Dem Easily Wins Special Election In New Mexico

 

One special election victory does not a trend make, but this is still a very good sign:

Democrats held on to a suburban House seat in New Mexico on Tuesday, with state Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) easily winning the Albuquerque-area district filled until this spring by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Stansbury defeated state Sen. Mark Moores, who worked to make the race a referendum on Albuquerque’s rising crime rate. Republicans, hopeful that suburban voters might abandon Democrats over their embrace of police reform, were stymied by a Stansbury campaign that emphasized her own support for law enforcement funding.

Stansbury’s victory, projected by the Associated Press little more than one hour after polls closed, will give Democrats 220 seats in the House to 211 for Republicans, offering a bit more breathing room to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ahead of an expected summer push on infrastructure spending... [snip]

With nearly 80 percent of the vote counted, Stansbury led by more than 28 points. [snip]

...Biden carried the district by 23 points last year, and Haaland ran a few points behind. (our emphasis)

An increasing margin of victory looks like, at least in this suburban Albuquerque district, the media's narrative of a drop- off of Democratic enthusiasm and engagement isn't panning out.  Stansbury also overcame a cynical, vicious "anti- crime" campaign by the Republicans, which may be another indication of themes to come. Don't sleep on this, though.  We need to power through 2022 despite all efforts by Republicans to rig the game.