Five liberal candidates relying on same strategist

May 23—Campaign managers were political stars on The West Wing television series. The real world is different, though an exception might be brewing.

Most voters in New Mexico don't know Neri Holguin. That's understandable. Her name isn't on the ballot, and her work is done backstage.

But Holguin might prove to be the most influential person in the June 4 Democratic primary election.

She is running the campaigns of five liberal candidates for seats in the state Legislature. All of her clients are women. Only one is an incumbent, and she received her seat by appointment.

Holguin says her candidates should win every election. If she gets the sweep she covets, she will have nudged the state further left while unseating three incumbent Democrats and taking away a Senate seat now held by a Republican.

The race in House District 70 pits Holguin's candidate, Anita Gonzales, against Rep. Ambrose Castellano, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the 112-member Legislature.

Castellano's campaign was wounded after the state placed a $75,000 tax lien on his construction business in Santa Fe. He represents parts of San Miguel and Torrance counties.

Castellano has other troubles. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham contributed $5,500 to Gonzales' campaign, and Lujan Grisham is stumping for the challenger.

Still, history and the clout of incumbency cannot be ignored. Castellano twice in the last four years defeated Gonzales in close primary elections. Holguin, though, didn't work for Gonzales in those races.

A wealthy Republican is indirectly assisting Castellano. Oil magnate Harvey Yates is the largest contributor to the political action committee New Mexico Turn Around, which is slamming Gonzales in advertisements.

Yates is making Holguin's work easier. In a primary of Democratic voters, one of New Mexico's rock-ribbed Republicans stands with Castellano.

Albuquerque's Senate District 13 is home to Holguin's best-known candidate, Debbie O'Malley. She hopes to oust liberal three-term Sen. Bill O'Neill.

The district was reshaped after the last census, eliminating part of O'Neill's base. Many of the changes favor fellow progressive O'Malley, who previously served as an Albuquerque city councilor and a Bernalillo County commissioner. Holguin says O'Malley is positioned to take the seat.

"All I know is we will find out," said O'Neill, who's high-profile supporters include the leading liberal of the state Senate, Jerry Ortiz y Pino.

Senate District 30, now represented by a Republican, is an open seat after the bumbling GOP failed to field a candidate.

Holguin's contender is Angel Charley, formerly executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women.Charley is running against former two-term Sen. Clemente Sanchez. He is attempting a comeback after a losing the Democratic primary four years ago.

District 30 covers parts of Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Socorro and Valencia counties. Redrawn since Sanchez's terms, District 30 now has more Democratic voters.

Sanchez might have had a better chance running as a Republican. He stuck with the Democratic Party even after its liberal wing turned against him. His votes to retain a 1969 law criminalizing abortion were the pivotal issue.

Sanchez still has a base, notably because of his leadership in routing more federal pass-through money to schools on tribal lands. Those schools had been shortchanged in state budgeting for many years.

In Senate District 15 in Albuquerque, Holguin is managing Heather Berghmans in her race against three-term Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto.

Holguin has kept Ivey-Soto on the defensive because of complaints against him by women who say he sexually harassed or harangued them with rude comments.

Ivey-Soto says he never touched or pursued any woman against her will, demonstrating why he was never disciplined by the Senate.

He admitted to me two years ago that he was inappropriate in referring to two female lobbyists as "Hips and Lips." He stole the phrase from a movie and said he regrets doing so.

Many sitting lawmakers have donated to Berghmans' campaign. Ivey-Soto also has received contributions from fellow legislators, including Democratic Sens. Linda Lopez, Liz Stefanics, Brenda McKenna and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez.

Holguin's fifth and final client this cycle is Rep. Yanira Gurrola, the incumbent by appointment in Albuquerque's House District 16.

Gurrola is being challenged by Marsella Duarte, who served as the appointed representative of District 16 for two weeks at the end of 2022.

As the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners became more liberal on the first day of 2023, it replaced Duarte with Gurrola.

Holguin usually manages three candidates per election. This round, her stable of five might shake up state politics.

A sweep for Holguin wouldn't make every seat more liberal. O'Neill and Ivey-Soto have a history of voting for progressive causes, such as expunction of certain criminal records.

The bigger difference would be in gender. Men now outnumber women in the state Senate 32-10.

If Team Holguin runs the table, three women would replace male senators. A 30% gain in one night sounds like a teleplay straight from The West Wing.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.