Want create site? Find Free WordPress Themes and plugins.

It seems the District 24 representative seat in New Mexico has changed hands and it’s vapers that made the swing possible. Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Thomson lost the seat to Republican Conrad James by less than 400 votes according to local reports. Apparently a last minute push by local vapers against Thomson for her anti-vaping views made all the difference.

You can read more about the results here.

It sounds like Thomson (pictured below on the right) is one of the many classic anti-smoking advocates which can’t seem to accept vaping. She co-chairs the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee there and has been pushing for harsh regulations on electronic cigarettes. That led to some vapers seeking local and even national support for James in the recent election.

James (pictured on the left) had the seat once before, but lost it to Thomson 2 years ago.

Thomson spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about the loss saying that vapers probably didn’t make a huge difference. But on the topic of e-cigs, she said, “My gut is that they’re probably not as dangerous as regular cigarettes, but we don’t have the science to prove that, and I go on science.” If that’s so, and there is no science, then on what science is Thomson basing her suggestions that e-cigs be regulated?

Though Thomson was not at the most recent meeting of the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee, the group did decide to push for a tax on electronic cigarettes along with an age restrictive provision. This is likely to be in line with Thomson’s views on the products.

With this win (and others), republican representatives now outweigh democratic reps in the state house.

According to the Journal, Thomson raised at least $176,000 while James raised something closer to $125,000 for his race. It seems vapers really can make quite a difference.