Editor’s Note: Today we take break from our investigative series on the U.S./Mexico border by Rebekah and Mary (The BeckMar duo), but rest assured more is coming.

Guest post by Cyber Millenial

Pardon the bad grammar in the title, but it’s a quote, of course.  

Tonight, I got a very interesting phone call. It’s early June of the year before an election year, and the survey calls are already flying fast and fierce.  I wasn’t sworn to secrecy for this one, so I’ll go ahead and say what I heard. They offered three names for Republican Senate 2020.  None of them were Gavin Clarkson or the other explorer I know about.  

The names I heard were these:  Mark Ronchetti, Chief Meteorologist at KRQE; John Sanchez, Martinez’ Lt. Governor; and Nella Domenici, daughter of Pete and businesswoman in her own right. As far as this cyber explorer can find — in albeit a cursory search — none of these people have even announced an exploratory committee.  

I do not know whether the poll I listened to was funded by Democrats who pulled the names out of a hat — or less savory spaces — or by a Republican machine wanting to defeat Mr. Clarkson before he has a chance because he is a hard worker instead of a bootlicker.  Either way, these ghosts don’t impress me.  

I do not know enough about Ms. Domenici to comment on her fitness for her father’s position, except that I hope she’s more like Anne Hillerman than Todd McCaffrey.  I would rather she follow closely to dad’s plotline than to rewrite his legacy into something completely different.

As a reader of news online, I don’t know Mr. Ronchetti as well as I would like either.  If he is actually running, which the poll led me to believe, I would be intrigued to hear what he had to say.  

However, there was one name that inspired me to write this post.  John Sanchez.  Many of my friends are educators.  It didn’t matter whether they were red, blue, green, pink, or purple, they had one common opinion on Martinez’ term:  they all hated Hanna Skandera.  Any elected official who was a part of that mess will not get many votes from educators, even if they are regular supporters of his party.  

The New Mexico primary is still a year or so away.  That’s a long time. People can come and go.  Things can happen. Scandals can unfortunately mar their chances to run. Even miscommunication or wrong information can make it difficult for people to make it.  However, until I hear that any of these people are actually running, to speak to their fitness for the job would be Quixotic.  In the truest sense of the word.  And I am not a fan of chasing ghosts.  

Instead of chasing phantoms who some political analyst forecasts will run or those whom state party leadership wish would run, let us support and communicate with those who already have thrown their hats into the ring and foster a good conversation with them, improving the race for everyone — candidate and constituent alike.

Until then, we ain’t afraid of no ghosts.