Dem Prez Race Heating Up in NM; Last Week to Request Absentee Ballot

With Gov. Bill Richardson out of the race, word is that New Mexico will be getting more attention from the remaining Dem candidates for president. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are expected to visit the state before the NM Caucus on February 5th. No word yet on John Edwards. Dennis Kucinich and his wife, Elizabeth, did some stumping in the state last year, but I haven't heard about any more scheduled visits.

Barack Obama
Obama has opened a campaign office at 1000 Second Street NW, just north of downtown Albuquerque, as well as one in Las Cruces at 212 West Hadley Ave, and plans to open one soon in Santa Fe. You can join the New Mexico for Obama group here and sign up for activities. Upcoming events include canvassing in Albuquerque this coming Saturday at 10:00 AM at the Albuquerque campaign office and a dinner and debate party on January 21 at 5:30 PM at Weck's restaurant at 4500 Osuna NE (advance tickets only, $18).

Hillary Clinton
Clinton's campaign in New Mexico is chaired by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and will be opening at least one office -- in Albuquerque -- soon. There's no New Mexico group listed yet on her campaign website.

John Edwards
Former Attorney General Patricia Madrid has been fundraising and stumping for Edwards in several states, but that's all I know so far.

Dennis Kucinich
Local Kucinich supporters have their own website and you can also tap in via his . This Saturday there's a get-together with pizza and music from 2:00-4:30 PM at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, 7505 Kathryn SE (Louisiana & Kathryn) in Albuquerque, as well as a "Burma Shave" sign event from 2:00 to 3:00 PM at San Mateo and Central in Albuquerque. On Monday, January 28 there's a Kucinich Rally from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Barelas Community Center at 801 Barelas Road SW in Albuquerque with music by musicians from Nevada and Arizona. Contact: Martha at 275-0597.

Voting in the NM Dem Caucus
This is the last week for requesting an absentee (mail-in) ballot for our February 5th Dem Presidential Preference Caucus. If you submit a request by 5:00 PM on January 21, 2008, the Democratic Party of New Mexico will mail you a ballot and you must complete and return it by mail, postmarked by January 28, 2008. You must be a registered Democrat to participate in the Caucus. You can download a request form here and mail, email or fax it to the DPNM. You can also call the DPNM office to have a request form sent to you. Democratic Party of New Mexico: 505-830-3650, 1-800-624-2457 (toll-free), 505-830-3645 (fax), info@nmdemocrats.org (email).

There will be 184 Caucus locations around the state where you can vote in person on February 5th from Noon to 7:00 PM. You can read a FAQ sheet prepared by the DPNM here that explains the Caucus process.

Even though a number of candidates have withdrawn their candidacies, their names will still be on the ballot if they were still in the race as of the filing deadline. You can still vote for them, but your vote won't translate into any delegates at the Democratic Convention in Denver in August.