1. Voters to decide Republican nominee in New Mexico’s 2nd District on June 2
2. Biden, Trump report presidential fundraising figures for April
3. Filing deadline roundup

Voters to decide Republican nominee in New Mexico’s 2nd District on June 2

We’re continuing our previews of June 2 primary elections that we've classified as battlegrounds. Battlegrounds are elections that Ballotpedia expects to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling. On June 2, voters in 12 states and the District of Columbia will decide presidential or statewide primaries. Today, let’s look at the Republican race in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. The date of New Mexico’s primary elections was not changed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Three Republicans—Claire Chase, Yvette Herrell, and Chris Mathys—are running in the Republican primary for the district currently held by incumbent Xochitl Torres Small (D), who is running for re-election. Small defeated Herrell in 2018, 51% to 49%. The 2018 general election was decided by the 16th smallest margin of victory of all U.S. House races that year. Former Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who was first elected in 2002, did not run for re-election in 2018.

This district is one of 30 Democratic-held U.S. House districts that President Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball characterize the general election as Toss-up. Inside Elections rates the general election as Tilt Democratic.

Chase and Herrell have led in fundraising and media attention. Chase is the director of government relations at Mack Energy Corporation, Herrell was a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2011 to 2018, and Mathys is a businessman. According to the Associated Press's Russell Contreras, the candidates "have tried to position themselves as Trump’s most reliable ally and have accused each other of not backing Trump enough." All three candidates have criticized Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's (D) actions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the state should allow small businesses to re-open more quickly. 

As of May 13, Chase raised $1,277,000 and spent $1,074,000. Herrell raised $820,000 and spent $920,000 over the same period. Mathys raised $294,000 and spent $278,000.

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Biden, Trump report presidential fundraising figures for April

Presidential campaigns and national political party committees file financial reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) summarizing the amounts those organizations raise and spend each month. We track and compile this data to identify trends and make comparisons to previous election cycles.

Joe Biden (D) outraised Donald Trump (R) by more than two-to-one in April while Trump had a nearly two-to-one advantage in cash on hand, according to FEC reports filed on May 20. The Biden campaign raised $43.6 million in April compared to the Trump campaign's $16.9 million. As of April 30, the Trump campaign had $107.7 million cash on hand as compared with the Biden campaign’s $57.1 million.

Trump leads Biden in overall fundraising since the beginning of 2017, $262.5 million to $178.4 million. Biden and Trump's combined $441.0 million in fundraising is the second-highest combined total when compared to the past three election cycles. At this point in the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) had raised a combined inflation-adjusted $473.2 million.

Among the major-party national committees, the Republican National Committee (RNC) outraised the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by nearly two-to-one last month. The RNC raised $27.1 million and spent $27.0 million to the DNC's $15.3 million in fundraising and $10.7 million in spending. So far in the 2020 cycle, the RNC has raised $345.7 million to the DNC's $161.9 million.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) raised $11.5 million and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised $9.0 million in April. So far in the 2020 cycle, the NRSC has raised $109.5 million to the DSCC's $100.3 million. On the House side, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) raised $11.4 million and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised $11.3 million. The DCCC has raised $179.8 million this cycle and the NRCC has raised $135.9 million.

Filing deadline roundup

Two candidate filing deadlines will pass this week. Candidates seeking federal and statewide offices in Vermont must file by paperwork by Thursday—May 28. Congressional and state legislative candidates in Wyoming must file by Friday—May 29.

As of May 25, 2,898 major-party candidates have filed with the FEC to run for the Senate and House of Representatives this year. As of May 25, 2018, 2,503 candidates had filed to run or informed Ballotpedia and other outlets about their candidacy for a congressional seat. For all of 2018, 3,098 major-party candidates filed to run for Congress.

Vermont

Voters in Vermont will elect the state’s at-large U.S. House member, six state executive officeholders (including governor), and representatives for all 30 state Senate seats, and all 150 state House districts. Vermont is one of two states (along with New Hampshire) that elects its governor every two years.

On March 30, Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed legislation making temporary changes to the state's election laws in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Among other things, this law eliminated the requirement that candidates collect signatures for both the August primary and November general election. According to a press release issued by the secretary of state announcing the changes, "All candidates wishing to appear on the ballot will still be required to file financial disclosure statements and consent of candidate forms."

The legislation also authorized the secretary of state, in consultation with the governor, to make whatever temporary changes to election procedures were deemed necessary during the outbreak. The press release stated, “Such measures could include the mailing of ballots to every registered voter, an extended cutoff for Clerks to receive voted ballots, an expanded window for Clerks to process voted ballots, the creation of secure ballot return stations, or the moving of polling locations, as examples.”

Wyoming

The offices up for election in Wyoming are the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mike Enzi (R), the state’s at-large U.S. House member, 15 of 30 state Senate seats, all 60 state House districts. Two of the state's five state supreme court justices are up for retention election.

Major party candidates seeking to run for congressional or state legislative office in Wyoming must submit an application for nomination to the state Senate and pay a filing fee, which is $200 for congressional offices and $25 for state legislative offices. Candidates seeking a major-party nomination for those offices do not have to collect or submit petition signatures.

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