Alex Ross
Roswell Tribune
Nearly $18,000 flowed into the campaign of Roswell resident and Republican U.S. Senate nominee Larry Marker in the latest fundraising quarter, according to recent reports.
A Federal Election Commission report filed July 15 showed that between April 1 and June 30, Marker’s campaign took in $17,900 in total receipts. After spending $8,880, he entered July with $11,850 in cash on hand.
The FEC defines receipts not only as contributions but also as other revenue sources, including support from other campaigns, investment income and transfers from other campaign committees. Marker’s latest fundraising total brings the amount he has received since starting his campaign earlier this year to $33,525.
Meanwhile, his opponent Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan amassed a war chest of more than $8 million.
A small oil producer and conservative activist, Marker secured the Republican nomination through a write-in campaign in the June primary. No Republican candidate had met the requirements to appear on the ballot before the March deadline. Under state law, Marker needed 2,351 write-in votes in the Republican primary to qualify for the November general election ballot. He received 31,220 write-in votes and will now face Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján.
Nonpartisan political analysts, such as the Cook Political Report, list the race as “Solid Democrat,” but Marker told El Rito Media in a text message Sunday that he remains confident.
“Our historic success in the primary did provide some momentum moving into the general [election] and we have not eased up in any way,” Marker said. “We have a solid team, good support and a path to an historic win.”
Marker’s fundraising totals lag far behind those of Luján, a first-term senator who previously served five terms in the U.S. House. Campaign finance reports showed Luján received $607,489 during the same three-month timeframe. He spent $376,642 during that period and had $4,396,754 left in his campaign account as of July 1. So far this cycle, Luján has amassed an $8.53 million for his campaign.
“I’m deeply grateful for the trust New Mexicans have placed in me, and I’ll never take it for granted,” Luján said in a statement forwarded to El Rito Media by his campaign. “Our campaign is focused on earning every vote and showing up in every corner of New Mexico.”
The 12 contributions listed in Marker’s quarterly report all came from New Mexico residents and entities. The largest was a $5,000 contribution from the Republican Party of New Mexico. The Lincoln County Federated Republican Women also contributed $2,000.
Robert and Carol Parish of Hobbs were Marker’s largest individual contributors, each giving $2,500. Only one contribution came from a Roswell resident during the three-month period: a $1,000 in-kind contribution from Bonnie Brainerd, an accountant who serves as Marker’s campaign treasurer.
Luján’s contributions came from across the United States. The Air Line Pilots Association PAC, the Farm Credit Council, Verizon Communications Inc. and the Charter Communications Political Action Committee were among Luján’s largest contributors, each giving $5,000. Mike Sicilia, co-CEO of Oracle, a Texas-based multinational corporation, contributed $2,500 to Luján.
Other contributions came from Native American communities in New Mexico, including $3,500 from the Taos Pueblo Governor’s Office and $3,300 from the Pueblo of Isleta, according to the reports.
