Message from Marty Chavez
The DNC meeting in Austin has concluded, and for New Mexico it was a major success. We are officially number four on the presidential primary calendar. The new calendar is incredibly representative of America. The first six:
South Carolina: Jan. 22, 2028
Nevada: Feb. 1, 2028
New Hampshire: Feb. 8, 2028
New Mexico: Feb. 15, 2028
Michigan: Feb. 22, 2028
Virginia: Feb. 29, 2028
I felt a bit bad for Iowa (not really) as they made a passionate pitch to stay first. But the days of our nominee being essentially determined by Iowa and New Hampshire, two great and important states but not particularly a cross section of America, are over.
There was some consternation raised by SCC members about the abolition of ranked choice in the selection of our presidential convention delegates. Upon further review, it wasn’t quite as pernicious as some feared. Many thought it would impact our ability to hold primary elections such as those in Santa Fe and Las Cruces, which at least from my perspective have been quite successful. In reality, it pertained only to how we select our delegates to the national convention. Having said that, it works for us here and elsewhere and isn’t broken, so why fix it? Chairman Ken Martin thoughtfully allowed the offending sentence to be separated out for a vote and it was handily defeated by a voice vote. At the end of the day, the DNC’s only concern should be that we elect our delegates democratically. I was pleased to speak against the amendment in the Western Caucus. So the status quo remains: Our delegates to the national convention will be elected through ranked choice if that’s what we as the SCC decide.
Finally, as many of you noted, the resolutions under consideration were essentially milquetoast, and all passed on a voice vote. There really was no need to dive deep into the issues which do divide us 75 days before an election where unity is essential. We’ll have lots of time to fight after November.
From my perspective, your New Mexico delegation represented us well, and a special thanks goes to staff who worked hard throughout. It was nice as well to have Coby Gentry, president of the New Mexico Young Democrats, with us. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez gave a great speech to the entire body and was really well received.
I want to thank all of you for your feedback. Whether we win in November is now entirely up to us. Let’s do it!
In solidarity,
Martin J. Chavez
505.400.0501