of the funds collected by their opponents.
Democratic candidates Sam Bregman and Deb Haaland have raised a combined $15 million, nearly 10 times the amount raised by the three Republican candidates. According to KOAT political analyst Brian Sanderoff, many potential Republican contributors remain undecided.
“There appears to be a lot of Republican potential contributors who are still sitting on the fence and waiting to see what’s up and whether they’re willing to contribute to some of these Republican candidates,” Sanderoff said.
Among the Republican candidates, cannabis CEO Duke Rodriguez leads the fundraising efforts with $514,000, though nearly all of it is self-funded.
“He’s not a party insider. So it’s not surprising to hear that he is self-funding his campaign,” Sanderoff said.
Public relations executive Doug Turner has raised $506,000, with most of his contributions coming from petroleum companies and the Yates family, known for discovering commercial oil on state lands over a century ago.
“Those people can help garner lots of funds when they really want to,” Sanderoff said.
Rio Rancho Mayor Greg Hull is in third place, raising $494,000, primarily from Rio Rancho business owners.
“When you look at Greg Hull’s contributions, what do most of them have in common? They’re business people who run businesses. What is Greg Hull? He’s the same,” Sanderoff said.
Combined, the Republican candidates’ fundraising totals are significantly lower than those of the Democrats, and the gap widens further when excluding self-funded contributions.
“The Republicans have not raised nearly as many dollars as the Democrats, and if you exclude the self-funded monies, it’s even less,” Sanderoff said.
Sanderoff noted that the Republican candidates share similar business-oriented backgrounds and political experience, which may contribute to donor uncertainty.
“The three Republican candidates are all business-oriented people with some political experience. They’re not that far off ideologically,” Sanderoff said.
Another stark difference is the source of contributions. Nearly 99% of donations to Republican candidates come from within New Mexico, while Democratic frontrunner Deb Haaland has raised $8 million from out-of-state donors, accounting for 72% of her total funds.
“Local elections in New Mexico are influenced by national politics. And we’re about to have a mid-term general election,” Sanderoff said.
Looking ahead, Turner is scheduled to speak at a fundraiser at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in the coming weeks. Sanderoff suggested this event could impact Turner’s campaign.
“It’ll be interesting to see how much money is contributed to the Republican candidates in the closing months. That could really make the difference in the Republican primary,” Sanderoff said.
Sanderoff added that while the fundraiser might help Turner in the primary, it could hurt him in the general election if he secures the Republican nomination.
You can view the complete breakdown of where the democratic candidates’ money is coming from here.
