Jones, Clahchischilliage speak to Chaves County GOP women (2024)

Republicans Steve Jones and Sharon Clahchischilliage each believe a tidal wave of voter discontent can propel them to Congress in November.

Clahchischilliage and Jones each made their way to Roswell last month, where they addressed the audience at the Chaves County Federated Republican Women. The two office-seekers each used the opportunity to speak about their personal and professional histories, what motivated them to launch their campaigns and their impressions of the current political environment.

Jones hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), and Clahchischilliage wants to oust U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03).

The meeting came a week after the assassination attempt on the party nominee, former President Donald Trump, and days after a four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that saw the party coalesce around Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).

It was also days before the political landscape would shift dramatically, as President Joe Biden opted to end his re-election bid and before Vice President Kamala Harris captured the Democratic nomination.

“We're running against a guy who can't put two sentences together,” Jones said, referring to Biden, whose poor debate performance during a televised debate with Trump was still a punchline for Republicans and was a source of anxiety for Democrats.

During his freewheeling speech, Jones mentioned a story in the New York Times about how, in a meeting between Biden and Democratic governors, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) told Biden she was worried about his ability to carry New Mexico in November.

“That is a really good thing for her (Lujan Grisham) to recognize that we are about to kick Biden's butt,” Jones said.

He added that he believes such an environment would benefit Republicans down-ballot races, even in New Mexico, where Democrats currently hold all congressional and statewide offices and boast large majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

“What I am telling you today is that this isn't an illusion, folks. We've got a great shot of making Lujan Grisham's prediction come true. New Mexico may be purple. We may have one, two, three congresspeople who are Republicans,” he said.

In June, Jones, a retired energy executive and former accountant, beat Louie Sanchez for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District, which stretches from eastern Albuquerque down into Roswell.

Though he now lives in Ruidoso, Jones grew up in Odessa, Texas. He said that he deeply appreciates the oil and gas industry and the budget revenue it brings into New Mexico.

“We understand it was God who gave us this wealth for the state that it should not be squandered,” he said, remarking that the industry does not always command the respect he thinks it deserves.

The race is not Jones' first time appearing on the ballot. Though Jones said in a previous interview with the Roswell Daily Record that he has been a registered Republican since the late 1970s, he did mount a campaign as an Independent in 2020 in what was then the New Mexico 2nd Congressional District.

That year, he challenged then-U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM-01) and eventual U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (D-NM-02). He later said that his bid that year was a stalking horse campaign for Herrell, who went on to win that race.

But this year, Jones is the Republican nominee, taking on Stansbury, who in 2022 fended off her Republican challenger 56% to 44%.

Jones also currently trails Stansbury in cash. Campaign finance reports filed in July show that Stansbury's campaign has taken roughly $990,000 this election cycle, compared to the $94,186 that has flowed into Jones' largely self-funded campaign within that same time frame.

Nonetheless, Jones said the issues of inflation and security along the southern border and what he says is a sense of alienation that conservative and moderate Democrats feel with the direction of their party provide a path to victory.

“There are people who are now actively contacting Republicans in Bernalillo County saying, 'While we can't come out and be supportive of you, we are here for you,'” Jones said.

Jones added he is concentrating on winning over disenchanted Democrats, moderates and Libertarians. He noted that his campaign will run two radio spots aimed at Hispanic voters, one about inflation and another about education. One of the ads will be in English and the other in Spanish.

Clahchischilliage had some advice for people who might have difficulty with her long name.

“If that scares you and you can't say it, just remember to look on the ballot and find the longest name,” she said, eliciting some laughter from the audience.

A current New Mexico Public Education Commissioner, Clahchischilliage, hopes to defeat Leger Fernandez in the 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses much of northern New Mexico and extends down the eastern part of the state, reaching as far south as north Hobbs.

Clahchischilliage's driving force behind her decision to run for Congress is the lack of a conservative voice in New Mexico's all-Democratic delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“That is why I'm running. I am running because a lot of these issues we have are not represented,” she said. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Clahchischilliage grew upinShiprock. She said that her family was involved in the tribal government.

“My background is very rich in public service. My background is rich in politics. I am a politician, but I am a thinking, compassionate politician, even though the other politicians ruin it for me and people like me,” she said.

Clahchischilliagebegan her educationat the Navajo Mission School in Farmington. She briefly attended college in Oklahoma before transferring to the University of New Mexico, where she received a bachelor's degree in education with an emphasis in special education, before working in schools in Albuquerque, Bernalillo and Farmington.

Eventually, Clahchischilliage earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania before serving in the U.S. Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. When she returned to New Mexico, Clachischilliage worked as a tribal liaison with the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

After a stint working in Washington D.C., Clahchischilliage returned to New Mexico. She would make an unsuccessful run for Secretary of State and later went on to serve in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2013 until 2019.

Clahchischilliage told the audience that her rural background, combined with the knowledge she has gained working in tribal, state and federal government roles, will serve the 3rd Congressional District well.

“You get a person who is very experienced, you get a person who cares, you get a person who is really involved because they are really about your safety and what you want for your community,” she said.

Clahchischilliage said that she also understands that each of the communities within the 3rd District is different.

“I do not believe in one size fits all. I do not believe that if this cookie cutter works here, that it will work within all the other communities,” she explained.