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“Yvette Herrell abandoned New Mexico’s working families for the dark and dangerous fringe elements of her party. In her pursuit of a MAGA agenda, she voted against bills to strengthen New Mexico and drive down costs for her constituents. Gabe Vasquez is a product of New Mexico’s 2nd District, and that is why he is standing up for his community. Vasquez has served Southern New Mexico in Senator Heinrich’s office and as a Las Cruces Councilmember. He knows the hard working people of New Mexico deserve better than Herrell’s disgraceful and dangerous record. With Gabe Vasquez, voters of NM-02 will get the champion they deserve.” – DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney
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To: Interested Parties
From: Maddy Mundy, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 7th, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Yvette Herrell
Yvette Herrell has always been out for herself. Before coming to Congress, her record was littered with sweetheart deals on the taxpayer’s dime. In Congress, at every opportunity, Yvette Herrell voted against the interests of New Mexico families. Instead, she has used her position in Congress to boost her own national profile by courting wealthy MAGA donors and insurrectionists.
One of her first votes in Congress was to vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election. She accepted donations from fake electors and pushed dangerous conspiracy theories, including COVID treatment disinformation at a time when the pandemic ravaged the New Mexico. All the while, she voted against historic legislation championed by Democrats to cut costs and create better jobs for working families.
Now, thanks to redistricting, Yvette Herrell will have to answer for her self-serving, out-of-touch record. Gabe Vasquez, the Democratic nominee for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District, will offer Southern New Mexicans the voice in Congress they deserve. Yvette Herrell’s radicalism failed this district. As a first-generation Mexican-American who has served in Senator Martin Heinrich’s office and as a Las Cruces Councilmember, Vasquez is a product of New Mexico. He has an authentic and substantive understanding of the needs of New Mexico’s Second District.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Boston Globe: Republicans who helped advance racist theory connected to Buffalo shooting don’t repudiate their rhetoric [May 16, 2022]
“Some Republican elected officials and candidates also have embraced the theory. Representatives Brian Babin of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Yvette Herrell of New Mexico, as well as GOP Senate candidates Josh Mandel in Ohio and Blake Masters in Arizona, among others, have alluded to the theory over the past year.”
New Mexico Political Report: Abortion rights could play a key role in the race for southern New Mexico’s U.S. House seat [April 11, 2022]
“‘She cheered Texas’ devastating abortion ban and now, New Mexico is a lifeline for desperate Texas women seeking the health care they need. New Mexico voters understand what’s at stake and will kick Yvette Herrell and her radical agenda out of office and elect Democrats like Gabe Vasquez, who will protect this fundamental right in Congress.’”
Carlsbad Current Argus: Herrell’s hypocrisy on broadband access [Feb. 8, 2022]
“Last week, Congresswoman Yvette Herrell published an opinion piece outlining the importance of broadband access and touting the $42.5 billion that President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide for broadband deployment nationwide. What Representative Herrell failed to mention is that she voted against the legislation that will make these advancements possible.”
KVIA: Southern New Mexico congresswoman still pushes Ivermectin for Covid despite FDA, CDC warnings [Sept. 7, 2021]
“Against the strong recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell continues to endorse a horse de-wormer as an effective Covid-19 treatment.
“The CDC has also warned about reports to poison control centers across the nation of severe illness caused by Ivermectin use. Overdoses of the drug can cause nerve damage, seizures, disorientation, coma and death.”
The Hill: Hispanic Democrats slam four Republicans over Jan. 6 vote in new ads [May 11, 2021]
“‘[Yvette Herrell] led a misinformation campaign and helped spread the ‘Big Lie’ on social media and conservative news media outlets by sowing doubt about the Presidential election results,’ said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
“[She] tried to undermine our democracy and in doing so, helped incite the insurrection.”
AN ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY
One of Yvette Herrell’s first votes in Congress was to void Americans’ sacred votes by pushing to overturn the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Following the insurrection, Herrell has only continued her assault on democracy: Herrell voted against an independent commission to investigate the deadly January 6th insurrection. She took money from those who sought to destroy our democracy. The American Independent reported that Herrell accepted thousands of dollars from supporters who, in 2020, pretended to be members of the Electoral College in an attempt to void the will of voters by casting fraudulent votes for Donald Trump. Herrell’s contempt for voters is clear: If she does not like the outcome of an election – she will throw out your vote.
It comes as no surprise then that Herrell curries favor with far-right, anti-democratic figures. Herrell described the support of MAGA extremist and Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin as the endorsement she was ‘most proud of.’ Later, a federal judge convicted Griffin for his participation in the January 6th insurrection. Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, had previously made waves when he proclaimed ‘the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.’
