New Mexico Special Election Focuses on Crime

First Read: “Today brings us the third round of special congressional elections in the Biden Era — this time the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) who’s now serving as Biden’s Interior secretary. (Following the first two rounds of special elections in Louisiana and Texas.)”

“At stake in this contest between state Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) and state Sen. Mark Moores (R) is the Democrats’ narrow House majority (219-211), as well as a test of how potent the issue of crime might still be for the GOP.”

New York Times: “Mr. Moores has spotlighted the rising murder rate in Albuquerque and assailed Ms. Stansbury as soft on crime for supporting a little-known proposal in Congress that would cut funding for local police departments… In an interview, Ms. Stansbury offered no regrets for her support of the measure, the so-called BREATHE Act, an expansive criminal justice proposal pushed by racial justice activists.”

Joe Biden won the district by 23 points in 2020, so that’s the benchmark for measuring the potency of the crime issue in this race.