ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A former candidate for New Mexico governor was paid $14,000 by a Democratic rival a day before announcing his exit from the race, according to campaign finance records.
Candidate Peter DeBenedittis told the Albuquerque Journal on Thursday that rival Jeff Apodaca had paid him for an email list and to be a campaign spokesman after he had decided to drop out of the race. He said he wasn’t paid to leave.
Apodaca’s campaign finance reports show the $4,000 and $10,000 payments to “Peter D and Company” of Santa Fe on March 13.
DeBenedittis announced his departure the next day. He sent a formal letter to the Secretary of State’s Office to withdraw his candidacy on March 15.
DeBenedittis said he decided to endorse Apodaca after speaking with all the candidates about the issues.
Being unemployed at the time, DeBenedittis said Apodaca offered him the position so he took it.
“To me, I’m trying to leverage the assets in my campaign into assets I can survive off of,” DeBenedittis said.
Through running his own campaign, he said he had gained expertise and compiled a valuable list of Democratic contacts.
“For the amount of work I’m doing vs. any other campaign consultant, I’m getting paid peanuts,” DeBenedittis said.
Apodaca said his former rival shared a similar campaign platform and was a good fit for the job. The hiring came after DeBenedittis had left the race, he said.
With DeBenedittis leaving the race, three Democratic candidates remain - U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, state Sen. Joseph Cervantes and Apodaca, a former media executive.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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