Organization’s Objective
Parachuting into a “swing state” the month before a national election is a huge waste of precious resources and totally ineffective. State-based infrastructure and a relationship with the electorate has to be built at the local level. Civic engagement and powerful list building requires years of investment and trusted messengers.
Politically, New Mexico is growing more conservative and more important on the national stage. In the past, New Mexico has been a strongly Democratic state, but it has now shifted to a “swing state” on the Presidential stage. During the 2004 presidential election, it was viewed as one of the key battlegrounds for both parties. Bush won with 49.8% to Kerry’s 49.0%, with a gap of 5,988 votes. In 2008, most projections show New Mexico will once again be a battleground state.
According to the Secretary of State, 50% of the registered voters are Democrats, 33% are Republicans, and 17% are a minor party or decline to state. However, clearly, the voting patterns do not reflect the registration numbers. In an LCV survey conducted in January of 2004, 16% of the respondents identified themselves as liberals, 24% as conservatives, and 47% as moderates.
Politics in New Mexico are local, and heavily personality-driven; voters support the people they know. Both parties are viewed as weak and disorganized. Campaigns tend to be organized more around specific candidates, rather than parties. Over the years, both the Anglo and Hispanic communities developed separate political networks that relied more on extended family connections, loyalty, and personal relationships than on ideology, operating somewhat like political machines in various big cities around the country.
