Victory margin among Hispanics:
Bush vs. Clinton: Clinton +34
Christie vs. Clinton: Clinton +38
Cruz vs. Clinton: Clinton +39
Huckabee vs. Clinton: Clinton +45
Martinez vs. Clinton: Clinton +34
Paul vs. Clinton: Clinton +44
Victory margin among whites:
Bush vs. Clinton: tie
Christie vs. Clinton: tie
Cruz vs. Clinton: Clinton +1
Huckabee vs. Clinton: Clinton +4
Martinez vs. Clinton: tie
Paul vs. Clinton: Paul +5
Rand Paul is no more a buffoon than many other Republicans. For a real buffoon there is Sarah Palin, whose mangled diction confuses or offends anyone whose first language isn't English. That describes many in New Mexico, no matter how good their English is as a second language. (A basic rule: stay close to the formal register of English when talking to anyone who might not be a native speaker of English. Non-standard English confuses such people because it needs double-translation). He does not have the serial-marriage 'problem' that Newt Gingrich has.
New Mexico has the largest percentage of Hispanics in the US except perhaps for California. The GOP is losing middle-class Hispanics and needs to have one as the Gubernatorial nominee, and at that someone liberal by GOP standards, to win the state.
Rand Paul is Hard Right on economics if not on military issues... that's not how to convince people who rely more upon formal education than upon ownership of property for success. In general any non-white, non-Anglo, and non-Christian segments of the middle class rely heavily upon education for qualifying for the work that they do.
Republicans have a better chance of winning Pennsylvania or Michigan than they have of winning New Mexico.
