Democrats don’t have much good to say about “Amarillo†Steve Pearce, but they will miss him.
Pearce dozed, dawdled and helped keep New Mexico blue during his run as chairman of the state Republican Party. GOP insiders could hardly have selected a more disorganized leader than Pearce.
A vivid example this year was how he ceded control of a legislative seat Republicans held.
Sen. Joshua Sanchez, R-Bosque, was the incumbent in District 30. Devious redistricting by majority Democrats in the state Legislature moved Sanchez’s neighborhood into a different district for this year’s election.
Even casual followers of state politics knew District 30 had become an open seat. Pearce nonetheless failed to recruit a Republican candidate from any of the district’s five counties.
Democrat Angel Charley won the District 30 seat without opposition in the general election. Give Pearce the assist for jump-starting Charley’s career in politics.
Sanchez will remain in the Senate, but one of the better-known Republicans is gone because of the fallout.
Democrats used redistricting to shift Sanchez into bright-red District 29. It was represented by Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen.
Baca declined to run against a fellow Republican. He resigned from the Senate weeks before his term would have ended in January.
Pearce’s record as chairman ends on other flat notes for Republicans, especially when placed in historical context.
Twenty years ago, Republicans held one of New Mexico’s two U.S. Senate seats and two of its three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats now control all five seats.
Part of the reason Republicans lost New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in 2022 and again this year is because statehouse Democrats manipulated the boundaries in shameless style. Another reason is because Yvette Herrell, a protégé of Pearce, was the Republican candidate in four consecutive elections.
Under Pearce, Herrell was a Republican star. That’s not saying much. Herrell lost three of the four congressional races.
Pearce failed to develop candidates capable of competing successfully in statewide races or congressional districts.
In an act of desperation, Republicans this year turned to 64-year-old political novice Nella Domenici as their candidate for the U.S. Senate. The daughter of a late senator, Domenici was more recognizable than anyone on the Republican roster.
She ran the timid campaign of a rookie. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received 17,000 more votes in New Mexico than she did.
The beneficiary was Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich. He coasted to a third term, defeating Domenici by 91,000 votes.
Democrats also are more dominant in state government than they were before Pearce’s election as Republican chairman.
Pearce himself lost the election for governor in 2018. Republican Susana Martinez had held the state’s top office for eight years.
Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Pearce and won reelection in 2022. Her Republican opponent the second time was television weatherman Mark Ronchetti. His presence at the top of the ticket was another example of the Republicans’ empty bench.
One reason Republicans didn’t perform well in ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, Albuquerque and other cities was Pearce demanded they be part of a monolith.
One well-spoken Republican officeholder faced Pearce’s wrath after the lawmaker supported a bill Pearce detested.
Then-Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell voted in 2021 to repeal a 52-year-old law that criminalized abortion. Anderson followed his conscience. Pearce’s response was to call for Anderson’s resignation.
Anderson remained in the Legislature for a time, though he switched parties, from Republican to independent. He did not seek reelection in 2022.
Reasoned and affable, Anderson had the skills to help on tax bills and other measures to make New Mexico more attractive to businesses. Pearce judged him unfit for office because of disagreement on one issue.
Anderson, Democratic lawmakers and Lujan Grisham struck down the old anti-abortion law. They acted a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.
Democrats kept a solid hold on the state Legislature while Pearce prattled about turning New Mexico red.
The Senate was under Democratic control, 26-16, before Pearce became Republican chairman. The numbers next year will be the same.
In the House of Representatives, Democrats had a 46-24 advantage before Pearce took over the GOP. Democrats have a slightly smaller majority heading into next year, 44-26. The gaps remain wide enough that Republicans cannot pass any bills without support from Democrats.
Pearce leaves office this week with his party in disarray. Republicans don’t have any electable candidates preparing for New Mexico’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections of 2026.
Pearce’s pals in the oil patch and other rural areas will praise him for his six years’ service as party chairman. Democrats would have favored a lifetime appointment.
