ALBUQUERQUE, AUGUST 19 — The following is Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce’s statement on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s speech at the Democratic National Convention:
“Gov. Lujan Grisham took to the national stage and again distorted what’s really happening in New Mexico. She talked leadership and renewable energy achievements, while turning a blind eye to New Mexico. She ignored discussing her energy plan already put into law that will devastate New Mexico’s economy and tax base. What she fails to tell America is that her state consistently relies on the vital oil industry—40% of our state budget—and that this critical industry pays for New Mexico’s education and other important state needs. The left-leaning governor fails to tell America how her recent policies have destroyed New Mexico’s economy, left thousands jobless and permanently closed businesses. The governor fails to acknowledge the sad truth that New Mexico now leads the nation in suicides and alcohol-related deaths and remains last in education. Her policies are leaving shattered lives, hopelessness and an ongoing belief among our young people that they have no future here. This governor glosses over the fact that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have said they’d ban fracking which would kill New Mexico’s economy. While in Congress I watched Democratic Representatives from West Virginia blithely claim, just as our governor has been claiming, that their party wouldn’t kill the coal industry that fed West Virginia. That state has been devastated by Democratic policies that killed the coal industry. New Mexico faces the same bleak future under a Biden-Harris ticket.”