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For a party that clings to DEI despite a landmark 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action policies, I'm not really feeling the Democrats' love for Harold Pope Jr.

Pope, a West Side Albuquerque legislator and first Black state senator in New Mexico history, made a run this year for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Pope could have been New Mexico Democrats' first Black nominee for either lieutenant governor or governor, but Democrats denied him three times before the cock crowed on Election Day.

Pope, a retired U.S. Air Force officer and substitute teacher at Albuquerque Public Schools, was met with roadblocks at every step.

First, Pope ran for lieutenant governor in the June 2 Democratic primary. He ran a credible campaign and was able to raise enough money to air TV ads, but he was thoroughly rejected by Democrats.

Pope garnered only 19% of Democratic votes, with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver receiving 81%. It was a clear repudiation by Democrats of a Black candidate atop their ticket, with Pope receiving just 28,000 votes statewide.

Then, 16 days after her resounding primary win, Toulouse Oliver announced she was withdrawing as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor due to recent changes to her health, which are still unexplained. More on that in a minute.

Undaunted by his thumping primary loss, Pope announced his continued interest in the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor after Toulouse Oliver's abrupt departure from the race.

Pope, who gained the endorsements of Democratic socialists in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, made the five-person interview invitation and questionnaire list of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland.

But Pope lost Round 2 when Haaland announced Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard as her preferred running mate.

Pope had one last shot at the nomination, at a Democratic virtual convention held over several days in late July. But he lost that, too, earning 45.7% of State Central Committee delegates while Garcia Richard got 53.5%. Two virtually unknown candidates got the other four delegate votes.

So Pope went 0-for-3 in his bid to be Democrats' first Black nominee for lieutenant governor or governor.

For the record, New Mexico Republicans had their first Black nominee for lieutenant governor or governor in 2022 when Ant Thornton, now the other Black senator in the New Mexico Legislature, ran with Mark Ronchetti.

Thornton won the Republican nomination against a pretty formidable candidate, Albuquerque Public Schools board member Peggy Muller-Arag贸n, 60% to 40%.

So, a Black Republican candidate for lieutenant governor easily won his primary in 2022, while a Black Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor got trounced in his primary this year.

Before I sound sympathetic of Pope, let me make it clear that I'm not a fan of his. He and two other state Senate Democrats complained about a nationally syndicated cartoon of Kamala Harris during her 107-day failed campaign for president in 2024.

They had the temerity to ask the Journal for an apology for the cartoon, which they did not get, because their complaints about the "No tax on tips" cartoon had no merit.

Pope also supported the Campaign Reporting Act of 2024, which requires a disclaimer for AI-generated content. The Babylon Bee, a news satire website, sued the State Ethics Commission last week in federal court, arguing the law restricts political speech, which it does.

I don't like anyone who tries to quash free speech and expression, especially politicians in a public position to really do it. Plus, I don鈥檛 take race-related advice from anyone connected to the party of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, presidential electors for George Wallace, and endorsements of Nazi SS tattoo guy Graham Platner.

So Pope and his 鈥淜aren鈥� friends can pound sand as far as I'm concerned.

Prior to Pope's campaign for lieutenant governor, Democrats in the Legislature didn't like Pope either.

Not long after Pope's arrival to the New Mexico Senate in January 2021, he complained about lawmakers drinking on the job. That is a surefire way to earn bipartisan scorn in any legislature.

Despite Pope's objections in 2023 and again in 2025 about lawmakers drinking alcohol before or after floor sessions or committee hearings, lawmakers still have drinks during dinner before returning to the Roundhouse to legislate.

Pope's objections may have had some merit, but it didn't result in any Senate rule changes. It just made him unpopular with his peers.

Nonetheless, he could have been New Mexico Democrats' first Black man at the top of the ticket.

However, doing that would have been problematic for Democrats on a couple of levels: First, it would have disrupted an all-female Democratic ticket. Secondly, and more importantly, a Native nominee for governor and a Black nominee for lieutenant governor would have left out Hispanics at the top of the ticket in the state with the highest portion of Hispanic voters.

Which brings me back to Toulouse Oliver. Was Pope actually 0-for-4?

Toulouse Oliver's sudden withdrawal from the race, just two weeks after winning the primary, makes me wonder if she knew she would bow out from the lieutenant governor's race before primary day.

If Toulouse Oliver had withdrawn before the June 2 primary, Pope, the only other Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, likely would have won and Democrats would have been stuck with him on the ticket with Haaland, with no Hispanic representation.

Was the fix in? Did Democrats encourage Toulouse Oliver to delay her withdrawal for a couple weeks until after she had secured the primary to deny Pope the nomination? Although Democrats followed state law filling the ballot vacancy, something smells rotten in the state of Denmark.

However you slice it, New Mexico Democrats did not want a Black man atop their ticket in 2026. That's clear. I simply don't think they're ready for that, not when Black residents make up only 3% of the state's population.

Black voters, long taken for granted by Democrats, should remember what Pope went through when they cast ballots for November鈥檚 general election. And New Mexico Democrats should be reminded of how they denied Pope the lieutenant governor's nomination three times in a single year whenever one of them mounts their DEI high horse.

Jeff Tucker is a Journal columnist, former Opinion editor and a member of the Journal鈥檚 Editorial Board. He can be reached a jtucker@abqjournal.com.