High-ranking lawmakers from statehouses in New Mexico, Washington and Illinois on Tuesday sought to draw a contrast between their economic policies and President Donald Trump and Republicans’ tariffs, trade wars and mass deportations.
During a news conference Tuesday hosted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national Democratic Party’s arm focused on electing Democrats to state legislatures, New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez of Albuquerque said the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade wars are raising prices of groceries and creating challenges for New Mexico’s small business owners, especially its breweries and coffee roasters, in a state bordering Mexico and where international trade is vital to its economy.
Martínez also pointed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mass deportations’ effects on the state’s entire workforce, especially farmworkers, oil and gas workers and their loved ones.
“We’re the second-highest producer of oil and gas, and a lot of that workforce is either undocumented or in mixed-status families,” Martínez said. “New Mexico is famous for Hatch green chile. Guess who picks that chile: immigrant communities.”
To contrast his party’s policies with those of Republicans, Martínez pointed to New Mexico’s enactment of guaranteed access to child care and early childhood education in the state constitution; tuition-free college; free lunches in public schools and tax cuts for people with lower incomes.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from the Republican Party of New Mexico was not returned on Tuesday. Source NM also asked a spokesperson for the Senate Republican Leadership Office for comment and will update this story as needed.
Illinois House Speaker Pro Tempore Ken Buckner said the tariffs on steel, aluminum and lumber are driving up the prices of housing, food and health care.
“Across the country, families are already stretched to the breaking point,” Buckner said. “And instead of helping, Republicans gave us something that made it all worse: Trump’s tariffs.”
Washington Senate Deputy Majority Leader Manka Dhingra said the tariffs will shrink her state’s robust import and export economy with Canada and raise prices at grocery stores, fuel pumps and car dealerships for everyone. Tariffs on Canadian softwood would hike construction costs for homes and residential buildings, she said.
“This is an artificially created crisis due to the impulse of one man, which will impact the pocketbook of every Washingtonian and American,” Dhingra said.
Dhingra said Democrats are not opposed to tariffs across the board but rather disagree with the way Trump is carrying out his tariffs.
“We can be thoughtful, we can be methodical, we can have conversations and if there are tariffs that need to be imposed, let’s make sure we do it the right way and make sure there’s predictability there,” she said.
