NEWS
New Mexico Republican candidates divided on whether to attend GOP midterm convention
CD2 candidate Greg Cunningham lands Thursday speaking slot at two-day event in Dallas
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SANTA FE 鈥� New Mexico congressional candidate Greg Cunningham will take a quick detour from the campaign trail this week to speak at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
The Republican candidate, who is running against U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., in this fall鈥檚 general election, is from around the country invited to speak at the two-day event hosted by the Republican National Committee.
Cunningham will be joined by a group of other New Mexico Republicans, including U.S. Senate candidate Larry Marker and top state party officials and staffers, a party spokeswoman confirmed.
But other New Mexico GOP candidates are passing on attending the event, headlined by President Donald Trump.
Trump has seen his approval rating decline in recent months 鈥� including in New Mexico 鈥� amid high gas prices, trade wars with neighboring countries and the ongoing military conflict in Iran. Democrats also won big in New Mexico in the 2018 election, which was the midterm election of Trump鈥檚 first term as president.
Facing those potential headwinds, Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull will not attend, his campaign spokesman told the Journal, and neither will congressional candidate Martin Zamora.
Zamora, who is running against incumbent Democrat Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez in New Mexico鈥檚 3rd Congressional District, said in a statement he would not be attending any 鈥渙ut-of-state conference.鈥�
鈥淚 will be spending the week right here in CD3 doing what I have been doing all year: Trying to reach every single voter in the district,鈥� Zamora added. 鈥淎nd I will be doing just that until the polls close on Election Day.鈥�
Some national media reports have dubbed the first-of-its-kind midterm convention as 鈥淭rump-a-palooza,鈥� as national Republicans have as the president鈥檚 idea.
Cunningham, a former Albuquerque police detective, said he planned to highlight the impact of Democratic policies in New Mexico during his speech on Thursday afternoon.
Specifically, he said he planned to tell the country 鈥渨hat we have been living with down here, and what it is going to take to fix it.鈥�
鈥淣ew Mexico is not a talking point to me,鈥� Cunningham added. 鈥淚t is home.鈥�
His campaign said Tuesday his invitation to speak would make Cunningham the first New Mexico Republican to address a national party convention since former Gov. Susana Martinez spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2012.
Several New Mexico Democrats have spoken at national conventions in recent years, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham鈥檚 prime-time address at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, currently the Democratic nominee for governor, also spoke at the 2024 convention.
The 2nd Congressional District race between Vasquez and Cunningham is shaping up as one of the nation鈥檚 most closely watched U.S. House races.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stopped in Albuquerque last month to stump for Cunningham. And former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will attend a rally in Las Cruces this weekend along with Vasquez and Haaland.
While this week鈥檚 Republican midterm convention could draw protests and Democratic rebuttals, top New Mexico GOP officials insisted Tuesday the event would benefit Republican candidates as Election Day approaches.
鈥淭he energy and enthusiasm have been on the Republicans鈥� side for months, and this midterm convention is going to add to our momentum with less than two months until Election Day,鈥� state GOP interim chairman Mike Nelson said in a statement.
Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on Twitter at @DanBoydNM or reach him at dboyd@abqjournal.com.
