.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small had more money in her war chest than any congressional candidate in New Mexico heading into 2020.

And that includes Democratic Senate candidate Ben Ray Luján.

The first-term Democrat had $2.3 million cash on hand at the end of 2019, easily outpacing her nearest potential Republican rival by $1.7 million in the 2nd Congressional District. Luján – who represents the 3rd Congressional District – had more than $2 million at the end of the year for his bid for the Senate. Former CIA operative Valerie Plame, a Democrat, had the most cash on hand in the crowded 3rd Congressional District race with more than $586,000. Democratic U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland had the most cash on hand in the 1st Congressional District race with almost $264,000.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip

................................................................

Torres Small reported raising nearly $2.6 million in 2019 in filings with the Federal Election Commission. The deadline for the end of the year filing was Friday.

“This campaign is about serving the people of southern New Mexico,” Torres Small’s campaign manager Helen Smith said. “Xochitl Torres Small is delivering for New Mexico, and our strong grassroots support from across the district shows that New Mexicans know that.”

Roswell oil and gas executive Claire Chase was Torres Small’s nearest Republican competitor in the state’s southernmost congressional district. She reported raising nearly $780,000 since entering the race in the fall and had more than $588,000 cash on hand. Former State Rep. Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo reported raising almost $630,000 and had almost $464,000 cash on hand. Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys had more than $200,000 cash on hand.

Torres Small raised more than $648,000 during the final quarter of the year. She received almost $513,000 in individual donations and almost $137,000 in political action committee money. According to the FEC, she received more than $327,000 from contributions of $200 or less.

Her campaign said she received 11,000 contributions of $100 or less during the last cycle, with the majority coming from New Mexicans.

Chase again led the Republicans in the race during the final quarter. She raised more than $261,000 in the final three months of the year. But that represented a more than $240,000 drop from the previous quarter. She received more than $247,000 in individual contributions and $18,500 in PAC money. Chased received almost $8,200 in donations of $200 or less.

“We are honored by the outpouring of support from across New Mexico for Claire’s candidacy.” Chase’s campaign manager Mike Berg said. “It should surprise no one that New Mexicans are showing a clear preference for a conservative political outsider like Claire over a failed career politician like Yvette Herrell.”

Chase’s campaign said 60% of her contributions came from New Mexico residents.

Herrell’s campaign reported raising more than $188,000 in net contributions during the quarter. More than $16,000 came from PAC funding. She has received almost $121,500 in donations of $200 or less.

“Yvette continues to demonstrate tremendous momentum in this race by raising nearly $200,000 and reporting over $460,000 cash on hand, in addition to landing endorsements from national conservative leaders like (Ohio) Rep. Jim Jordan and (former Arkansas) Gov. Mike Huckabee,” campaign manager Dakotah Parshall said.

Mathys reported $1,850 in individual donations. The majority of his campaign funding has come from personal loans.

“I am the only candidate that has not accepted contributions from out-of-state donors,” he said. “We are focused on a grassroots campaign with the goal of meeting every voter in every county in the district.”