New Mexico Attorney General election, 2010
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 5 min
The New Mexico Attorney General election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democrat Gary King defeated Republican challenger and Ninth Judicial District attorney Matthew Chandler.
Race tracking[edit]
Both Ballotpedia and Governing magazine predicted a Democratic victory.
| 2010 Race Rankings for New Mexico Attorney General | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |||
| Ballotpedia | Likely Democrat | |||
| Governing[1] | Leans Democrat | |||
| Overall Call | Leans Democrat | |||
General Election campaign[edit]
Candidates[edit]
Republican Party - Ninth Judicial District attorney Matthew Chandler
Democratic Party - Incumbent Gary King
General election results[edit]
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Gary King
|
53.7% | |
| Republican Party | Matthew Chandler | 46.3% | |
| Total Votes | 597,644 | ||
Debates[edit]
October 12th - ENMU[edit]
On October 12th, Eastern New Mexico University (ASENMU) hosted a debate between the two major party candidates in the state attorney general contest - Democratic incumbent Gary King and Republican challenger Matthew Chandler. Topics of the discussion included restoring confidence in state government, sealing the border with Mexico, improving the effect illegal immigrants have on the state with extra costs and more crime, and the federal health insurance mandate. The Associated Students of Eastern New Mexico University (ASENMU) and the Clovis High Plains Patriots sponsored the event.
October 17th - NMSU[edit]
The New Mexico State University College Republicans student organization sponsored the second debate between King and Chandler held on Sunday, October 17th at the Corbett auditorium in the Corbett Center Student Union on the New Mexico State University campus.
Endorsements[edit]
- Albuquerque Journal, local newspaper[3][4]
- Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association (APOA)[5]
- Can-Do Conservatives of America[6]
- New Mexico Fraternal Order of the Police (FOP)[7]
- New Mexico Right to Life[8]
- Communications Workers of America (CWA)[9]
- New Mexico Federation of Labor AFL-CIO[10]
- Sierra Club - Rio Grande Chapter[11]
Polling[edit]
Lake Research Poll[edit]
Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm, interviewed 600 likely New Mexico voters from across the state between August 2 and 4, 2010. The polling data shows that District Attorney Matthew Chandler has his work cut out for him in the campaign to replace Democratic incumbent Gary King. In addition to being behind King overall by nineteen percentage points, Chandler has a severe lack of support among independent voters, who back his opponent 47-17 percent. Name recognition is a serious issue, as only seventeen percent of those surveyed knew who the young D.A. was as opposed to King, with whom 2/3 of voters interviewed were familiar with.
| Lake Research Poll - August 2 - 4, 2010[12] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Gary King (D)
|
47% | |||
| Matthew Chandler (R) | 28% | |||
| Undecided | 25% | |||
| Total voters | 600 | |||
Albuquerque Journal Poll[edit]
| Albuquerque Journal Poll - August 23 - 27, 2010[13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Gary King (D)
|
48% | |||
| Matthew Chandler (R) | 33% | |||
| Undecided | 19% | |||
| Total voters | 942 | |||
Finances[edit]
According to the New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System, as of September 23, 2010, here is the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:
| Matthew Chandler Campaign Finance Reports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | In-Kind [14] | Other Sources | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |
| July 2 - September 6, 2010[15] | September 13, 2010 | $125,002.84 | $113,437.07 | $7,557.60 | $0.00 | $71,985.80 | $166,454.11 | |
| Gary King Campaign Finance Reports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | In-Kind [14] | Other Sources | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |
| July 2 - September 6, 2010[16] | September 13, 2010 | $145,370.73 | $273,415.00 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 | $78,436.87 | $340,348.86 | |
June 1, 2010 primaries[edit]
Democratic primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Incumbent Gary King
Electoral results[edit]
- Gary King ran unopposed in this contest
Finances[edit]
According to the New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System, as of July 13, 2010, here is the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:
| Gary King Campaign Finance Reports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | In-Kind [14] | Other Sources | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |
| May 25 - June 25, 2010[17] | July 1, 2010 | $137,282.42 | $21,760.00 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 | $13,671.69 | $145,370.73 | |
| May 3 - May 25, 2010[18] | May 27, 2010 | $103,123.11 | $57,975.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $23,815.69 | $137,282.42 | |
| April 5 - May 3, 2010[19] | May 10, 2010 | $93,221.83 | $14,140.00 | $1,475.00 | $0.00 | $4,238.72 | $103,123.11 | |
