President Donald Trump is making his way to the Land of Enchantment.
The president is planning to make a play for New Mexico in 2020, despite the odds stacked against him, starting with Monday’s rally in Rio Rancho.
New Mexico has voted for a Republican presidential candidate only once since 1992—in 2004, when George W. Bush beat John Kerry by about 6,000 votes. In 2008, John McCain lost the state by nearly 15 points. Mitt Romney, recognizing pending defeat, pulled staffers from New Mexico just weeks before the 2012 election. President Barack Obama ended up beating him by 51 points in the suburbs of Santa Fe.
Trump himself fared poorly in New Mexico in 2016. After visiting the state just twice before the election, he lost to Hillary Clinton by about 8 points. What’s more, on one of his last visits to New Mexico, protests outside the rally quickly turned violent—a vivid reminder of the opposition to the president of many of the state’s residents.
Democrats also saw widespread success in New Mexico during last year’s midterm elections. They won the state’s two open congressional seats, defended the third, and took the governor’s mansion. Democrats also control both Senate seats and the New Mexico state legislature. Democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has proven herself to be a worthy opponent to Trump, withdrawing National Guard troops from the border, criticizing Trump’s border wall, and supporting asylum-seeking migrants in the New Mexico.
Trump would appear to have his work set out for him—he hasn’t even visited New Mexico since winning the presidency. But he has nevertheless reportedly decided to make the state one of the several that he lost in 2016 that he plans to turn red in the next election.
Trump plans to discuss the New Mexico’s improving economy and job growth during the Monday night rally. According to his campaign, Trump hopes to appeal to rural voters and Catholic Latinos, particularly those who have entered the country through legal channels or support stricter border laws. Some Democrats in the state also have more conservative views than the increasingly progressive Democratic base across the country, which may also serve Trump well.
If the rally in Rio Rancho goes according to plan, Trump may make the Land of Enchantment a regular pit stop along the campaign trail in the months to come.
Tonight’s rally in Rio Rancho, N.M., begins at 9 p.m. E.T. And will be live streamed by several news outlets.
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