Green Party Aims at New Mexico : Politics: Slate for the November elections includes a former two-term Democratic lieutenant governor, now running for governor.

SANTA FE, N.M. — In a Western state where environmentalists feud with ranchers, miners and loggers, the Green Party hopes to reap political gains from the seeds of public discontent with government.

The Green Party, trying to broaden its political base beyond the environmental movement, has fielded a slate of candidates in the Nov. 8 general election.

And with the campaign season under way, Democrats worry that the Green gubernatorial ticket could take votes from Gov. Bruce King and help elect a Republican.

Third-party campaigns historically have fizzled in New Mexico, but the Green Party earned a measure of overnight political credibility by selecting a former two-term Democratic lieutenant governor, Roberto Mondragon, as its candidate for governor.

Mondragon was King’s running mate in the 1970s and ‘80s, but he supported a King rival during this year’s three-way Democratic primary election campaign. The incumbent won with 39% of the vote, and a recent poll showed King facing a very tight general election race.

*

“Mondragon’s supporters could really be a swing element in this election. There’s no doubt about that,” said F. Chris Garcia, a political scientist at the University of New Mexico.

Those supporters include liberals dissatisfied with King, a moderate-to-conservative Democrat and rancher. Hispanics, who traditionally back Democrats and account for a third of New Mexico’s voting-age population, represent a critical but uncertain element of Mondragon’s constituency.

“He’ll get a lot of Hispanic votes,” predicted state Auditor Robert Vigil, who is among a group of Democrats withholding their support from King. “The fact that he’s a Hispanic on the ballot will have more impact than (that) he’s a Green Party candidate.”

Mondragon, 54, hasn’t campaigned for office since he lost in a 1982 Democratic primary for a congressional seat.

But he remains well known, especially in Hispanic-dominated counties of north-central New Mexico. He’s a popular guitar-playing performer of traditional Hispanic folk music. For years, he has been host of a Spanish-language radio program. He had a small role in the movie “The Milagro Beanfield War.”

*

What makes Mondragon’s candidacy so unpredictable--and possibly potent--is the strange brew of politics fermenting in the Democratic and Republican parties this year.

Throughout the political season, King faced low ratings in opinion polls despite a booming state economy. In the primary, King’s two Democratic challengers--including the current lieutenant governor--criticized him as a caretaker governor who has failed to prepare the state for growth.

King, 70, has been governor longer than anyone in New Mexico history, having won election to four-year terms in 1970, 1978 and 1990.

In a four-way primary, the Republicans nominated Gary Johnson, 41, a millionaire construction company owner who is making his first bid for elective office. He is trying to appeal to voters as a government outsider.

Enter Mondragon, whose gray beard and long gray hair make him look more like a member of the Grateful Dead than a politician.

According to a mid-July poll by the Albuquerque Journal, 9% of those surveyed said they supported Mondragon. Johnson was the choice of 37%, 29% backed King and about a quarter of those surveyed were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points in either direction.

The challenge for the Greens is to broaden the party’s appeal.

If viewed by voters mostly as environmentalists, the Greens face trouble, Garcia says. People put environmental quality at the bottom of their concerns in polls this year. Crime and the economy ranked at the top.

So far, the Greens haven’t focused on environmental issues. Mondragon talks instead about incentives for small businesses, property tax revisions and campaign finance reform.

Other Green candidates are running for lieutenant governor, state treasurer, land commissioner and a congressional seat. But some Democrats have filed an election law challenge that could knock the Greens off the ballot.

*

Mondragon insists there’s a chance to win the governor’s race if the Greens reach out to people frustrated and angry with government. And, in small ways, the Greens already seem intent on running a mainstream campaign.

Mondragon appeared at a recent news conference in his usual work shirt, blue jeans and boots--a far cry from the suit and tie or sport jacket and bolo tie favored by most New Mexico politicians--but he had changed. Gone was his long ponytail.

“A lot of people . . . have said that we need to look like we’re very serious about this campaign,” said Mondragon. “After three haircuts, how much more serious can I get?”