BLUE CD2 NEW MEXICO

Year End 2024, Volume 1, Issue 11

What a year it's been! Gabe was re-elected with a margin of more than 11,000 votes, or 52.1%, compared to under 1,350 votes and 50.3% in 2022. We were also able to support down ballot races this election cycle. Our thanks to our volunteers, donors and hardworking supporters who make it all possible. We so much appreciate all your efforts and support. And 2025 promises to be a year of challenges and opportunities.

Our Messages Broke Through!

Your donations allowed us to run programmatic ads targeting our identified voters online through geolocation. Foundation Blue Media placed the ads for us and, post-election, they reviewed the results with us, applauding our campaigns: 

“Nothing short of phenomenal,” said agency leader Stuart Rosenberg.

For example, a 0.2 click through rate is considered a success for a digital ad. Some of our ads got click through rates of 4 and 6. Yes, in some cases we overachieved what is considered a successful campaign by a factor of 30. 

Katie Lea and Stuart Rosenberg of Foundation Blue Media compared our ads to similar ones run by similar groups in other parts of the country. Our Project 2025 ads, targeting Independents and non-MAGA Republicans, didn’t try to scare people out of their wits but instead aimed for a positive vision of the future. While the scary ad campaigns of other groups turned off voters, ours motivated 2,368 people to visit our web page about Project 2025 and 1,912 to vote early (we won’t have Election Day numbers until January).

Credit where credit is due: we relied on guidance from ASO Communications (Anat Shenker Osorio) and their tested 2024 messaging at amplify-freedom.com. Remember Values, Villain, Vision? It’s still relevant. 

Protection for Caja del Rio

Gabe is urging President Biden to designate the Caja del Rio as a national monument. "This extraordinary landscape holds deep cultural and spiritual significance to our state, Pueblos, and other traditional communities. Protecting the Caja is vital for wildlife, tradition, and our future as New Mexicans." he said.

Opportunities for Engagement from Simon Rosenberg

• Tell your Senators and Representative that Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth and Robert Kennedy are unqualified and too dangerous to hold positions in the next Cabinet. We need to let our NM Democratic Congressional delegation know we are behind them in opposing these nominees in any way they can.
• Contact the White House and ask President Biden to order the FBI to begin background checks into Trump’s nominees immediately, before Trump installs Patel to disable the process.

Gabe's Rural Installation Job Protection Act Signed into Law

Gabe's Rural Installation Job Protection Act was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Introduced in May as HR 8417, it protects jobs at rural military bases and will require the Department of Defense to notify Congress before cancelling civilian contracts that impact 50 or more jobs at bases like White Sands Missile Range.  

Gabe said, “My bill will ensure transparency and accountability and even the playing field for communities like Alamogordo and Las Cruces.”

The final bill includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for all other service members, providing critical financial support for those who serve in the Armed Forces and the rural communities that rely on military installations.  

Gabe played a leading role in protecting LGBTQ+ rights, diversity efforts and access to reproductive health care in the military.

The NDAA also authorizes over $2.23 billion in defense-related funding for New Mexico and $177 million in military construction to replace outdated housing and barracks, ensuring that military personnel have the quality living conditions they deserve.

Let's Get the Equal Rights Amendment Codified!

With mere days left before Trump 2.0 begins we’re asking you to join the fight to codify the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

The Equal Rights Amendment is the proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee equal rights to all people regardless of sex. Drafted nearly a century ago, the ERA finally passed the threshold for certification in 2020 when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify. Now, a broad coalition of medical, human rights, and pro-democracy groups are encouraging President Biden to instruct the National Archivist to publish and certify it -- the last step before it becomes the 28th Amendment to our Constitution.

Getting the ERA published now would be a huge win for gender equality because, not only does it guarantee equality regardless of sex, it also provides a critical legal tool to combat discrimination and protect reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and so much more. As evidenced by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the exponential increase in anti-trans legislation, the rights of individuals based on their sex are not sufficiently protected in our democracy.

If your fire's already lit for gender equality, don't wait -- use Indivisible's call script and urge your representatives to push Biden and Harris to publish the Equal Rights Amendment. 

If we don't act, if Biden and Harris do not seize this moment to enshrine protections for women, girls, and LGBTQ+ folks by publishing the ERA, we will likely not have another opportunity for at least the next 4 years. 

Act now by contacting your representatives -- urge them to push President Biden and VP Harris to cement equality into their legacy by publishing the ERA.

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

Next General Meeting :

February 10, 2025

6:30 - 8:00 PM MST

(No General Meeting in January.)

