ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three Democratic candidates for New Mexico governor harshly criticized each other Sunday as the primary race for the state’s open gubernatorial seat heats up.
State Sen. Joseph Cervantes and businessman Jeff Apodaca took turns during a KOAT-TV/Albuquerque Journal sponsored debate Sunday questioning Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-Albuquerque, about profits she made from a health care consulting company she co-founded.
It was the first televised debate between the Democrats running for governor and took place with just over two weeks left before the June 5 primary election.
Lujan Grisham has faced questions about her consulting company and the circumstances of her resignation as Department of Health secretary under then-Gov. Bill Richardson in 2007.
Most Read Nation & World Stories
The congresswoman attacked her opponents for not giving their campaign workers health care benefits.
Apodaca, a former Albuquerque media executive whose father, Jerry Apodaca, was New Mexico’s governor in the 1970s, sought to portray himself as a political outsider who would bring new ideas and energy to the governor’s office.
“All that 50 years of experience sitting next to me, how’s that working?” Apodaca said at one point during the debate, referring to the combined tenure of his two rivals in state government, the Legislature and Congress.
But Lujan Grisham and Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, both suggested Apodaca’s policy ideas lacked necessary detail, including his proposal to make New Mexico the ninth state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana use and tax its sales.
“I’m not wishy-washy; I know what the challenges are,” she said.
Since entering the race in December 2016, Lujan Grisham has used her broad network of connections to outraise her Democratic rivals and secure endorsements from key labor unions.
However, her opponents haven’t backed down, as Cervantes has given more than $2 million in personal loans to his campaign in recent months and has used the money to launch TV ads targeting Lujan Grisham.
Republican Congressman Steve Pearce, R-Hobbs, is seeking the GOP nod in an uncontested primary.
The state’s struggling economy and poverty remain top issues in the race.
Gov. Susana Martinez, the state’s two-term Republican governor, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at the end of this year.