Tuesday was a big night for New Mexico Democrats.
Voters elected Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham as the state’s governor-elect.
For years, the state’s Legislature has been a Democrat and the governor has been Republican, making it difficult for Democrats to pass legislation.
Now, both are Democrat, giving the newly elected governor a lot of support to help pass her agenda once she takes over as governor in January.
“You know for the last eight years, for the most part, the Legislature has been Democratic, the governor’s been Republican, so oftentimes the Legislature didn’t even bother introducing certain legislation because they knew it might be vetoed by the Republican governor,” said KOAT political analyst Brian Sanderoff.
In the past, said legalizing marijuana will bring “hundreds of millions of dollars to New Mexico’s economy.”
Now, members in the marijuana industry are thrilled by the election results.
“Her views on cannabis use mirror our organizations,” said New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vincent Galbiati.
Galbiati believes Lujan Grisham’s win will help strengthen the industry.
“We really believe in the expansion and improvement in the medical side of cannabis, and
we also look at that as a stepping stone to responsible adult use,” said Galbiati.
That’s something they didn’t believe would be possible with Steve Pearce, the Republican candidate.
“Having adults have the choice of usage to us it seems a little odd. You can walk across the state line and have it perfectly legal, and you can come back to New Mexico and adults can have the choice to use,” Galbiati.
