New Mexico political figure Gary King could be facing the toughest task of his 24-year career as he lags in the polls and trails in fundraising for the gubernatorial race.
King, the state’s attorney general since 2006, is running as the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent Martinez.
Though King’s campaign is struggling, a UNM political science professor said it is too soon to make a prediction for the Nov. 4 election.
“You never can call an election before an election because you never know what scandal might break or how something that happens might fundamentally change opinions,” UNM political science professor Lonna Atkeson said. “But obviously, the polls show that he’s behind.”
According to his biography on his campaign’s website, King served 12 years as a state legislator prior to his two terms as attorney general. Having worked in environmental law, King also worked as a political advisor to the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., starting under the Clinton administration.
One issue King and his campaign have been stressing during the governor’s race is education. New Mexico has notoriously ranked in the bottom tier of states when it comes to graduation rates. King has been touring New Mexico, speaking to various communities about his education plan, which he said relates to pulling families out of poverty.
“We have children (who are) going to be hungry every night, children who are basically unprepared to go to school because of a variety of issues related to poverty,” King said.
Another prominent issue in this governor’s race is the economy, specifically jobs and minimum wage. Sam Bregman, the chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, says King would boost wages.
“We have too many people working a 40-hour week that are still below the poverty line,” Bregman said. “The minimum wage needs to be increased. This governor (Martinez) has already vetoed that, and Gary King wouldn’t. He would, in fact, make sure the minimum wage was raised for working men and women.”
A recent poll conducted by Research and Polling, Inc, published in a copyrighted Albuquerque Journal article on Sept. 14 showed Martinez holding a 54 percent to 46 percent advantage, an increase from her lead over King in August of 50 to 41.
King lags significantly in terms of campaign finances. He currently has $157,730 in the bank for campaign funds, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office released Sept. 8, while Martinez has $3.8 million.
“She seems to have enough money that she can basically say anything in her campaign ads, whether it’s true or not,” King said. “It’s a challenge to answer that in a way that’s a positive, effective way, and certainly when she has $4 million and I don’t.”
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J.R. Oppenheim, Priscilla Banuelos and Marcus Jaramillo are journalism students in the Communication and Journalism Department. Oppenheim is also the managing editor at the Daily Lobo. This story first appeared on the New Mexico News Port.