One last appeal in 2024

Please consider a final gift for the year to help start off our efforts in 2025. As we intended, we used what we raised in 2024 to get Gabe elected.

DONATE

Last Minute Canvassing Opportunity Virginia Special Election

POSTCARDS for Virginia!!!

Postcards To Voters launched postcards for Kannan Srinivasan for the Special Election for a seat in the VA State Senate on January 7th. Early voting starts has started. You can go to the Postcards To Voters Linktree to get restarted or to join. Handwritten postcards really work to get attention in a pile of junk mail. Hopefully PTV volunteers will be writing for J.J. Singh for the House of Delegates Special Election as well. Thank you if you have been writing already!

PHONE BANKS for Virginia!!!

You can make Get Out The Vote phone calls for Kannan's Special Election on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays from 5:30pm-8:30pm ET through January 2nd. Thank you for calling! Sign up here!

J.J. Singh's VA House of Delegates District is fully nested within Kannan's VA Senate District, so the postcards and calls for Kannnan will help both candidates.

General Meeting Notice

General Membership Meeting

Monday, December 9, 2024

6:30 - 7:30 PM

Looking at the Election

Gabe WON, thanks to YOU!!

It certainly wasn't the election we'd all hoped for, but there is much good among the bad. Gabe won for the second time in a district that went for Trump by 50.25 vs. 48.33% for Harris. This is historic - no Democrat from CD2 has achieved a second term in Congress since at least the 1980's.

As a result, New Mexico was among the few states to field an all blue Congressional team, all blue Senate, and majority woman state legislature!!

Although we originally said we'd have our next meeting in January, we think it would be worthwhile to spend an hour or so next Monday examining our feelings about the election, and discussing where we are planning to focus for the next two years.

Our Efforts Helped Re-elect Gabe for a Second Term!!!

Although we are still waiting for final results from our data sources, we know that, prior to election day, Blue CD2 had motivated 11.982 (or 30% of the 40k people we contacted) to cast a vote.

Gabe won by 11,032 votes. (52.1% vs. 47.9%.) Quite an increase over the 1346 vote margin in the 2022 election.

As we said above, this is phenomenal!! Especially since his election has helped the Democrats stay very influential in any congressional votes. In addition, we also saw 1912 or 30% of the 6464 "persuadable" right-leaning voters in the district go to the polls.

We believe our approach, consistent and frequent "touching" of our target audience in and out of election years, works. By providing statistics and other information to these voters, we built awareness and credibility with nearly 50,000 people - and probably many more.

Our Down Ballot Races Also Did Well

We chose to support the Democrats in races for seven seats in the New Mexico House. Of these, three of our candidates went on to win their races. Since CD2 is the reddest district in the state, this is a good start. Ideally, we will help down ballot Democratic candidates run for every seat in every contest in the district.

Thanking Our Donors, Postcarders and Hard Working Supporters

If you were a postcard volunteer this year, a donor or one of our hardworking supporters, keep an eye on your mailbox over the next few weeks. We so much appreciate all your efforts and support.

Thanks to you, we were able to be a force for Democrats in the district. We sent nearly 400,000 postcards with over 700 volunteers, we put up 13 billboards, we ran multiple series of programmatic ads and coupled those with texting - and also ran radio spots! And the 2 year long effort really paid off.

Agenda:

1. Welcome and Land Acknowledgements
2. Let's talk about the election
3. Good news - what happened in New Mexico
4. Where we're heading next

Call to Action - WE NEED YOUR HELP, even just an hour or two a month!   

 Sign up here.

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Please Help Us By Contributing Monthly

It would be very helpful if members donated to us on a monthly basis. If enough people were to give $5, $10 or $15 a month, that would help us meet ongoing expenses and fund our campaigns to register people and get them to the polls. You can donate here, and thanks!

Visit Our Website        

BlueCD2 New Mexico | P.O. Box 400 | Tularosa, NM 88352 US

October 2024, Volume 1, Issue 10

We're on the final stretch to a BLUER CD2 - just a few more days to the election! Thanks to you, we've been able to expand our reach to down ballot candidates AND add radio in our two urban markets - Las Cruces and Albuquerque. See below for the ACTUAL results coming in...

Early Voting in CD 2 Has Already Beaten 2022!!

As of October 29 our data shows 6789 of our 40,000 reluctant voters have already voted - 16.97%. In 2022, we brought 6783 people to the polls total. So, we've already beaten our voting turnout record for the last election cycle and there are still 6 days of voting left!!!!

