Could the Land of Enchantment Elect a Second Amendment Supporter to the Senate?

New Mexico – -(AmmoLand.com)- New Mexico has to be very vexing for Second Amendment supporters. In a region of the country where the Second Amendment is largely respected, it constantly elects anti-Second Amendment extremists to the United States Senate. It’s frustrating in the extreme. But could this be turned around?

There is a better chance than you might think. After all, Governors Gary Johnston and Susanna Martinez were supporters of our Second Amendment rights, and Martinez was in office until January of last year. Even Bill Richardson, a Democrat, signed concealed-carry legislation. So, it is possible that a Second Amendment supporter could win a statewide race.

But New Mexico hasn’t had a pro-Second Amendment U.S. Senator since Pete Domenici declined to run for another six-year term in the Senate in 2008. Jeff Bingaman, Tom Udall, and Martin Heinrich were not exactly strong supporters of our rights. On secondary issues, like judges, they were in line with Charles Schumer.

Udall is retiring this year after serving two terms. Running to replace him is Ben Ray Lujan, who has served since 2009, when he took Tom Udall’s seat in the House of Representatives. Like Udall, his record on Second Amendment issues is not good. According to Project Vote Smart, he’s backed “universal” background checks, opposed pro-sportsman legislation, and even was willing to back bureaucratic gun bans.

However, Lujan’s campaign site doesn’t discuss Second Amendment issues. But as a Representative, he’s made numerous statements that indicate that he will be another vote for the extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda of Michael Bloomberg, Schumer, and Everytown.

Here’s where a term-limited Susanna Martinez could have made this a very easy call for Second Amendment supporters. However, she declined to run. Instead, the hopes to stop Lujan now center on former TV meteorologist Mark Ronchetti.

Now, Ronchetti is a political newcomer, and as such, all Second Amendment supporters have to go on are his statements on the campaign trail and on his campaign web site. This has led to disappointment in the past, such as what has happened with Larry Hogan’s tenure as governor of Maryland.

That said given the stakes involved, including the refusal of Joe Biden to provide a straight answer about whether he’d pack the Supreme Court, Ronchetti is a risk worth taking, especially since his first vote in the 117th Congress would help keep Chuck Schumer from being Senate Majority Leader. Second Amendment supporters need to check out his campaign site, then also donate to the NRA’s Political Victory Fund to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates at all levels of government.

About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

The post Could the Land of Enchantment Elect a Second Amendment Supporter to the Senate? appeared first on AmmoLand.com.