In the race for New Mexico’s First Congressional District, Michelle Lujan Grisham beat Republican challenger Michael Frese by a comfortable margin.
The Democratic incumbent beat Frese 59 to 41 percent as of press time.
For her second term, Lujan Grisham said she plans to focus on the state’s economy with an emphasis on encouraging small businesses and farmers, supporting education and rebuilding New Mexicans’ faith in the U.S. Congress.
"I want voters to know we're really beginning to see a turn, a shift, and I'm excited about that work,” she said. “I'm excited to be a part of that and now I need us all to embrace that we're going to bring those kind of changes right back here to this community.”
Challenger Frese said that although he had gained some name recognition and was able to win a significant percentage of the vote, he does not have any thoughts at this time about running for political office again.
“I got into this because I wanted to spread the message,” Frese said after the results came in. “I thought it was an important message. In my campaign it resonated, but did it resonate with the average voter? I don’t believe I had enough money to impact the average voter.”
Max Barnett, Frese’s campaign manager, said he feels that Frese lost due to the campaign’s lack of funding and support.
Check back with dailylobo.com for more on this story.
Matthew Reisen is a staff reporter and Mateo Rocha is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at news@dailylobo.com, or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
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