We also see that 1156 or 18% of our 6462 cleaned list of right leaning Independents and moderate Republicans voted. These are not necessarily reluctant voters, so their voting rate is probably higher. And, of course, we don't know who they voted for, but we can be hopeful.

Finally, we are tracking the turnout in the 7 down ballot races we're supporting. (Not the people we have sent ads to, just general turnout.) 5 or so of them are looking good. The one that is most upside down is Ashlie Myers in Otero County, which is not a surprise since that is MAGA central in the state.

HD 29 - Joy Garratt, HD 32 - Linda Alvarez, HD 36 - Nathan Small, HD 38 - Tara Jaramillo, HD 39 - Gabby Begay, HD 51 - Ashlie Myers, HD 53 - Sarah Silva

Think planned deportations won't affect you?

Think Again!

If you think Trump’s deportation plan won’t affect you, you’re wrong. We have a YouTube video, based on Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s insight, about what our neighborhoods and country would look like if Trump’s plans to deport 10 to 20 million illegal immigrants comes to pass.

Snyder has studied what deportation actually does to cultures and to people, including the people who aren’t being deported. The second part of the video explains how vital immigrants are to our communities. We want to get this video out to as many people as possible, especially leaders in Hispanic cultures. Please share this video with people you know. 

As messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio says, “To win this election, we need voters to view Trump, MAGA, and fascism as a credible and vincible threat.”

Thanks. ¡Si podemos! 

Yvette Herrell's Appalling Voting Record

Please Help Us Spread the Word!

We need your help in the last days of the election. We have graphics about Yvette’s votes against public safety we want to spread. Download them here and spread them with the hashtag, #YvettesLyinAds. If you need them, we have talking points to go with them here. Thank you!

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

Next General Meeting :

February 10, 2025

6:30 - 8:00 PM MST

(No General Meetings in November, December or January.)

Early (Blue) Bird Special Campaign

Our final fundraiser of the election season is a two-fer. Donate to us, and we'll thank you with Blue CD2 swag!

Thanks to our generous early (blue) bird donors so far, we've been able to add radio in both the Albuquerque and El Paso markets! Please consider a final gift - we'll use it wisely!

Get full information here.

DONATE

Last Minute Canvassing Opportunity in Valencia County

September 2024, Volume 1, Issue 9

September has been a busy, busy month!! We're launching our GOTV campaign - our final push before the election - this month. It will run right up to Election Day, November 5. Not to mention putting on TWO fundraisers!!

Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers and donors, we've been able to expand our reach to include 40,000 reluctant voters in the district - which is double the number we reached in 2022. We're also running a separate Project 2025 campaign aimed at persuadable right-leaning Independents and moderate Republicans.

Our Environmental House Party was a great success and we raised $6,000!! Many thanks to Wendy Brown, our host and moderator, Larry McDaniel, our speaker, and Leora Jaeger and Gail Vance for their help.

Our final event of the season is coming up and it's huge, as you can see from the info below. Don't miss this - use the button to sign up.

REGISTER HERE

See profiles of our speakers and more here. We'll use these funds for our campaign to right leaning independents and moderate Republicans to make them aware of how bad Trump's Project 2025 is. Our campaign gives these folks permission to vote for Democrats. Thanks again to our donors, our GOTV campaign is fully funded!!!!!!

Blue Haven Fundraiser

How Red State Abortion Bans

Affect New Mexico

New Mexico is a blue haven in a wilderness of red states.

Join our panelists: an abortion clinic founder; a reproductive rights advocate; an Ob/Gyn and family planning doctor; and the NM Director of Surgical Services for Planned Parenthood, for a deep dive into the abortion scene in New Mexico and beyond.

In the year after the Dobbs decision, abortions in New Mexico have more than tripled. ​In 2023, seventy percent of all abortions in New Mexico were provided to patients from Texas. 

Our panelists will discuss how the increased caseload affects reproductive care for New Mexicans, what women lose when they lose access to abortion, and what could change in New Mexico if Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez loses his re-election bid to fetal personhood advocate Yvette Herrell.

Reproductive Health Clinic in Las Cruces Breaks Ground

Gabe joined Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and representatives from The University of New Mexico Health System and the Reproductive Health Care Success Project in breaking ground on an 8000 square foot clinic in Las Cruces that will expand reproductive health care and improve maternal health outcomes for women in southern New Mexico and across the southwest. 

The state-funded clinic is expected to be completed in the next 12 to 18 months and it will have the capacity to treat thousands of patients a year. 

