Not one, but TWO Elected Democrat Legislators Endorse Republican in HD 27 race
Recently we commented on the important Albuquerque area legislative race between Republican Nicole Chavez and trial attorney Democrat Lisa Curtis. There is another Albuquerque legislative race, this one is in District 27 where moderate Democrat Marian Matthews was defeated in a primary by a far-left “progressive” Abby Foster.
Rather than endorsing her “progressive” heir apparent, Matthews, an opponent of the far left’s “paid family leave” plans which were narrowly defeated in the Legislature a few years ago, has endorsed Republican Jahnelle Garcia. As if that were not enough, Retired State Senator William Tallman who represented District 18, also in the Northeast Heights, who is also a Democrat, has also endorsed Jahnelle Garcia. Tallman is definitely more commonly aligned with the “progressive” wing of his own Party, but he DID appear on the Tipping Point NM podcast when he was still in office.
New Mexico’s recent medical malpractice reforms are at the heart of the race. Jahnelle Garcia works in the medical field. Foster, on the other hand, has been heavily funded by the trial lobby. Tallman noted in a recent email, “I’m voting for Jahnelle Garcia. Her opponent is backed by the trial lawyer lobby, the same lobby fighting for unlimited payouts while our doctors walk out the door.”
What are some takeaways from this?
- Trial attorneys are well-funded and upset that they lost last session. They’re going to be working to defeat vulnerable Democrats in primaries and Republicans in general elections for years to come in an effort to overturn medical malpractice reform;
- If Deb Haaland wins the race for Gov. and the trial attorneys win these races things could get dicey for the future of medical malpractice reform. Columnist Sherry Robinson has a detailed prognosis for the future of medical malpractice reform here.