Fresh off garnering some national acclaim, two local Democratic strategists delved into the challenges and strategies facing the Democratic Party.
Michelle Mayorga and Brad Elkins were big winners at the American Association of Political Consultants’ 25th Annual Pollies Conference in Colorado Springs last month.
The New Mexico political consultants were awarded campaign excellence awards, the AAPC’s highest honors.
Elkins won “Democratic Most Valuable Player ” for his work managing both New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich’s re-election campaign and California Senator Adam Schiff’s first Senate run, as well as his work with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) during the 2024 cycle.
Mayorga was recognized as “Democratic Pollster of the Year” for her work helping elect Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. Michelle is the first woman of color to win this award.
Last week, they spoke with nm.news on KKOB FM about the need for Democrats to regain voter trust by delivering on promises and focusing on tangible results.
Mayorga said that while many voters still agree with Democratic stances on issues, a perception exists that the party fails to “get things done.”
“I do want to say that there are still a lot of issues where people agree with Democrats. I think where we have really lost some trust with voters is that voters want you to keep your promises. They want to they want you to do what you say you’re going to do,” Mayorga said. “I think there is really this perception that while we agree with Democrats, we don’t see it getting done. So they really want deliverables.”
Elkins, a seasoned campaign manager, pointed to the cyclical nature of recent elections, with each cycle serving as a “change election.” He argued that voters are eager for government action and accountability from elected officials.
“Every (recent) election has been a referendum on the party that’s been in power and it’s because of the central premise that across the board, Democrat, Republican, people are eager to see government actually do things, and elected officials do the things they that they said they’re going to do. That’s the problem we have to solve,” Elkins said.
Both strategists agreed on the success of New Mexico Democrats in recent elections, attributing it to a focus on local issues and candidates. Mayorga noted that candidates like Sen. Heinrich significantly outperformed national figures like Kamala Harris in the state due to a localized approach.
“I think a lot of it is we are keeping it really local in New Mexico, and our candidates are not nationalizing a lot of these races,” Mayorga said. “We’re not playing into the sort of national rhetoric, and we’re really keeping it local. Martin Heinrich’s first ad was all about his family and New Mexico, and we really, really work to place them in the state and talk about the issues in the state.”
Elkins agreed about the importance of building a candidate’s credentials as a “New Mexican” and highlighting their record of delivering for the state.
“We really built up Martin’s credentials as a senator, Heinrich’s credentials as a New Mexican, and the things he delivered for New Mexico,” Elkins said. “We really painted (Republican opponent Nella) Domenici as someone who has spent most of her life out of state, most of her entire career is out of state. We really hung those national issues that were weighing down Republicans around her neck.”
Elkins and Mayorga also touched on the decline in Democratic support among Hispanic men, particularly those under 30. Mayorga said this trend has been observed over the past decade. Elkins added that Democrats risk losing voters by focusing too much on “the Democratic ecosystem” and not enough on core issues like cost of living and public safety.
Looking ahead, Mayorga and Elkins advised candidates to make specific, actionable promises that can be delivered within a single term. They stressed the importance of visible results that impact people’s daily lives, such as infrastructure projects and improvements to public services.
When asked about the biggest mistake Democrats are making, the discussion turned to internal disagreements and spending significant sums on “trying to figure out how to talk to men.” Elkins suggested a simpler approach: “Buy them a beer.”
Can the Democratic Party get its mojo back from the Barack Obama era in a changing political landscape?
“Obama was cool, and there’s an element to that that can’t be overstated or understated. It was cool to support Barack Obama in 2008, but that waned over time. We’re not the party of Obama anymore,” Elkins said. “So there’s the cool factor, and then there’s the factor, and arguably the even more important one, that we just didn’t deliver on the things that we said we’re going to do. And that’s not to say that we didn’t try, and that we didn’t make some progress. But people want real change.”
It’s not rocket science . The only reason they won was because of the TDS lies that they peddled with megabucks on tv with the blessing of fake news. They brainwashed enough folks to win . But we’re not stupid. We watched our country go down the toilet during Biden’s term . Our reps voted against keeping men out of women’s sports and bathrooms. They fueled inflation , pumped millions of unvetted people into the country, destroyed our military, and promoted resistance to police, etc etc. One of our representatives has made a complete fool of herself multiple times on tv. It’s a sorry state of affairs and frankly embarrassing to be a New Mexican . Flip NM Red !!
The only people with TDS are his supporters. Republicans don’t even know how to govern, and we are all currently witnessing this on an international scale. The projection and mental gymnastics you all engage in is high-level hilarity. Everything ends in excess, and the GoP exemplifies this through their avarice, ineptitude, and malevolence.