Gabe emphasized the importance of healthcare access particularly in rural and tribal areas of the state, which the new clinic will address. “New Mexico has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. This tragic statistic highlights the deep disparities in healthcare access, especially for women in underserved communities,” he said. “Too many mothers in New Mexico are losing their lives to preventable complications due to inadequate access to prenatal care, emergency services and comprehensive mental health support. This is unacceptable.”

Eve Espey, chair of the Department of OB/GYN at the UNM Health Sciences Center, said UNM will send a provider to the Planned Parenthood location in Las Cruces in the next few months to introduce procedural abortion and possibly expand contraceptive options. “Planned Parenthood now has a very limited, mostly medication abortion presence,” She said. Once the Center for Reproductive Health opens in Las Cruces, those procedures will become part of the clinic.

For a complete list of services to be provided through the clinic, see the NMU Health Press Release.

Gabe Attends SE New Mexico

Food & Housing Summit

More than 200 people attended the Southeast New Mexico Food and Housing Summit in Alamogordo this month. The summit addressed challenges of local food insecurity and affordable housing. Three local food trucks provided lunch in a show of support for the local food economy.

Gabe and Ashlie Myers, the democratic candidate for New Mexico House of Representative District 51 (profile below), hosted a question and answer session. Both emphasized the need to increase child tax credits for working families as a way to decrease rates of childhood poverty.

Their respective opponents in the upcoming general election, Yvette Herrell and John Block, were invited to participate in the summit, but did not attend.

Holy Moly!!

Blue CD2 New Mexico Has Erected 13 Billboards!

Billboards are an excellent way to reach voters, particularly in rural areas. We have the funding to keep the billboards up through the election. They are not all up yet, but will be by Sept. 30. Locations include:

• Albuquerque: 3 boards in the South Valley (English and Spanish)
• Socorro: - A billboard on I 25
• Alamogordo: 2 electronic billboards at the local Walmarts.
• Las Cruces - 2 boards, an electronic billboard on I 25, and another billboard in Vado.
• Silver City - a billboard on the way into town.
• Carlsbad - A billboard on the way into town
• Deming - a billboard on I 10
• Lordsburg - 2 billboards erected with the help of Indivisible Sandoval County, Indivisible SOS (Santa Fe), and Indivisible Albuquerque. THANK YOU!!!

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

Next General Meeting :

October 14, 2024

6:30 - 8:00 PM MDT

From Our Supporters Near Taos

We’ve written over 16,000 GOTV letters to the swing states! Five weeks remain before we mail on October 24. Participation has been so good we've added a second session. Keep the momentum rolling by joining us at our letter writing parties:

Mondays 10 AM-1

Wednesdays 1-4 PM  

     Taos Democratic HQ 

729-A Paseo del Pueblo Sur

Taos

We supply pre-printed letters, envelopes, stamps, blue pens and snacks. Let’s make the future we want!

Spotlight on

Ashlie Myers, Candidate

NM House District 51

Ashlie Myers is a single mother raising three children in Alamogordo, where she herself grew up. She was a military wife and graduated from NMSU where she studied justice, political philosophy and law. She graduated with a degree in paralegal studies. 

Improving education is a priority for her. She thinks that "our teachers need more support, less administrative tape and better access to current technology." She has been endorsed by the New Mexico chapters of both the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. She has also been endorsed by Many Hands Action, as one of their "Food and Housing Champions" as has Gabe Vasquez. 

Ashlie is running for state house representative because she believes in the power of community, empathy, and positive change. "Together, we can address these critical issues, support those in need, and build a stronger, more resilient district for all. I love my community and believe we deserve better."

To find out more or to support her campaign, see her website.

Special Fundraising Event!

A Blue Haven

How Red State Abortion Bans Affect New Mexico

Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 6 PM MDT

Register to Attend

“Red state politics bleed into every blue state in the country.”

– Jess Piper, Director for Blue Missouri and host of the podcast, “Dirt Road Democrat”

Join our panelists, an abortion clinic founder, a reproductive rights advocate, an Ob/Gyn and family planning doctor, and the NM Director of Surgical Services for Planned Parenthood, for a deep dive into the abortion scene in New Mexico and beyond.

New Mexico is a blue haven in a wilderness of red states.

In the year after the Dobbs decision, abortions in New Mexico have more than tripled. ​In 2023, seventy percent of all abortions in New Mexico were provided to patients from Texas. 

Our panelists will discuss how the increased caseload affects reproductive care for New Mexicans, what women lose when they lose access to abortion, and what could change in New Mexico if Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez loses his re-election bid to fetal personhood advocate Yvette Herrell.

