Press under tight control as Ronchetti rallies in Carlsbad with DeSantis and Rep. Herrell

CARLSBAD – Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti greeted an enthusiastic crowd in New Mexico's oil and gas region Sunday, making his pitch to replace Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in November with the help of conservative star Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who headlined the event.

The Ronchetti campaign said approximately 1,000 were expected to show up at the Walter Gerrells Performing Arts and Exhibition Center in Carlsbad, and by the 4 p.m. start time the venue appeared close to full as a crowd milled in front of a stage decked with the red and white logo of the former television meteorologist's campaign for governor, with rows of seats behind them.

The campaign used the city-owned civic center for the event and attendees registered for free tickets ahead of the event.

A reporter and a photographer from Source New Mexico, a nonprofit news organization that began operations nearly a year ago, were denied entry to the event. Reporter Shaun Griswold had obtained a general admission ticket rather than a press credential but was reportedly identified by private security officers from a photograph of him.

More:Mark Ronchetti wins GOP primary for New Mexico governor

Credentialed press inside the event were discouraged from speaking with people in attendance or moving about the auditorium ahead of and during the event.

Republican congresswoman Yvette Herrell, representing the 2nd Congressional District that encompasses southern New Mexico, greeted some of the attendees shortly before the event began with a prayer led by Jason Shirley, a former Carlsbad city council member.

"We need more God and less government," Herrell declared shortly after taking the stage to cheers from an audience that included state Republican chairman Steve Pearce and county GOP leaders. The congresswoman, who is seeking her second term in the November elections, won supportive shouts and laughter from the crowd with jabs at Democrats in Congress including Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Herrell also aired a claim that "'illegals' are going to get access to our benefits and services before our veterans, before our homeless and before those people that are trying to raise a family." In fact, most non-citizens who are not authorized to be in the United States, and even many that are lawfully present, are ineligible for federal public benefits.

Opening a theme repeated in three speeches Sunday, Herrell stated an urgent get-out-the-vote message, telling the audience, "the most important person on the ballot is you." With recent polls showing Ronchetti close behind Lujan Grisham, Herrell said voter turnout would be pivotal.

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"This race is ours to win," Ronchetti said, following Herrell to the podium with a speech punching at Lujan Grisham but otherwise sticking to three major themes he has made the focus of his campaign: crime and alleged slights against police, border security and the economy.

"We have a governor who has long since stopped caring about the people of the state of New Mexico," Ronchetti continued, charging Lujan Grisham with being more focused on national issues and boosting her profile in Washington. He also accused her, along with President Joe Biden, of sabotaging the state's oil and gas sector, a potent message on New Mexico's side of the Permian Basin.

"This governor slowly tried to rip the heart out of the energy industry in the state of New Mexico," Ronchetti said. "We will put that heart back in."

The room booed when Ronchetti uttered Biden's name and repeated a recurring falsehood that the White House has a policy of "no more fracking, no more drilling ever," although Biden has not sought a ban on all domestic drilling or fracking.

At the beginning of his administration, Biden ordered a "pause" on new oil and gas leases and fracking on federal land. That order was blocked by a federal court and did not, in any case, apply to drilling or fracking on private lands or to thousands of existing leases already held by oil companies but not yet in use.

DeSantis spoke for nearly 45 minutes, far longer than Herrell and Ronchetti, in a speech loaded with jokes that punched hard at Democrats and also presented his leadership in Florida as having rescued that state and its economy from "lockdowns" during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis said he and Florida stood against mandated vaccinations to slow the spread of the disease when no vaccines yet existed; he disputed the efficacy of the vaccines as well.

Contrasting his own leadership with New Mexico's, DeSantis implied he had made Florida a bastion for solid and principled conservative governance, free enterprise and prosperity; and he promised the crowd Ronchetti could deliver similar results for New Mexico.

DeSantis also repeated a Republican argument this year that federal stimulus money passed by Democrats was to blame for this year's inflation, an message that has gained traction as measured in sagging approval ratings for Biden; and he leaned heavily into social issues that have energized the conservative base, such as education about gender identity in schools and "woke ideology" fomented by a "militant left."

Without mentioning former President Donald Trump by name, DeSantis referred to the federal search warrant executed by the FBI at Trump's Florida residence as evidence of federal agencies being "weaponized" by Democrats against political opponents, despite FBI director Christopher Wray having been appointed by Trump.

And while election integrity was another major theme in his speech, DeSantis steered clear of false claims that Trump won the 2020 election rather than Biden. New Mexico was among seven states that sent an electoral certificate signed by Republicans for Trump to the National Archives and Records Administration weeks after Biden won the state's electoral votes in the election. The action did not affect New Mexico's electoral certification but two of the Republican electors were later subpoenaed by the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

DeSantis is widely viewed as a Trump ally but also as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 if Trump does not run again (as the former president has strongly hinted he intends to do).

With DeSantis' strong endorsement, Ronchetti is shoring up support among New Mexico conservatives after a GOP primary in which he defeated several candidates more fervent in their support of Trump. Allegations that Ronchetti has been critical of Trump in the past and even mocked him first surfaced during Ronchetti's 2020 run for the U.S. Senate.

“DeSantis proudly carries the MAGA torch," the state Democratic Party commented on Twitter. "It’s no surprise that Mark Ronchetti and Yvette Herrell are jumping at the opportunity to rub shoulders with radical DeSantis.”

Notably, abortion was missing from the day's speeches despite the watershed ruling by the Supreme Court this summer overturning Roe v. Wade.

Ronchetti has previously stated he would like New Mexico to ban most abortions after 15 weeks, similar to a Missouri law the nation's high court upheld. However, the Rev. Steven Smothermon of Legacy Church in Albuquerque, a megachurch, later said the candidate assured him his goal was a complete ban.

A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee evoked DeSantis' signing of an abortion ban at 15 weeks in his state and later suspension of a Democratic prosecutor who had vowed not to prosecute women for seeking an abortion.

"DeSantis, Mark Ronchetti, and Yvette Herrell embody what today’s Republican Party stands for: criminalizing abortion, punishing doctors, and cutting taxes for the rich and ultra-wealthy at the expense of middle-class families,” the DNC spokesperson said.

By the time DeSantis concluded his speech, some spectators were beginning to leave, but the Florida governor was sent off with loud cheers as speakers played Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Up Around the Bend."

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.