No Rush to Endorse Biden in Energy Rich New Mexico?

April 9, 2020

With Bernie Sanders now out of the presidential race, it’s clear the Democratic nominee will be Joe Biden. So why have only two of the state’s elected leaders rushed to endorse the former Vice President?

New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall wasted no time throwing their support behind Biden, so why the delay from everyone else? New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has been briefly mentioned as a potential VP pick, has yet to endorse. The entire New Mexico House delegation and state-level elected leaders also have not yet gone public with support.

The first reason New Mexico’s elected leaders are being silent on a Biden endorsement is probably that no one is asking. This is in stark contrast to 2016 when phone calls and emails poured in for then-Governor Susana Martinez to respond to nearly every tweet and statement from then-candidate Trump. Joe Biden has been the presumptive nominee for weeks and there are zero questions about New Mexico’s Democratic leaders’ endorsement.

The second reason could be because Biden’s energy plan would spell disaster for New Mexico and Democratic leaders don’t yet know how to deal with it. You have to give a little credit to Senators Heinrich and Udall, at least they are willing to embrace Biden’s disastrous energy plan. Of course, Udall is giving up his seat and Heinrich doesn’t have to face voters until 2024.

For now, it appears some in New Mexico are in no rush to be by Biden’s side.