Register to Attend

Meet Our Panel:

Jessica Piper - Executive Director of Blue Missouri

Jess is a fierce advocate for rural communities, public schools and reproductive rights. She was an American literature teacher for 16 years and decided to run for a legislative seat in Missouri’s state House in 2022. Although she lost the race, she continues her activism.

She is the Executive Director of Blue Missouri and writes a substack called "The View from Rural Missouri."

Shannon Brewer, Executive Director Las Cruces Women’s Health Organization

Shannon Brewer worked nearly half her life at what became Mississippi’s last abortion clinic — whose lawsuit against a statewide ban at 15 weeks prompted the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision eradicating Roe v. Wade. As a result, her clinic closed its doors for good and she moved to Las Cruces, N.M., about 40 miles north of El Paso, because of its proximity to Texas and its lack of abortion care. Her clinic, the Las Cruces Women’s Health Organization has now been up and running for two years.

Eve Espey, MD MPH Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Ob/Gyn and Family Planning fellowship Director at UNM

Dr. Espey’s long and distinguished career dedicated to improving women’s healthcare in NM includes directing projects to reduce maternal mortality and to implement postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception in hospitals. The main focus of her clinical practice is family planning. Dr. Espy has published numerous articles on contraception, abortion, and medical education. In 2015, she addressed the United Nations on intimate partner violence against Native American women.

Sue Steketee - Former Director of Surgery, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

​​Sue has been involved in abortion care in New Mexico for over 25 years. She was trained as a teacher and taught for 10 years. She spent several years involved in small businesses.

In 1989 Sue became the Executive Director of a nonprofit, Abortion and Pregnancy Testing Clinic. In 1996, following arson attacks, APT merged with Planned Parenthood. Sue worked for 20 years in various positions at Planned Parenthood, including as the director of NM Surgical Services for Planned Parenthood.

Sue will share the post-Roe impacts on abortion care in New Mexico.

About Blue CD2 New Mexico:

Our mission is persuading voters to re-elect U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat. We were successful targeting the “high-hanging fruit” — the reluctant voters who are hard to reach — and getting them to the polls for Vasquez’s tight 2022 win. And we’re working hard this fall to double the 2022 Democratic turnout. Learn more about us here.

You won't want to miss this event! It's free to attend, but we hope you will consider a donation.

Thursday, September 26 - 6 PM MDT 

Register to AttendVisit Our Website

August 2024, Volume 1, Issue 8

Two New Blue CD2 Web Pages:

Five Reasons to Vote for Gabe

Project 2025 

The new pages provide detailed information on our candidate in the upcoming election and on MAGA's plan to seize power and give extremists control over your life. You'll want these pages when you're canvassing or just talking with others about what is at stake in this election. Both pages provide links to additional resources.

Five Reasons to Vote for Gabe

1 Gabe delivers for New Mexico

Millions of dollars for infrastructure improvements, social

services, law enforcement, education, and the environment

2. He votes to protects our rights and freedoms

Reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, Social Security

and the Affordable Care Act

3. Gabe is a common sense law maker

Public lands in public hands, local medical care for rural veterans, five bills for a comprehensive border policy, joint force to combat opioid trafficking, expanding regional airports and so much more

4. He puts people over politics

Constituent services, help with federal agencies and tax refunds, community forums to learn about constituent concerns

5. Great groups and great people endorse Gabe

Community Leaders, the press, senators and representatives

For full information, see the Gabe page on the Blue CD 2 website.

Project 2025

Trump's Project 2025 plan is an unprecedented attack on American values that would deeply and negatively affect you and those you love. 

From banning abortion and IVF, to replacing career federal civil servants like intelligence officers, engineers, and federal prosecutors with inexperienced Trump loyalists, Project 2025 would fundamentally alter government, remove checks and balances, and give Trump powers no president before has ever had.

If the plan is enacted, here is a sampling of what it would do:

• Take away reproductive rights
• Get rid of the Department of Education
• End Head Start
• End free school meals
• Divert public funds to private schools, including religious schools, with the ultimate goal of ending public education
• End the separation of church and state, including directing federal funds to support a "biblically-based" definition of family.
• Cut Medicare and Medicaid
• Allow employers to stop paying overtime
• Slash veterans' benefits
• Put the Justice Department and FBI under presidential control
• End programs that address climate change.
• Get rid of NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service
• Mass deportation of immigrants
• Slash or end LGBTQ rights

For more on Project 2025, including links to a searchable version of the document itself, and several reliable summaries, click on Blue CD 2's Project 2025 page.

