By Elise Kaplan, City Desk ABQ – It’s Sean Ward’s first time attending the Democratic National Convention but his vintage lewk is what really stole the show.
“Pretty sure this New Mexico delegate has been underground since the ‘68 convention,” the editor of an elections analysis website wrote on social media.
“Is there a time traveler in the New Mexico delegation” asked the host of a political YouTube channel.
In an interview with City Desk ABQ the mustachioed executive director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico reflected on his quasi-viral moment and twice side-stepped questions about whether he was indeed a time traveler, quipping instead “I was surprised that they swapped out Jimmy Carter at this convention.”
Ward, who was hired to his current role in 2021, said he has sported his facial-hair style for a long time and “the mustache and I are best friends.”
“Sometimes I have a beard,” he added. “But, you know, the mustache — there are very few people who can pull it off so I’ve got to embrace it.”
When asked for the secret to such luscious whiskers, Ward said you have to “take it seriously” and “keep it moisturized.” He even makes his own beard oil out of cocoa butter, jojoba oil and argan oil and a little bit of coconut oil.
“Maybe I should sell my own line now,” he joked.
While Ward has been making what he describes as “sardine content” on TikTok for a few years, he did not have an account on X until yesterday. It’s @AbqTimeTraveler, for those who are curious.
“They created an account for me — the youthful delegates took my phone and ran with it,” he said.
Overall, Ward said his time representing New Mexico at the convention has been a lot of fun.
“I think I slept two hours last night but, you know, you don’t need sleep,” he said, his voice hoarse from singing Boyz II Men. “Everyone’s just running on adrenaline. It’s a blast to be with so many good Democrats and have this excitement.”
Plus the viral New Mexico moment means his phone has been blowing up nonstop since he appeared in the crowd of delegates as party chair Jessica Velasquez cast the state’s 45 votes for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
“I’m obviously here for work, and so I was trying to coordinate stuff, and everyone just started texting me, like, ‘Oh my God. I saw you on TV,’” Ward recounted. “Then a few minutes later, it’s like, ‘Oh my God. Have you seen Twitter yet?’ People I haven’t talked to in years were like, ‘I just saw you on the TV.’”
This story originally appeared at City Desk ABQ, a new nonprofit news outlet covering local politics and government at citydesk.org