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Marty Chavez’s congressional campaign might be violating state gambling laws by hosting prize drawings as a way to raise campaign cash, according to the state Gaming Control Board.
State law allows charities to hold raffles as fundraisers, but political campaigns don’t qualify for that exemption, said Gaming Control Board senior staff legal counsel Peggy Hardwick.
The Chavez campaign, however, said its offering is not an illegal raffle because participants have an option to volunteer time to the campaign instead of donating money.
The former Albuquerque mayor’s congressional campaign announced this week that it will hold a drawing for a two-night stay at La Fonda de Taos Hotel winnable by donating $10 or volunteering to help the campaign. Chavez in December gave supporters who donated at least $25 a chance to win a tour on the set of the TV show “Breaking Bad.”
A Gaming Control Board report written in 2009 says raffles that raise political campaign funds are prohibited. Hardwick said an illegal raffle is a misdemeanor crime.
“A raffle is a regulated form of gambling in New Mexico. I don’t think the fact that the person running the raffle is a political candidate for any office alters that fact,” Hardwick told the Journal on Friday.
Chavez campaign manager Alan Packman said the drawings are intended to reward supporters.
“Our hardworking volunteers and supporters were offered, at no cost to them, a chance to receive a special reward for doing their part to help bring leadership that gets results to Congress,” Packman said in a statement. “We don’t consider it a raffle. No one was required to purchase a ticket to enter.”
- James Monteleone, jmonteleone@abqjournal.com
Heather’s Cash: Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, a Republican running for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, reported Thursday that she raised nearly $760,000 in the first quarter of 2012 and has about $1.45 million in campaign cash in the bank.
U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat who is also seeking the Senate seat, earlier this week reported raising $490,000 in donations between January 1 and March 31. Heinrich reported having $1.55 million in the bank, leaving him and Wilson neck-and-neck in the critical fundraising competition.
State Auditor Hector Balderas, a Democrat, and Las Cruces businessman Greg Sowards, a Republican, are also running for the U.S. Senate, but they haven’t released their fundraising numbers. The reporting deadline is April 15.
Wilson’s campaign reports that 85 percent of her donations came from in-state, while Heinrich reported that 73 percent of his donors were New Mexicans.
- Michael Coleman, mcoleman@abqjournal.com
Lujan Grisham Accounts: Democratic congressional candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham announced earlier this week that her campaign had raised $205,000 between January and March.
The fundraising reportedly brought her campaign’s total cash on hand to $344,000 as Lujan Grisham prepares to face state Sen. Eric Griego and former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez in the Democratic 1st Congressional District primary on June 5.
Lujan Grisham was the first of the Albuquerque district House candidates to report first-quarter fundraising totals.
- James Monteleone, jmonteleone@abqjournal.com
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal
