RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico Republicans say they have unveiled Tuesday a “moderate agenda” centered around economic development and criminal justice reform in a bid to capture the state House and Senate.
GOP House Minority Leader James Townsend and Republican Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt release a plan they called the “Fair Deal” that said will bring moderate Democrats and Republicans together following one of the nation’s worst recessions amid the pandemic.
The plan with broad ideas and little specifics will serve as a blueprint for candidates who have endorsed the agenda of Respect New Mexico - a group funded by state House and Senate Republican leadership PACs. The Fair Deal calls for improving the state’s bond rating, criminal justice reforms, and modernizing its electric grid.
Respect New Mexico later said in a statement the Fair Deal “is a contrast to the overspending, higher taxes, restrictive regulations, attacks on law enforcement, divisive social issues, and other progressive policies” supported by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Democratic President Harry Truman in 1949 also called his proposals - around a national health insurance, public housing, civil rights, and federal aid to education - The Fair Deal. Southern Democrats compared Truman’s ideas to socialism.
In recent weeks, Respect New Mexico has been demanding that state lawmakers reform the state’s tax code and reduce spending in the next Legislative session.
Townsend said in an interview with The Associated Press the Fair Deal is a “moderate” plan that he feels will be attracted to independents and voters across party lines. “It is focused on prosperity,” he said.
Brandt also told The AP several liberal Democrats defeated moderate Democrats in the state Senate sparking fears a Democratic sweep in November will lead the Legislature to enact a far-left agenda. “Do you want to become another California?” Brandt asked.
The blueprint comes as state Republicans are running one of its most diverse set of candidates for legislative races. Out of 112 open legislative seats, 38 Republican candidates are women and many candidates are Hispanic or Native American.
Democratic House Speaker Brian Egolf dismissed the new GOP blueprint and Republican attempts to call the plan moderate.
“The sad truth is that every Republican running for the New Mexico House and Senate has fully embraced Donald Trump’s failed policies and hateful rhetoric and have stayed silent in the face of racism, division, and Trump’s failed response to COVID-19,” Egolf said. “Just as a leopard can’t change its spots, Republicans can’t hide that they voted against protecting New Mexicans with preexisting conditions, early childhood education funding, and public safety reform.”
Egolf predicts that Democrats will hold and possibly expand their majority in November.
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