Two familiar faces are one again facing off for the House District 36 seat in southern New Mexico.
Democrat incumbent Nathan Small eked out a victory against Republican Kimberly Skaggs by just over 400 votes in 2022.
A self-described conservationist, Nathan Small was once a member of the Las Cruces City Council before his election to the District 36 seat in 2016. He’s been in office ever since.
Just last year, Rep. Small was appointed chair of the Appropriations and Finance Committee, which has vast control over the state’s budgetary spending. Small also sits on the House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Committee.
Alternatively, Kimberly Skaggs previously was at the leadership helm of the Doña Ana County Republican Party and executive director of the state GOP. She’s had multiple unsuccessful bids for office – beginning in 2020 with her loss against Democrat Jeff Steinborn for the State Senate District 36 seat.
According to Skaggs’ Facebook page, she’s a mother, private pilot and a businesswoman who operates a water well drilling business with her family.
While interviews with Skaggs are few and far between, she filled out a survey by the Las Cruces Bulletin where she outlined her tough-on-crime policy approach to bail reform, pretrial detention changes and stricter penalties for repeat offenders. Skaggs also stressed the importance of less regulation on the oil and gas industry, which fill New Mexico’s coffers.
In an interview with KRWG, Small highlighted his efforts to boost law enforcement retention and recruitment to tackle the state’s crime problem.
“We also need strategic investments in important infrastructure that can be things like DNA readers, crime scene and evidence processing labs so that folks don't have to drive all the way up to Albuquerque,” Small said.
Campaign finance accusations have plagued both candidates in the past few years.
In 2022, Kim and her husband Joseph Skaggs were accused of a straw donor scheme where a nonprofit, nonpartisan election watchdog alleged they used a shell company to funnel campaign contributions to a special congressional election in 2020.
Skaggs called the complaint “false.”
Just four months later, Small and his wife – Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat who represented New Mexico's 2nd congressional district for a single term and is now Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – was accused by Republicans of using her federal position to improperly fundraise for her husband. Republicans declined to make any evidence publicly available.
As an incumbent, Small has a big lead in fundraising with just over $362,000 on the books as of the latest disclosure deadline. Skaggs trails behind with around $216,000 according to campaign finance records. Large singular contributions from oil and gas companies have gone to both campaigns.
Small and Skaggs did not return multiple phone calls and emails for interviews with KUNM.
