Lujan Grisham, Ronchetti make late push with second debate

New Mexico voters will get a second — and likely last — chance to watch the two most prominent gubernatorial candidates square off in a face-to-face debate.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Mark Ronchetti are scheduled to take part in a one-hour debate sponsored by KOAT-TV, the Albuquerque Journal and KKOB-AM Wednesday night. Libertarian Karen Bedonie will not participate.

As was the case when they met in KOB-TV's live debate on Sept. 30, voters should expect Ronchetti and Lujan Grisham to again tangle on high-profile issues like crime, education and abortion.

"Time is running out for the candidates to persuade voters, to persuade the undecided or perhaps even sway allegiances of the voter for one candidate or another," said pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling Inc.

Sanderoff said he expects Ronchetti, a Republican, to prioritize the issue of the state's crime problem, while Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, will continue to promote her defense of abortion rights.

Spokespeople for both candidates' campaigns telegraphed what viewers should expect.

"In Wednesday's debate, Governor Lujan Grisham will lay out her record of success leading New Mexico by growing the economy with 14-year-low unemployment, spearheading historic improvements in our education system, and investing more in public safety than any other governor in New Mexico history — and why we must build on it," Delaney Corcoran, spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham's reelection campaign, wrote in an email.

Ryan Sabel, spokesman for the Ronchetti campaign, wrote in an email: "Mark is looking forward to continuing to hold the governor accountable for her disastrous record on crime, the economy, and education. These are the issues that New Mexicans deserve answers on, and Michelle Lujan Grisham has failed to make the case for why she deserves four more years."

Early voting in New Mexico began this week, which could add a sense of urgency for both candidates, Sanderoff said. That is also why voters should get used to seeing more attack ads from both sides, he added.

Ronchetti's team has been hammering away at Lujan Grisham with ads and email blasts about a $150,000 settlement the governor reached with a onetime campaign aide, James Hallinan, after he accused her of sexual misconduct. Hallinan said Lujan Grisham poured water on his crotch and then grabbed his crotch during a campaign staff meeting before the 2018 election.

Meanwhile, Lujan Grisham's campaign team continues to use ads to raise questions and doubts about Ronchetti's stand on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.

Lujan Grisham, who signed a law in 2021 repealing New Mexico's pre-Roe abortion ban and recently pledged to use $10 million in capital outlay money to build a clinic near the Texas border that would provide abortion services and other reproductive health care, has made her abortion stance a cornerstone of her reelection bid.

A recent Lujan Grisham ad accuses Ronchetti of "flip flopping" on the abortion issue and says voting for her is the "only way to ensure a woman's access to abortion." Ronchetti has said he believes abortion should be legal for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy and in cases of pregnancies involving rape, incest or when a mother's life is at risk.

His stance came into question in July when a pastor of an Albuquerque megachurch told his congregation Ronchetti proposed that stance to get elected, after which he would work to outlaw abortion. In a statement, pastor Steve Smotherman later walked back his comments.

Ronchetti recently called for letting voters decide on the issue with a constitutional amendment.

Sanderoff said while he believes "most voters are fixed in their opinions" by this point, Wednesday's debate will give the two candidates one more chance to reprise their key messages.

"A good debater will control the narrative and steer the response to the question to their preferred messaging," Sanderoff said.

The rules for the KOAT-TV debate allow each candidate 90 seconds for opening statements, 90 seconds to answer each question from the moderators and 60 seconds for closing statements. They also have the right to two rebuttals each.

Unlike the first debate, the KOAT-TV rules allow both candidates to ask one question of the other, with 90 seconds to respond. Questions submitted by members of the public may also be asked during the debate.

Staff reporter Daniel Chacon contributed to this report.