Poll: Republican Marc Ronchetti Leads Democrat New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham by 1 Point

Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico, listens during an interview at her office
Steven St John/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Marc Ronchetti/Facebook
Paul Bois

The reliably blue state of New Mexico may now be in play for Republicans with a new poll showing that Marc Ronchetti leads Democrat Lujan Grisham by just one point in the governor’s race.

Surveying 1,077 likely voters between October 19-21, the Trafalgar Group poll released on Monday showed that Ronchetti now holds a narrow lead over incumbent Grisham – 47 percent to 46 percent.

Exactly why Grisham has suddenly fallen in the polls after leading him by over ten points has yet to be revealed, but the Trafalgar Group poll matches a recent Public Policy poll that showed her with a 46 percent approval rating. Ronchetti’s boost might also be attributed to the fact that the Albuquerque Journal endorsed him in a recent editorial after previously endorsing Grisham in 2018. The Journal cited Ronchetti’s stance on violent crime and border security as the basis for its endorsement.

Violent crime is harming, traumatizing and quite literally killing too many New Mexicans. Property crime, paired with the national economic downturn and pandemic closures, continues to hurt residents and business owners financially. Not enough of the record billion-dollar revenues from oil and gas has been invested in lasting infrastructure that will improve lives for decades to come. And four years into her administration, our governor’s promised “education moonshot” has yet to launch as our children, especially our minority and low-income children, fall further and further behind.

We simply cannot afford four more years of the same.

Ronchetti also had a strong showing in the first debate against Grisham, especially when he called her out for allegedly silencing a man who had accused her of sexual harassment.

“Governor, I want to ask you about James Hallinan. He was one of your staffers in your last election, and you were in a meeting with him and you grabbed his crotch and you said, ‘Is there anything down here?’” Ronchetti said.

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