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

The next General Meeting will be:

September 9, 2024

6:30 - 8:00 PM MDT

Guest Speaker

Sue Steketee

on abortion care and reproductive rights

Adopt a CD 2

High School

Learn how to support student-led registration drives

Upcoming Events

Party with a Purpose

Protecting our Environment

September 16, 6 PM MDT

Join us for a discussion of the status of key environmental issues in New Mexico's Congressional District 2 and what actions Gabe Vasquez is taking to address them. Wendy Brown, wildlife biologist and long time conservationist in New Mexico, is our host.

Register

Reproductive Rights Event

House Party

Late September TBD

This event is still coming together, but promises to be very informative. New Mexico has become a haven for women in need of abortion care who live in states that have banned or severely limited abortion. How is that affecting us, and how can we plan for the future? More on this soon.

Youth Voter Registration

Adopt a CD 2 High School

What? Adult volunteers needed to work with high school seniors.  Student volunteers can get a $150 Gift Card!  The majority of young voters support Democratic policies

Who? You? Blue CD2 NM is helping to recruit residents of NMCD2 to register High School Seniors in NMCD2. This statewide, non-partisan Voter Registration project is aligned with the innovative Civics Center initiative. Voter registration aligns with BlueCD2's mission.

More Info? Come hear the presentation at our September 9 general meeting, and/or read the explanatory document which includes the project contact information.

Important Dates:

September 23 Drive must be completed for qualified student leaders to obtain gift card

October 7 CD 2 Registration drive ends

October 8 Last day to register online

November 5 General Election. Same day registration available at polling locations.

Sue Steketee has been involved in abortion care for over 25 years. She was trained as a teacher and taught for ten years. She spent several years involved in small businesses. In 1989 Sue became the Executive Director of a nonprofit, Abortion and Pregnancy Testing Clinic. In 1996, following arsons, APT merged with Planned Parenthood. Sue worked for 20 years in various positions at Planned Parenthood.

Gabe is working hard for CD 2

Last week, along with the rest of the New Mexico delegation, Gabe announced

• that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $191,000 in funding for New Mexico to protect children from lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities.
• that $16.6 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was awarded to organizations in New Mexico that are helping U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintain order at the border by assisting asylum seekers who are lawfully processed into the United States.

The funding includes:

Over $15 million for the Border Servant Corps in Las Cruces

Almost $1 million for the El Calvario Methodist Church in Las Cruces, and

Over $5 million for the City of Albuquerque.

INTERESTED IN WRITING GET-OUT-THE-VOTE-POSTCARDS?

Our Fall GOTV campaign starts in September. If you're already on a postcard team, no need to respond. BUT, if you are new to postcarding with us and want to join up, please contact one of our two postcard organizers, and give us your address so we can hook you up with the right team.

Albuquerque area -- Kay Monaco

kaymonaco@msn.com, 505-350-2765 

Rest of New Mexico -- Marti Burt

martibluecd2@gmail.com, 240-604-6799

General Meeting Notice

General Membership Meeting

Monday, August 12, 2024

6:30 - 8:00 PM

Working Session

Our plans for the rest of the year, A DEM candidate in a critical race in Otero County, Bernalillo County, use your birthday to help us!

August completes our Voter Registration Campaign and We're Getting Out the Vote in September.

Our Voter Registration Campaign launched on July 1 and has been building awareness ever since. Our original campaign included 96,000 postcards, programmatic ads to 20,000 people, social media on multiple college campuses and texting.

Now with our volunteer postcarders sending the extra misprinted cards out to a new audience - we've added approximately 5,000 NEW unregistered people to this effort.

In September, we'll start our GOTV campaign (which runs through to the election) by reminding people about early voting and helping them use our new BLUE VOTER GUIDE to see their actual ballots.

Extra Postcards - There's still time! - speaking of those cards, we still have 7,500 or so of 4 different voter registration postcards in Spanglish. We need volunteers to write in addresses and put stamps on them. These don't need a message written. Sending these cards has seriously expanded our reach for voter registration. Since they are voter registration cards, they can be sent right up to the election. So, if you aren't already involved in postcarding - or know groups looking for cards to send, please let us know: at bluecd2nmpostcards@gmail.com.

Becky Corran - The threat to LGBTQ rights from a Trump-Vance administration.

