Albuquerque, NM–  As part of his tour to bolster his national profile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was the featured speaker at a rally yesterday in Carlsbad to stump for GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti and U.S. Representative Yvette Herrell. DeSantis espoused the same far-right rhetoric that made him the new MAGA torchbearer, with Ronchetti and Herrell gleefully standing in solidarity with DeSantis’ extreme record.

During the rally, DeSantis attacked the FBI and defended the homophobic “Don’t Say Gay” bill, his signature act as Governor. His record as Governor is also marked by an extreme abortion ban that makes no exceptions for rape or incest, a refusal to build consensus or work across the aisle, climate change denial, and causing thousands of deaths by refusing to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously.

As they try to ride the coattails of DeSantis’ fame within the Republican Party, Mark Ronchetti and Yvette Herrell reaffirm that they fully support the radical MAGA agenda that inspires insurrectionists and anti-democratic conspiracy theorists.

“New Mexicans should be disappointed that Mark Ronchetti and Yvette Herrell gleefully stood by in slack-jawed admiration as Floridian DeSantis rattled off his greatest hits – homophobia and extremism,” said Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia. “By campaigning with Ron DeSantis on his tour to become the new poster-boy of MAGA, Mark Ronchetti and Yvette Herrell have made it absolutely clear that they intend to bring extreme MAGA policies here to New Mexico.”

DeSantis has made it clear that he’ll try to position himself as the far-right’s most visible prospect and Ronchetti and Herrell proved on Sunday that they will always act in accordance with DeSantis’ extremist MAGA agenda.

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