New Mexico GOP Candidates Are Global Warming Deniers

NM GOP candidates (clockwise from top left): Susana Martinez, Jon Barela, Steve Pearce, and Tom Mullins

Even though New Mexico is facing a future of perpetual drought, killer heat waves, water scarcity, and wildfires, the crop of Republican candidates for major office in the state are in denial about the threat of global warming pollution. Gubernatorial nominee Susana Martinez and all three congressional candidates — former representative Steve Pearce, oil engineer Tom Mullins, and corporate lobbyist Jon Barela — believe scientists are engaged in a conspiracy to destroy our economy:

“[T]here is disagreement in the science community concerning the causes of global warming.” — Susana Martinez, GOP nominee for governor

“I don’t mean to be flippant about this, but only God knows where our climate is going.” — Jon Barela, GOP nominee for the first Congressional district

“I think we ought to take a look at whatever the group is that measures all this, the IPCC, they don’t even believe the crap.” — Steve Pearce, GOP nominee for the second Congressional district

“The science is not settled regarding climate change, temperature records have been falsified, and the assumptions used in computer models have large degrees of error.” — Tom Mullins, GOP nominee for the third Congressional district

The Wonk Room notes that New Mexico’s fragile frontier is already experiencing a wide range of debilitating climate change events, with extreme storms doubling and bark beetles killing tens of millions of trees in the now water-starved state.