Republicans in the New Mexico Senate have coalesced around a redistricting plan that forces no two incumbents to run against each other , reports Deborah Baker: For GOP purposes, that was resolved by the impending departure of Sen. Kent Cravens, a Republican from northeast Albuquerque. Cravens confirmed to the Journal in a recent interview that he plans to resign after the dust from redistricting has settled, to take a governmental affairs job with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
“„For GOP purposes, that was resolved by the impending departure of Sen. Kent Cravens, a Republican from northeast Albuquerque.
“„Cravens confirmed to the Journal in a recent interview that he plans to resign after the dust from redistricting has settled, to take a governmental affairs job with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
“„In the GOP plan introduced Wednesday, Cravens’ existing district would be carved up to bolster neighboring Republican senators’ districts — William Payne and Mark Boitano, for example, each have districts that are currently 14 percent below the ideal number — and Cravens’ district number, 21, would re-emerge in the Rio Rancho area as a new, Republican-leaning district.