Elon Musk’s PAC spends to help Herrell defeat Vasquez
A federal super PAC founded by Elon Musk to promote Donald Trump is apparently extending its reach down ballot into one of New Mexico’s most-contested congressional elections.
Spending reports filed Monday by America PAC disclosed it has spent $86,997 so far this cycle in support of Republican Yvette Herrell, who’s running against Democrat Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District election. The expenditures were made for “canvassing/field operations,” according to the report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Musk announced in June that he would spend $45 million each month until the election to persuade voters to support Trump. His America PAC has reported raising $8.75 million, including donations from the Winkelvoss twins, PayPal founder Kenneth Howry and others, but nothing from Musk himself so far.
The PAC’s entry into competitive U.S. House races was first reported by Punchbowl News, an online outlet covering Capitol Hill. Punchbowl reports that the PAC has set aside $10 million to turn out voters in 14 critical House races around the country. None of their spending supports a Democrat.
GOP adds more registered voters than Dems in New Mexico in August
The total number of new voters in New Mexico registered as Republicans outpaced those joining Democrats in August, registration data from the Secretary of State’s Office shows.
Statewide voter rolls added 4,201 New Mexicans in August. Of those, 1,569 (37%) joined the Republican Party, while 1,062 (25%) joined the Democratic Party. The remainder chose to join minor parties or no party affiliation at all.
Democrats still far outnumber Republicans and others in state party registration, however. Of 1,351,142 New Mexicans registered to vote, 583,129 (43%) were registered as Democrats.
Herrell campaign distances itself from 9/11 conspiracy theorist featured in new ad
A woman appearing in a new political video ad airing this week is coming under fire for other videos she has apparently filmed since.
In a new ad from Yvette Herrell’s campaign for the 2nd Congressional District seat, Albuquerque business owner Candace Baca tells viewers that “costs are rising and Gabe Vasquez is not helping.”
In the days since, she posted videos denying that 9/11 happened and promoting other widely debunked conspiracy theories.
According to Punchbowl News, which first reported the story:
- “If you don’t know the truth about 9/11 by now, you probably still drink tap water,” Baca posted on Sept. 11, the 23rd anniversary of the al-Qaeda attack.
- “100% of people who think jet fuel melts steel beams are vaccinated,” Baca wrote on the same day.
Those posts appear to have been removed by Tuesday afternoon after Punchbowl contacted the Herrell campaign. But in a post that remained from Sept. 10 viewed by City Desk ABQ, Baca posted “Fact checkers can suck an egg.”
A spokesperson told Punchbowl, “These posts were made after the ad was recorded and are clearly not reflective of Yvette Herrell’s views whatsoever.”