Former House member Trujillo dwarfs opponents' fundraising in race for Senate District 24

Apr. 8—Four years ago, Linda Trujillo gave up her seat in the state House of Representatives months before the end of her second term as she and her husband dealt with financial constraints born out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Money no longer seems to be a problem as Trujillo, now retired and living off a government pension, makes a run for an open seat in the state Senate that is among the most-watched races of the primary season.

Trujillo dwarfed her competitors in the first round of fundraising leading up to the June primary, according to campaign finance reports due Monday.

Trujillo reported raising nearly $47,000, or almost four times more than her closest competitor in the three-way race for Senate District 24 in Santa Fe. Her fundraising haul includes a little over $7,800 she personally loaned her campaign.

"We paid for some expenses before money started coming in," said Trujillo, a former Santa Fe school board member who retired as superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department late last year.

She said she and her husband both worked during the legislative session to fund a planned trip to Spain.

"I'm not sure that Spain trip is going to happen [because of the campaign], but that gave us the resources that we were able to get ourselves off the ground," she said.

After about $2,900 in expenditures, Trujillo reported $44,000 cash on hand — far more than the two other Democrats hoping to succeed Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, who is retiring after nearly three decades in the Legislature.

No Republican is running for the seat, which means the winner of the June primary is a shoo-in in November.

Anna Hansen, a term-limited Santa Fe County commissioner, raised about $12,800 and spent nearly $1,200, leaving her with about $11,400.

Veronica Krupnick, a legislative analyst who was the last to jump into the race, reported $2,375 in contributions and $300 in expenditures, leaving her with a cash balance of $2,075.

Krupnick's donors include Adam Fulton Johnson, one of three candidates running to represent District 4 on the Santa Fe County Commission, and Santa Fe City Councilor Alma Castro. They contributed $50 apiece.

"I haven't chosen to do any formal endorsements in the race; I actually know everyone that's running," Castro said.

"Veronica is a good friend of mine, and she has good politics, so I will do what I can to make sure we have good representation here in Nuevo México," she added.

Krupnick said she hopes to win the "most improved award" by the next filing deadline.

"We haven't had my campaign kickoff yet, and so that will happen in the near future, and we have a very busy fundraising schedule now through the end of May," she said, adding she appreciates the support she has received so far.

Hansen said she's not worried about Trujillo's fundraising lead.

"I feel like I've just really started three weeks ago," she said, noting Rodriguez's decision not to seek reelection caught many by surprise. "When I call, people are always ready and willing to donate, so it just means I have more to do."

Hansen said her fundraising goal is $50,000, which is $3,000 short of what Trujillo raised in the first campaign reporting period.

"Thank you for telling me," Hansen said.

Asked whether voters should reelect a lawmaker who didn't serve the entirety of their term, Hansen said she wasn't going to throw Trujillo "under the bus."

"I don't need to do that," she said. "I'm well-known in the community. I have a good reputation, and half of this district that I'm running in is my commission district, and people know what I've done. ... I have a record to run on that I'm proud of."

Hansen said she was happy Trujillo "had the opportunity to get a job" when struggling financially during the pandemic.

"I mean, she has connections, and she was able to find a place for her to land," she said.

Trujillo said she held onto her House seat as long as she could. At the time, she was working as an attorney for an Albuquerque law firm and had to cut back her work hours by 25% because of her commitment to the Legislature. Then her husband was furloughed by the city of Santa Fe due to pandemic-related budget issues. Though they were getting by, Trujillo said she and her husband were concerned about his future in city government.

"He was our breadwinner; he was our health insurance," she said.

"Now we're both, you know, nicely retired," she added. "We have dependable incomes. We have dependable health insurance, so really that's what's changed."

Donors to her campaign include a number of lobbyists and several current and former lawmakers.

Alex Curtas, a spokesman for the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office, said candidates had until 5 p.m. Monday to file their first primary reports.

"If they don't file [by the 5 p.m. deadline], they're going to start accruing $50-a-day fines starting tomorrow up to $5,000," he said.

A number of candidates' campaign finance reports did not appear on the Secretary of State Office's website by 5 p.m. Monday.

Curtas said employees were "very busy" helping candidates or their representatives with all the intricacies of the filing process.

"But everything seems to be going very well, very smoothly," he said around noon. "The staff is busy all day and even after close of business, but it's obviously a really important process."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.