| January 1 - April 5, 2010[20] | April 13, 2010 | $0.00 | $166,271.14 | $4,250.00 | $0.00 | $73,049.31 | $93,221.83 | |
Republican primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matthew Chandler[21]
Electoral results[edit]
- Matthew Chandler ran unopposed in this contest
Finances[edit]
According to the New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System, as of July 13, 2010, here is the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:
| Matthew Chandler Campaign Finance Reports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | In-Kind [14] | Other Sources | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |
| May 25 - June 25, 2010[22] | July 1, 2010 | $108,433.71 | $22,372.97 | $3,940.00 | $0.00 | $5,803.84 | $125,002.84 | |
| May 3 - May 25, 2010[23] | May 27, 2010 | $98,975.69 | $13,825.00 | $150.00 | $0.00 | $4,366.98 | $108,433.71 | |
| April 5 - May 3, 2010[24] | May 10, 2010 | $62,720.27 | $41,837.63 | $1,050.00 | $0.00 | $5,582.21 | $98,975.69 | |
| January 1 - April 5, 2010[25] | April 12, 2010 | $3,548.41 | $67,883.43 | $1,353.08 | $0.00 | $8,711.57 | $62,720.27 | |
Noteworthy events[edit]
Private Law Firms and the attorney general[edit]
On April 16, 2009, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an editorial centered on the practice of state attorneys general accepting campaign donations from law firms and retaining those firms in contracts for lawsuits.[26]The article said a Houston-based firm of attorney F. Kenneth Bailey contributed"$50,000 to New Mexico AG Gary King" before his 2006 election.[27]
The law firm was later retained by the state to sue a pharmaceutical company. The New Mexico Independent said, "five months lapsed between two contracts that the state attorney general’s office signed," and "the law firm continued to work" between contracts.[28]
King said hiring outside lawyers is "one of the only tools I have to level the playing field on behalf of consumers, given the significant financial firepower that big pharma, big banking and any number of other industries have...The attorney general is virtually the only protection the consumer has against abuse by those industries.”[29]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- List of candidates who filed nominating signatures to be listed on New Mexico's June 2010 primary election ballot (dead link)
- List of candidates who have qualified to appear on New Mexico's General Election ballot (dead link)
- Green Paper's list of candidates for New Mexico Attorney General, 2010
General Election candidates[edit]
- Gary King for Attorney General Campaign website
- Matthew Chandler for Attorney General Campaign website
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Governing “Attorney General Race Ratings” 12 Oct. 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Endorsements for Three Statewide Races" 10 Oct. 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "Journal endorses Duran, Chandler, Balderas in SOS, AG, Auditor races" 11 Oct. 2010
- ↑ Matthew Chandler for Attorney General, "Matt Chandler Scores Endorsement from APOA" 22 Sept. 2010
- ↑ Can-Do Conservatives of America - Endorsements
- ↑ Matthew Chandler for Attorney General, "Chandler Endorsed by NM FOP" 4 Oct. 2010
- ↑ Right to Life Committee of New Mexico PAC - 2010 Candidate Information (dead link)
- ↑ Communication Workers of America - Endorsements
- ↑ AFL-CIO - 2010 Endorsements
- ↑ New Mexico Sierra Club, "Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Endorses Gary King for New Mexico Attorney General" 9 Aug. 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ Lake Research Partners, "Attorney General Gary King Poised to Win Re-election" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Politics, "King leads Chandler in two polls" 31 Aug. 2010
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 As these are not cash contributions, they are not reflected in the reported ending balance.
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Matthew Chandler First General Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Gary King First General Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Gary King Fourth Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Gary King Third Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Gary King Second Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Gary King First Primary Report 2010
- ↑ Portales News-Tribune, "Matt Chandler running for state attorney general" 3 Feb. 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Matthew Chandler Fourth Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Matthew Chandler Third Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Matthew Chandler Second Primary Report 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System - Matthew Chandler First Primary Report 2010
- ↑ Clearly New Mexico, "The Karma of Quack: Gary King and Pay-to-Sue" 29 April, 2009
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "The Pay-to-Sue Business" 16 April, 2009
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "Timing of AG’s contracts with law firm raises questions" 28 April, 2009
- ↑ New York Times, "Lawyers create big paydays by coaxing attorneys general to sue," accessed April 30, 2024
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