Becky Corran is an advocate and educator serving Las Cruces with an emphasis on equity, access and health. On the Las Cruces City Council she has championed housing, transit and sustainability. Becky is also a Professor of Public Health at Doña Ana Community College, with a focus on personal and community health. In her twenty years as a public health professional and advocate, she has worked with diverse communities and has served on many non-profit boards.

Wednesday - Aug.14 - 6 PM MDT A BLUE WAVE RISING FUNDRAISER

with David Callahan, Diane Denish and Simon Rosenberg.

Ride the Rising Blue Wave

Find out how we'll flip the House and keep the Senate in this fast-paced discussion with 3 Democratic activists.

Join us for a thoughtful conversation with former NM Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Simon Rosenberg and David Callahan about taking back the House — and why keeping U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez in Congress is crucial.

Things have changed, so don't miss this event!

Since we have new Democratic candidates at the top of the ticket, can we expect Kamala Harris to energize the electorate in our favor? How do we leverage Project 2025 to reach centrists and even moderate Republicans? Learn more. 

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Project 2025 -

What It Is and How We Will Counter it

Messaging Committee Chair Sally Davis will speak about Trump's Project 2025 plan. An unprecedented attack on American values, it will deeply and negatively affect you and those you love. 

From banning abortion and IVF, to replacing career federal civil servants like intelligence officers, engineers, and federal prosecutors with inexperienced Trump loyalists, it will fundamentally alter government, remove checks and balances, and give Trump powers no president before has ever had. Learn what it is, how we can counter it and do the work to defeat Trump-Vance.

It's also an important tool we can use to break through to moderate Republicans and right-leaning Independents.

Agenda:

1. Land Acknowledgements
2. Welcome
3. LGBTQ Rights Under Trump - Becky Corran
4. Project 2025 - What It Is and How We Can Use It - Sally Davis
5. Postcards - What We're Doing Now and What's Happening in the Fall - Marti Burt
6. A Rising Wave in New Mexico Fundraiser - Kim Melton

Call to Action - WE NEED YOUR HELP, even just an hour or two a month! 

 Sign up here.

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It would be very helpful if members donated to us on a monthly basis. If enough people were to give $5, $10 or $15 a month, that would help us meet ongoing expenses and fund our campaigns to register people and get them to the polls. You can donate here, and thanks!

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Busy Month for Blue CD2! 

This month Blue CD2 NM:

• Held a wildly successful "Love Who You Love Party with a Purpose" and kicked off our fundraising for a big GOTV push in the fall. Many thanks to speaker Pat Davis, and hosts Lynn Trojahn, Brian Colon, and Rochelle Williams. Thanks especially to ALL of our donors and to Steve Brockett who provided $1,500 in challenge funds and Lynn Trojahn who met it to reach our goal!

• Began planning a second billboard, which will be in Deming on Interstate 10. Our first billboard (shown) outside Las Cruces, also on I-10, will continue to be up through the election!
• Our wonderful postcarders finished the first batch of cards which will be mailed on July 1. The postcarders will do a second batch of cards to go out at the end of August, and in the interim our target audience will receive four additional postcards mailed by a mailing house. There will be a second postcard campaign focusing on GOTV in September and October.
• Continued to expand the free video and graphics content on the Blue CD 2 website. This content is available for you to use and share widely. Check it out.

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

The next General Meeting will be:

July 8, 2024

6:30 - 8:00 PM MDT

Meet the candidate: Ashlie Meyers, NM

HD 51 Otero County candidate will speak.

Focus on Bernalillo County - John Simmons.

Upcoming Events

A Rising Force for Good

Fundraiser with Jessica Craven- Chop Wood, Carry Water and Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition Newsletter. Two nationally known commentators with large followings will discuss holding the House with districts like CD2.

More info/register

July 10 - 6 PM MDT

Fundraiser with Simon Rosenberg of The Hopium Chronicles, Diane Denish, former NM Lieutenant Governor and David Callahan of Blue Tent. These strategists will discuss holding and flipping swing district house seats.

Sure to be riveting!

August 14 - 6 PM MDT

And Gabe has been busy too:l

• VETERANS. Gabe's bipartisan Veteran Medical Exams for Distant Areas Act will ensure that rural veterans have continued and reliable access to certified health care providers for required disability claim examinations. His Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act would increase the stipend to buy books and other supplies for veterans pursuing continued education.
• WILDFIRES. Gabe travelled to Mescalero and Tularosa to help distribute resources to those affected by the South Fork and Salt Fires. He and the NM delegation were successful in getting Otero and Lincoln Counties and the Mescalero Apache Tribe included in the major disaster declaration. Gabe's House website has an entire page dedicated to wildfire resources.
• RECA. He is working to extend the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act (RECA) and to include New Mexicans in it. RECA expired this month after Republican leadership refused to bring extension to a vote. Gabe is continuing to push for passage of RECA and to include New Mexicans.
• LAW ENFORCEMENT and INFRASTRUCTURE. Gabe announced nearly $40 million in Community Project Funding requests for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District in Fiscal Year 2025. The proposed projects focuses on issues ranging from public safety investments, including renovations to the Carlsbad main police station, to infrastructure improvements on roads and wastewater facilities.

