Susana Martinez isn’t running for president. But if New Mexico’s Hispanic Republican governor obliges her party, she could be as visible on the 2016 trail as the eventual GOP nominee.
Martinez, 55, checks off two key boxes for a Republican Party desperate to improve relations with minority voters and increase support among women ahead of the presidential election, even more so with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton set to headline the Democratic presidential ticket. More than that, she’s a likable, wily political communicator who can deliver a humdinger of a speech. Martinez is sure to be an in-demand surrogate and top potential vice presidential contender.
The question is whether Martinez would answer the call. Like other governors, she prioritizes running her state over national partisan politics. Martinez also is the legal guardian of a 60-year-old sister with cerebral palsy, an added responsibility to juggle when considering national travel or spending extended time outside New Mexico. Most in her position feign disinterest in the national spotlight because it makes for good politics. Martinez’ indifference is viewed as honest and somewhat ironclad.
“She will be on VP short lists if she chooses to. I’m not sure she will choose to be on the list,” a Republican insider told the Washington Examiner. “In the past, she has not indicated an interest in a national position.”
Still, Martinez, who won a second term as governor last year, is involved in national GOP politics. She is serving as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, a political group that raises tens of millions of dollars every year to elect Republican governors. Martinez also is co-chairwoman of the Republican State Leadership Committee’s “Future Majority Project,” a program she cares deeply about that recruits minorities to run as Republicans for state and local office.
The governor’s team is cagey about her 2016 plans. Agreeing to be vetted for vice president is treated as out of the question. But amidst the hemming and hawing about tending to New Mexico first, hints are dropped suggesting Martinez is willing to be more active than she was in 2012. She did everything Republican nominee Mitt Romney asked of her in that race, and would like to do more in 2016 if requested.
Martinez has existing relationships with several of the contenders, and one of her veteran political advisers, Danny Diaz, was tapped this month to serve as campaign manager for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
“The governor continues to work hard at recruiting women and minority candidates across the country to run on the Republican ticket, and she has been very engaged in helping elect more Republican governors,” Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez said. “She will certainly work hard to help elect a Republican president and help the nominee’s campaign however she can.”
For Republicans, Martinez’ appeal and value as a leader surpass gender and ethnicity. She has succeeded in a state dominated by Democrats without compromising core conservative principles. The former district attorney from southern New Mexico has fought against the state granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, cut taxes, reduced regulations on businesses and pushed conservative education reforms such as merit pay for teachers. In 2014, she won re-election handily, garnering 48 percent of the Hispanic vote.
Matt Walter, who works with Martinez on the Future Majority Project in his role as president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, said the governor has a knack for communicating conservatism in a way that makes Republican policies accessible and attractive to voters who don’t consider themselves conservative or Republican. Perhaps that’s because, until 1995, she was a politically active Democrat.
“The most important thing to understand about Gov. Martinez is that, like Ronald Reagan, she began life as a Democrat before gravitating over time to the Republican Party and, like Reagan, she is a fiscal conservative who maintains a large crossover appeal to moderate and conservative Democrats,” said Fred Nathan, who runs Think New Mexico, a centrist think in Santa Fe, the state capital.
Some Republicans might take issue with her support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, although she’s a big proponent of augmenting border security. Others might recoil because of her support for the Common Core education standards.
New Mexico Democrats argue that Martinez has been overhyped. She won her first race in 2010, a Republican wave year in which Democrats in the state were battling a political hangover left by outgoing two-term Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson. They credit her with being politically savvy and passionate about crime reduction and protecting children, but say she’s fallen short as a policy innovator and on the key gubernatorial task: negotiating with lawmakers to achieve consensus.
“Her interpersonal skills are really good and in a small state like this that plays really well,” said a Democratic consultant based in the Land of Enchantment. “I don’t think she’s ready for prime time.”
There’s likely to be little sympathy for this criticism in GOP circles. Martinez wowed delegates at the Republican nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., three years ago, and she remains popular in a blue southwestern state that the GOP presidential nominee hasn’t won since 2004.
“Gov. Martinez is clearly one of the brightest stars across the Republican Party,” Walter said. “Sky’s the limit.”
Disclosure: The author’s wife works as an adviser to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
