With nearly $3 million in her campaign war chest New Mexico's funding juggernaut, Diane Denish (left), has wasted no time aiming negative television ads at Susana Martinez. Martinez won the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday against a well-funded field of opponents. Less than 48 hours later the Denish campaign was on the attack.Thanks in part to the absence of a single rival in the primary, the Denish campaign has a daunting cash advantage on Susana Martinez (below). The edge is reported to be roughly 25-1 by some observers.
No doubt in the weeks and months ahead the Martinez campaign will be able to slowly recharge its campaign coffers. However, in the meantime the strategy of the Denish campaign seems clear......kick em' while their bank account is down and try to get voters to turn negative on Martinez.Denish is clever. She learned her craft in politics well while serving as #2 in the Richardson administration. And accordingly, she will be a formidable opponent for her Las Cruces-based opponent. Denish is seasoned state-wide campaigner and she has established a national fund raising machine that has been in full gear since Governor Richardson was elected for a second term.
Having made politics her career in New Mexico since 1998, Denish, according to records reported by followthemoney.org has raised more than $7.75 million dollars in campaign contributions during her career (through March 2010). And no doubt the number of dollars available for television ads has soared even higher over the last couple of months.
Where does the Denish money come from? From 1998 until March 2010 the largest identifiable interest groups contributing to the Denish campaign coffers have been lawyers, lobbyists, and real estate operators. During the 1998-2010 time span Denish has managed to raise well over $1,500,000 from these three sources alone.
The Denish campaigns have also benefited greatly from the Lt. Governor's personal wealth. followthemoney.org reports that over the course of her political career Denish has spent more than $550,000 of her own money on her political races.
Next in line in terms of interest/industry groups funding the Denish campaign are the cable television and insurance industries.
And a bit farther down the list of groups funding Denish are scores of labor unions and self described liberal policy organizations, many of them based in New York, Washington D.C. and Boston.
Geographically speaking Denish has metropolitan firepower. She has managed to raise more money in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas than she has in Las Cruces. Contributions from Albuquerque exceed those from Las Cruces by a factor of 35.
Voters are now beginning to see the first ideas associated with how the Denish fund raising machine will spend. The post-primary television ads being run by the Denish campaign so far have focused on the Martinez prosecution record as the D.A. in Dona Ana County. The ads call into question the success of her conviction rates and also suggest she broke her promises in the area of plea bargaining D.U.I. cases. Read more here:
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