Democrat Melanie Stansbury easily won a special election for the U.S. House in New Mexico Tuesday night after her Republican opponent attempted to turn the race into a referendum on criminal justice
Stansbury was a heavy favorite in the Albuquerque-area First District but Democrats, nervous about a potential early backlash to President Biden’s agenda and wary of the effectiveness of attacks tied to law and order kept a close eye on the margins: Biden had won the district by 23 points, and Rep. Deb Haaland, who vacated the seat to become his Secretary of the Interior, won it by 16 in November.
The 42-year-old state legislator ended up defeating Republican Mark Moores by 25 points, the win buffering the Democrats’ slim House majority. "Leaders all across the country have been watching this race because of the leadership of Secretary Haaland, because of the importance to this race for delivering for President Biden's agenda and because of the importance of this race for delivering for our communities," Stansbury said during her victory speech.
Moores had focused his campaign almost entirely on crime, pointing to a spike in murders in Albuquerque and claiming that Stansbury wanted to “defund” the police. He pointed to her support of the BREATHE Act, a sweeping criminal reform bill supported by Black Lives Matter activists that would reappropriate police funding to community programs.
"The Republican standard operating procedure is to generate fear and discord," New Mexico state Democratic chair Jessica VelasquezStansbury hit back
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