Republicans running for congressional seat held by Las Cruces’ Small dismiss Trump impeachment

Republican candidates competing for a key U.S. House seat in southern New Mexico are dismissing impeachment talk around President Donald Trump and criticizing the district’s current Democratic congresswoman for her unclear stand.

The three hopefuls vying to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-Las Cruces, say an impeachment inquiry over the president’s conversation with a Ukrainian leader seeking dirt on Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden’s son is a waste of time.

In statements to The Associated Press on Tuesday, they all repeated their strong support of Trump and signaled that if elected to Congress they would do their part to stop any impeachment.

“There is zero evidence President Trump committed any impeachable or illegal offense despite how badly (Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi and her radical allies want him unjustly removed from office,” said Yvette Herrell, a former state lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran against Torres Small in 2018.

Herrell said Torres Small has been using “slippery political rhetoric” around the impeachment inquiry.

Oil executive Claire Chase, who is seeking the nomination and hosted an event with Vice President Mike Pence in New Mexico a few weeks ago, said Democrats were using Ukraine drama to cover up for a weak field of Democratic presidential challengers.

“Even Democrats understand the Trump phone call transcript shows no valid basis for impeachment,” Chase said in a statement. “Democrats simply want to selfishly undermine the President and damage the American economy in the year leading up to the election.”

Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys also said he saw the impeachment inquiry as a diversion. “I support the president 100% and I don’t think he’s done anything different than any other president,” Mathys said.

Though Torres Small has not come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry, she recently released a statement to say she wanted to hear testimony before making a decision.

“Through the coming weeks and months, I will act to support and defend our Constitution by insisting on a transparent process that fully informs the American people and restores trust and faith in our system. This is a threat to our national security, and it must be taken seriously,” Torres Small’s statement read.

Torres Small defeated Herrell in 2018 by fewer than 3,000 votes to flip a traditionally Republican-leaning district that sits along to U.S.-Mexico border. She became only the second Democrat to win the seat.