Three University of New Mexico student organizations hosted a watch party on Friday night for the three New Mexican candidates running for U.S. Senate.
College Republicans, College Democrats and Students for Gary booked the Student Union Building ballroom to watch Republican Mick Rich, Democratic-incumbent Martin Heinrich and former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, who is the candidate for the Libertarian Party.
Going into the debate, which was hosted by KRQE, Heinrich was polling at 45 percent, according to a KRQE/Pacific Market Research poll. Rich was trialling at 32 percent, with Johnson in third at 22 percent.
Between 15 and 20 students showed up to watch the debate — some were associated with the three organizations, others were not.
“I’d be watching it anyway,” said Amabilis Baca, a freshman civil engineering student. “I kinda regret voting already.” She added that if Johnson were a Democrat or a Republican, “it be easier to justify” a vote for him.
Benedict Talley echoed that sentiment. Talley, a history major, said that if he had not already voted early, he would have voted for Johnson after watching the debate.
“Although I don’t agree with him on everything, I think he is really strong on social issues,” Talley said.
Much of the debate centered around immigration and the migrant caravan. The caravan is a group of thousands of men, women and children from Central America, mostly Honduras, walking in unison to the United States. They are expected to start to arrive at the U.S. border around mid-November. Many politicians have used the caravan as a wedge-point.
Rich told viewers, “We need to secure our southern border plain and simple, whether it’s a wall, whether it’s barriers, whether it’s more personal.”
Heinrich was asked by moderator Jessica Garata, “What do you think we should do when immigrants (in the caravan) reach our southern border?”
He responded, “Actually Jessica, they’re not immigrants, they’re refugees and hungry 5-year-old refugees do not constitute a security threat to the United States.” Later in the statement, Heinrich said that “building a wall along our southern border was a third century solution to a 21st century problem.”
“I think this is political kabuki,” Johnson said. “This is not an assault on America,” referring to the migrant caravan.
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The Chair of College Republicans, Summer Begay, said the purpose of the event was not to force a point of view on anyone, but to educate.
“We don’t care how you vote, you just need to vote,” Begay said.
College Democrats President Julisa Rodriguez said that it was good to see the candidates talking and to see students engaged with politics.
Head and founder of Students for Gary, freshman Tristan Herring, said he was disappointed in the debate. He said it was like a circus, but “Johnson pulled through,” adding that “you couldn’t hear half the things said.”
That was due to a rule that allowed interjections and responses from the candidates any time Garata wasn’t speaking.
Justin Garcia is a freelance reporter. He primarily covers ASUNM. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter at @Just516garc.
