Why Is New Mexico’s Governor Race Important to Republicans?

Even though many people appear to be unaware, New Mexico is a part of The United States. It is located between Texas and Arizona, and is located right underneath Colorado.  

New Mexican citizens are represented by people from all over the world, and include individuals from just about every faith. The Land of Enchantment also has one of the largest populations of indigenous people in United States of America.

A great deal of New Mexico is governed by various Tribal Nations.  Their sacred land is called Pueblos. The most common languages spoken in New Mexico include English, Navajo, Keres, Zuni and Spanish.

There are nineteen Pueblos in New Mexico which include the Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Pojoaque, Sandia, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zuni and Zia.

Each of the nineteen Tribes is a sovereign nation with its own government, ways of life, traditions, and culture.

Michelle Lujan Grisham is the 32nd Governor of New Mexico. She represents the 12th generation in her family to be a New Mexican. She is also the first Democratic, Latina (woman) to govern the state. Lujan Grisham is prochoice, supports the LGBTQ community, embraces the diversity that makes up New Mexicans, and is also a protector of the land.

In the past Governor Lujan Grisham was a former Congresswoman from New Mexico’s 1st District. While in Congress Lujan Grisham served on the Budget and Agricultural Committees, passing legislation to help tribal communities, public schools and pay for training for law enforcement, etc.

Mark Ronchetti, who is an antiabortionist is the Republican candidate for Governor of New Mexico. Ronchetti was born in Vermont.  He moved to New Mexico from Colorado in 1998. Ronchetti is a second generation American. His grandfather immigrated to the United States from Italy in the 1920s.

According to Mark Ronchetti’s website, he states that he grew up with a strong Catholic faith, and currently attends Sagebush church, which is the foundation of his life. Sagebush is a Mega church under the direction of Pastor Christopher Dreier.

Mark Ronchetti is a known supporter of former President Donald Trump, and in the past Ronchetti shared photographs of himself on Twitter with Couy Griffin, Founder of Cowboy for Trump. Griffin was arrested and convicted of trespassing at the White House on January 6th. Griffin was sentenced to 14 days in jail and fined $3,000.

In the past Mark Ronchetti was asked about his thoughts about the LGBTQ community and refused to respond, as he did when asked about his views on Israel, along with the Jewish communities of New Mexico.

When Ronchetti was asked about the four Muslim men who were recently murdered in Albuquerque, he reverted back to his political stance on “crime being out of control” without ever sharing empathy for the families who lost loved ones, or the Muslim community.  He also refused to go into any details on how he’s going to make New Mexico safer.

Prior to running for office Mark Ronchetti was a meteorologist for KRQE, a television station in New Mexico which is affiliated with both CBS and Fox. KRQE is owned by NexStar Media Group. Ronchetti has experience predicting the weather, yet has no experience in politics, managing a business or corporation.

Back in 2020 Ronchetti was the Republican candidate for the Senate, yet lost to Ben Ray Lujan.

You might be asking why does the New Mexican governor’s election matter? The answer is simple, New Mexico is one of seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that at this time have no restrictions or limitations to when a woman can obtain a legal abortion. These states include Alaska, Colorado, District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Vermont. There is also the fact that several abortions clinics that were located in Texas and Arizona are relocating to New Mexico.

Mark Ronchetti is a Christian Nationalist, who’s against abortion. He doesn’t believe women have the right to control their own bodies. He also believes that any women who has an abortion along with their medical providers, should be criminally charged when an abortion is performed. Ronchetti also opposes plan B for emergency contraceptives, and is against abortions in cases of rape and incest. Ronchetti aligns himself with the radical, extremist views of politicians such as Ron Desantis, Greg Abbott, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Doug Mastriano, etc.

Mark Ronchetti’s running mate for Lieutenant Governor, is Ant (Anthony) Thornton who believes gay and lesbian marriages should be illegal, he also believes business should be allowed to discriminate against the LGBTQ community members. Thornton is a retired Aerospace engineer who worked at Sandia National Laboratories..

Mark Ronchetti is a virtual unknown entity to the Republican Party.  He announced last night that Florida’s Governor Ron Desantis is coming to New Mexico to offer his support.

Another important point that needs to be made is that the Republican Party is interested in controlling New Mexico because the state has become the second largest crude oil producer in our country, and the Republican Party has plans to exploit the sacred Pueblo land of our indigenous people to gain access to it.