CD 2 has an area of over 51,000 square miles. The State of Pennsylvania has an area of just over 46,000 square miles.

New Mexico is the fifth largest state by area, 36th in population, and 46th in population density. Conversely, Pennsylvania is the fifth largest state by population.

Busy Month for CD 2 ! 

This month Blue CD2 NM:

• Held an environmental Party with a Purpose and raised $3200 to date. Thanks to speaker Dr. Ray Powell, former NM Land Commissioner and hosts Jeff and Donna Swanson. And we'd love to reach our full goal of $5000 . Please donate!

• Put the finishing touches on our Voter Registration Campaign for the summer. Starting in July, we'll be sending nearly 100,000 postcards (in Spanglish), running programmatic ads to 20,000 people, texting and advertising through Facebook and Instagram on the college campuses in the District. Plus, we have a billboard in Las Cruces paid for through the election!
• Activated a Membership Committee headed by Kathy Roark-Diehl, Professor Emerita at New Mexico State University, Alamogordo. Kathy will also be planning the CD 2 General Meetings.
• Greatly expanded the free video and graphics content on the Blue CD 2 website. This content is available for you to use and share widely. Check it out.

Share Our Newsletter!

You can help us by sharing this information widely and countering the MAGA Republican narrative. Please forward our newsletter to your friends and family. If they would like get our newsletter and invitations to events, they can sign up here. We welcome your questions and suggestions here: bluecd2newmexico@gmail.com.

Save The Date

The next General Meeting will be:

June 10, 2024

6:30 - 8:00 PM MDT

Speaker: Tarin Nix, Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs, NM State Land Office.

The importance of keeping public lands both public and healthy.

Meet the candidate: Ashlie Meyers, NM

HD 51 Otero County candidate will speak.

Focus on Bernalillo County - John Simmons.

Upcoming Events

Love Who You Love Party with a Purpose - Brian Colon and Lynn Trojahn - June 12,

6 pm MDT.

Fundraiser with Jessica Craven - Chop Wood, Carry Water and Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition Newsletter. Two nationally known commentators with large followings will (tentatively) discuss holding the House with districts like CD2. Don't miss this one!

July 10 - 6 PM MDT

And Gabe has been busy too:l

• He stood up against cuts to food assistance to ensure that the one in five New Mexican households that rely on SNAP are able to feed their families. He opposed House Republicans’ partisan, anti-nutrition Farm Bill. Republicans chose to cut food assistance programs by more than $30 billion nationwide, despite the bipartisan work in other areas of the Farm Bill. Gabe successfully secured several bipartisan Farm Bill provisions that support New Mexico’s agricultural industry.
• He joined Senator Ben Ray Luján, Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, Representative Melanie Stansbury and bipartisan members of the House in calling on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to allow a vote on the extension and amendment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). The US Senate has approved the New Mexico downwinders' inclusion in the RECA amendment.
• He delivered $6.9 Million to Alburquerque Public Schools to purchase 20 Electric Buses. This funding is a critical step towards supporting our environment and ensuring a healthier future for our children,” Gabe said. “Pollution levels inside school buses are often higher than outside, posing a significant health risk to our kids. This is precisely why I introduced the Clean School Bus Infrastructure Act”.

Tarin Nix

has served as the Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs at the NM State Land Office since 2019 under the direction of Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard. For over a decade, Tarin has owned and operated a NM consulting firm that oversees political campaigns, issue-advocacy campaigns and policy initiatives. Tarin served as Chief Analyst for the New Mexico State House Education Committee. She received her B.A. in political science and women's studies from the University of Alabama. She received her MSW with a dual specialization in public policy and nonprofit management from the University of Texas in Austin. 

New Mexico has 16.68 million acres of forestland, almost the same size as the entire state of West Virginia.

NM CD 2 has more than 5.6 million acres of forestland, including all or parts of the Apache, Coronado, Cibola, Gila and Lincoln National Forests. Gabe recently voted to protect these lands with funding for fire departments across the district.