GOP House hopefuls in southern New Mexico tout Trump love in debates

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Republican candidates in a crucial U.S. House race in southern New Mexico are touting in recent debates their love of President Donald Trump and popular Republican themes around gun rights, oil consumption and building a border wall.

But little else.

Three GOP hopefuls vying to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small of Las Cruces repeated in debates this week their unconditional support of Trump and stayed away from offering any new bold proposals.

Instead, in forums that have aired on social media, former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell, oil executive Claire Chase and Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys attacked Torres Small for voting to impeach Trump and voting to install U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Xochitl Torres Small presented herself as a moderate but has been anything but,” Chase said during one of those debates.

Herrell said Republicans are confident they are flipping back the historic GOP-leaning district because of Torres Small’s voting record, which she has compared to liberal firebrand U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

“Xochitl Torres Small doesn’t want to debate us,” said Herrell, who came under criticism for not debating Torres Small in 2018.

Herrell lost to Torres Small by less than 3,000 votes to give the seat to Democrats for the first time in years. The sprawling district includes part of the oil-rich Permian Basin in eastern New Mexico and Hispanic communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Both Mathys and Chase attacked Herrell after she claimed to “have beaten” Torres Small once already. Herrell has said in the past that she lost because of “voting irregularities” — which have mainly been dismissed by state officials.

Chase said Herrell lost Valencia County, a key swing area in the district.

“I will debate Torres Small head-on,” Mathys said.

Torres Small campaign spokeswoman Lauren Essary dismissed the attacks and said the congresswoman was committed to working with anyone to help find solutions on border security and immigration.

“That is why she was proud to work with Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw on her Securing America’s Ports Act, which would require 100% of vehicles entering our country to be scanned helping to stop drug and human trafficking,” Essary said. “Her track record of working across the aisle can also be seen in her early support for President Trump’s USMCA deal, as well as her work with Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Brian Fitzpatrick on increasing healthcare access at rural hospitals and lowering prescription drug costs.”

University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson said she’s never seen a campaign in New Mexico where the candidates were so dedicated to a leader, in this case, Trump.

“This is a moderate district,” Atkeson said. “But if Trump invests in the state, he could help the Republican capture this seat.”