GOP organizes for statewide effort in fall

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — The McKinley County Republican Party showed it still has some life in it Saturday at its meeting to select delegates to the state convention on March 15.

About 30 county Republicans, along with a mixture of candidates and their staff, showed up for the meeting in the historic courtroom in the old county courthouse.

The six, who were selected party by lot, are Mike Lunnon, Chuck Wade, Bea Woodward, Donna Jacobs, Andrew Bradley and Nancy Wade.

Lunnon, who is the party’s county chairman, told the others that they would have to pay their own expenses, including a $40 registration fee, since the county party is in the midst of setting up a bank account and raising funds.

This marked the biggest meeting of county Republicans in years, and Lunnon stressed that it was just the beginning.
He said his goal was to set up parties in each of the 50 precincts in the county within the next few years but for right now the Republicans will continue meeting countywide on the second Thursday of the month, at 6 p.m. at Earl’s Restaurant.

Two of the candidates for federal office were present at Saturday’s meeting, Steve Pearce, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici and Ben East, who is running for the 3rd Congressional seat which is being vacated by Tom Udall — who is running for the Democratic nomination for Domenici’s seat.

Pearce is running against Heather Wilson — who sent a representative to Saturday’s meeting.

A three-term congressman from Hobbs, Pearce said the major issues he is focusing on right now are immigration and economic development.

“We have to secure the borders,” he said, even if this means more border guards and more use of the National Guard.

He stressed his conservative, prolife background and his support of President Bush’s position that the U.S. will have to keep troops in Iraq until the country is stable enough to allow the troops to be removed.

In a state that is only 33 percent Republican, Pearce said he realizes that in order to win the election in November, he will have to get the support of some Democrats as well, and he feels that there are enough prolife Democrats in the state to make this possible.

Pearce has yet to begin his campaigning on the Navajo Reservation but he said he plans to spend some time doing that before the election season is over.

East said that while he entered the race rather late, he’s making up for it by campaigning harder.

His campaign has stressed a need to reduce the size of the federal government and to end programs that aren’t needed anymore so that these funds can be diverted to programs that are needed.

“I am also prolife,” he said, adding that abortions are criminally wrong.

“We also need to keep taxes low and if we can do that, we can allow businesses to create more jobs and that will reduce people’s dependency on the federal government.”

He said he also would like to see more federal funds diverted to repairing the nation’s bridges and roads.

“Our infrastructure is falling apart at an alarming rate,” he said.