Urbanization, Latinos and a far-right GOP. How New Mexico went from battleground to blue
New Mexico had been a prime presidential battleground. But the growth of its cities, a Republican shift and heightened Latino influence have made the state deep blue.
We're not purple," said Joe Monahan, a blogger who has chronicled New Mexico politics for decades. "We're blue. Very blue."
The change is part of a pattern that has remade the West, turning the onetime Republican redoubt into a deep well of Democratic support. In this series, called “The New West,” I’m exploring how that change, from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains, came about, resetting the political competition nationwide.
To a large extent, it's a story of movement.
People relocating from more liberal climes, like California.
Newcomers filling up cities and suburbs, as rural areas recede.
Latino influence expanding.
And, not least, Republicans shifting dramatically rightward — especially on issues such as immigration and abortion — antagonizing that burgeoning Latino population and butting up against wary Westerners bridling at those telling them how they should live their lives.
They don't like government interference," said New Mexico's Democratic governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham. "What I mean by that is: Don't make healthcare decisions for me. Don't talk to me about what you deem to be equality. Don't tell me what books I can or cannot read. Don't tell me who I can marry."
In sum, she said, "Don't tell me what to do."
This sounds like how Arizona and Georgia are turning Blue. Four more years of Californians and NYers moving to Az and Ga.