Herrell is not only associated with dangerous figures spouting violent rhetoric, she has propagated it herself. Despite representing the largest Latino community in the state, the Boston Globe reports Herrell pushed the same racist ‘replacement theory’ conspiracy that led to the Buffalo mass shooting. Such racist claims are false and, as the horrific violence in Buffalo last month revealed, incredibly dangerous.
Herrell also showed her contempt for democracies abroad by repeatedly siding with Putin the Dictator and his assault on the free people of Ukraine. Herrell has voted against sending aid to Ukraine multiple times and even refused to uphold NATO’s democratic principles. It is clear, whether at home or abroad, Yvette Herrell sides with anti-democratic forces and dictators.
PUSHING A DANGEROUS MAGA AGENDA IN CONGRESS
Yvette Herrell showed her contempt for voters long before choosing to throw out their votes in 2021. She has consistently voted against the interests of her district. She refused to support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal – though she did find the wherewithal to lie to her constituents and campaign on the funding she voted against.
No thanks to Yvette Herrell, millions of dollars targeting infrastructure repair and job creation are now flowing into New Mexico. Clearly, Herrell believed this was good for her state, but she is so loyal to a MAGA agenda she could not find the courage to vote in the interests of her constituents when she had the chance.
Herrell has continued to vote against the hard working families of NM-02 at every turn. When she had the opportunity to cap the price of prescription drugs, she voted no. When Herrell had the chance to vote for the Violence Against Women Act, she voted no. When she had the opportunity to fund supply chain breakdowns that have led to a nationwide shortage of infant formula, she voted no. When Herrell had the ability to fund local police and public safety, she voted no.
HEALTH HAZARD HERRELL
Instead of fighting for working families while COVID wreaked havoc on New Mexico, Yvette Herrell spread dangerous conspiracy theories. Health Hazard Herrell joined right-wing pundits in hawking the horse dewormer Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID.
While a pandemic raged, Health Hazard Herrell spent her time spreading COVID conspiracies and lying to her constituents about how to treat and ward off infection from the deadly virus. While Democrats fought to get shots in arms and end this pandemic, Yvette Herrell was more than happy to spread misinformation and allow COVID to ravage her state. Even after receiving widespread condemnation for spreading misinformation, Yvette Herrell doubled down.
ANTI-CHOICE WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Herrell’s extremism threatens the most fundamental rights we have. Herrell’s record on women’s health and safety issues are especially disturbing with the Supreme Court’s anticipated reversal of Roe v. Wade. Herrell has pursued draconian curbs to women’s reproductive health and freedoms. She cheered when Texas implemented its strict abortion ban that placed bounties on people who help women get abortions and put a greater strain on New Mexico’s own health care clinics. Herrell signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe and Casey and voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act. She even co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, the federal personhood bill that would ban all abortions and certain types of birth control such as IUDs.
Republicans have made clear that in their crusade to dictate women’s personal health choices, they will not stop at the overturn of fifty years of legal precedent. With reports that Republicans will soon push for a nationwide abortion ban, the need to elect a representative who will fight for reproductive freedom has never been greater.
YVETTE HERRELL: CORRUPT THROUGH AND THROUGH
Herrell has always put her own interests above the interests of New Mexicans. While in the state legislature, Yvette Herrell funneled nearly a half a million in taxpayer dollars to her family’s organization. She attempted to dump potentially toxic sewage into her own district to benefit her waste management company. She also pocketed $440,000 from land she rented to the state and failed to disclose it – a move the Albuquerque Journal called “egregious” and a “betrayal of the public trust.”
PATH TO VICTORY
Though NM-02 has been a Republican stronghold, with only one Democrat holding the seat since 2011, redistricting has turned this district into a major pickup opportunity for Democrats. In New Mexico’s new 2nd Congressional District, Democrats hold a 13-point registration advantage over Republicans. Biden carried the district with 53% of the major party vote, up 9 points from the old NM-02. According to census voting age population statistics the district is 56% Hispanic, making it the district with the highest Hispanic population in the state.
Gabe Vasquez, a son of a Mexican immigrant and a proven fighter for Southern New Mexico, is the perfect candidate to take on Yvette Herrell’s disgraceful record. Despite finding herself in a far more competitive district, Herrell has clung to her radical MAGA agenda, pushing dangerous conspiracy and attempting to obstruct desperately needed funding. Herrell’s shameless, wanton behavior will finally come to an end this November, when working families kick her out of office and send Gabe Vasquez to Washington.
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