Young professionals and students from UNM flocked to meet and mingle with city and state politicians at the Banque Lofts in downtown Albuquerque on Friday night.
More than 100 guests attended the young professionals fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. The night gave students and professionals an opportunity to question state and local Democratic politicians and become more involved in their community.
Denish said it was important for her to pick the brains of young people and politicos to understand their needs and opinions.
“What we do affects their future,” she said. “When I say I want all the stakeholders at the table, that is not generation specific; that is all generations.”
Community member Julianna Koob said this type of event is designed to get young people involved in political decisions.
“Politics can feel unapproachable sometimes,” she said. “These kind of events are low key and they make becoming politically involved a lot more accessible and easier to enter.”
Denish said the creative ideas of Albuquerque’s young professionals and UNM graduates have already improved the state’s economy.
“Technology, the film industry, alternative energy — those ideas are always rooted in the young professional community,” she said. “People that are fearless will take the risks to become our entrepreneurs. They are our workforce.”
Denish’s campaign staff requested a donation of $25 per person, and the event raised more than $2,500. Denish’s campaign reported that 4,893 of the 8,400 contributions the lieutenant governor received in the last finance cycle — October 6 through April 5 — were $100 or less, which points to strong grassroots support.
Denish faces no opposition in the Democratic primary on June 1. However, she will compete with five Republicans — Janice Arnold-Jones, Pete Domenici Jr., Susana Martinez, Doug Turner and Allen Weh.
Denish’s campaign finance reports show that she raised about $1.1 million, spent $715,755 and reported about $2.5 million cash on hand, which puts her far ahead of her Republican opponents.
Martinez raised more funds than any of the other Republican candidates, excluding personal loans. The Las Cruces district attorney raised $428,064, spent $194,809 and ended the reporting period with $363,913 cash on hand.
Martinez’s campaign said in a press release that 95 percent of Martinez’s 1,300 contributions came from outside Las Cruces, and 83 percent of her total contributions have been for $100 or less. However, $100,000 of Martinez’s contributions came from Mack Energy Corp., an Artesia oil and gas company.
Weh raised $691,003, with $500,000 of that coming as a loan from Weh to his own campaign, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.
Doug Turner reported raising $400,771, Pete Domenici Jr. $372,107 and Janice Arnold-Jones $164,586, according the Secretary of State’s Office. Each of these candidates reported loans from themselves to their campaigns totaling about $322,928.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the Tea Party movement has bolstered conservative support, but Republican candidates have nationally raised 37 percent less in contributions than their Democratic counterparts.
Make sure to check the Daily Lobo’s coverage of the state gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial races.
