Last week, New Mexico weatherman and former Vermont resident, Mark Ronchetti announced his candidacy on the Republican ticket in the crowded U.S. Senate race to replace outgoing Democrat Sen. Tom Udall. Although some may be quick to embrace the longtime weatherman based on his television persona, the machine behind his candidacy and his past should be carefully scrutinized before blindly supporting the mainstream media personality.
Ronchetti’s Experience
For all the years Ronchetti has worked for left-wing mainstream media CBS affiliate KRQE News 13, not once have New Mexicans seen him supporting conservative causes on the air or off the air in his free time, as our state has become bluer and bluer on the electoral map.
While Ronchetti read the weather and took paychecks from anti-conservative and Trump-hating media, he made a conscious choice to put his career first instead of standing up for the causes he now conveniently professes to support. It’s easy to say “I’m pro-life,” or “I support the 2nd amendment,” but what has he done to show for it? Not much. The word opportunist comes to mind.
According to FEC data and New Mexico Secretary of State data, not a single political donation has been made by Mark Ronchetti to any candidate, political action committee, or party, ever.
Although Ronchetti claims he’s now “concerned that Washington is standing in the way of [a] bright future,” he suddenly wants to help change the direction—but the “change” he seeks for New Mexico requires him becoming a U.S. Senator.
NeverTrumpers, Liberal mainstream media back Mark Ronchetti
When Ronchetti announced his candidacy, leftist media (including his former employer) plastered the airwaves and newspapers with favorable press. In fact, KOB 4 ran his entire three-minute campaign announcement video, as well as KOAT 7—without mentioning any other candidate in the race. These free advertisements should be listed as in-kind donations to his campaign.
The leftist Santa Fe New Mexican tried to elevate the weatherman to “celebrity status” by comparing him with former well-known politicians. The mainstream media personality has seemed to captivate the leftist media machine with his entrance into the race. But then again, up until last week, he was one of them.
In addition to the over-the-top favorable coverage the mainstream media personality received, his candidacy has drawn NeverTrump Republicans off the bench.
Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, a close ally of Susana Martinez, and “tied at the hip” with Jay McCleskey took to Twitter to praise Ronchetti’s entrance in the race, while conveniently having the weatherman on his radio show the day he announced.
White worked with Ronchetti while at KRQE 13 News after leaving the New Mexico Department of Public Safety during the Gary Johnson administration.
White and others associated with Ronchetti’s campaign are hardly conservative Republicans. In fact, White endorsed Gary Johnson over Donald Trump in 2016, appeared in campaign commercials for Martinez, and now is a recreational marijuana legalization advocate. White’s marijuana company donated $11,000 to radical Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign, which helped her win her seat as governor.
Gov. Susana Martinez’s embattled former advisor Jay McCleskey, also appears to be involved in Ronchetti’s campaign, according to some sources.
McCleskey’s political machine has been involved in a number of moderate “RINO” campaigns including most notably, Jeb Bush, Heather Wilson, Susana Martinez, former Albuquerque Mayor RJ Berry, Darren White’s failed congressional campaign and others.
McCleskey’s reputation for his slash and burn campaign style has caused deep divisions within the Republican party between his brand of moderate Republicans and conservative Republicans within the party. One former McCleskey staffer said, “He will do anything to win, no matter what it takes. … He will destroy you as an opponent.”
McCleskey ran NeverTrump Republican Monty Newman’s unsuccessful 2018 bid for Congress, helping Rep. Xochitl Torres Small flip the Republican district blue. It cannot be confirmed or denied whether McCleskey is behind anti-Trump candidate Claire Chase’s congressional run for the seat in New Mexico’s 2nd District.
McCleskey’s wife, Nicole, is a pollster closely tied to Gov. Susana Martinez and served as lead pollster for liberal Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign against Trump in 2015-16. Coincidentally (or possibly not), Susana Martinez now works with anti-Trump Republican Jeb Bush’s education nonprofit “Foundation for Excellence in Education.” While governor, Martinez pushed for the failed “Common Core” system, further harming New Mexico’s education system.
Sitting on a data mine of polling from McCleskey’s wife will no doubt help Ronchetti know exactly what to say. But will New Mexicans actually see who he is, or just an airbrushed, poll-tested, ready-for-TV Xochitl Torres Small-sounding politician, well-taught in avoiding answering questions?
Another Susana Martinez defender Rod Adair, a former state legislator and Trump critic, praised Ronchetti on his blog, “New Mexico Political Journal,” claiming Ronchetti will carry Bernalillo County—due to his former boss’ proximity to the metropolitan area.
Who is Mark Ronchetti?
In his campaign video, Mark Ronchetti says he doesn’t support some of President Donald Trump’s “tweets and soundbites,” which shows his hesitancy to support the President. Anyone who initially comes to a campaign ready to disagree with the leader of their party, cannot be a reliable vote for conservative principles, much like Sens. Mitt Romey or Lisa Murkowski, who have a penchant to take jabs at Trump. If Ronchetti is elected to the Senate, how would we know how he will vote, especially regarding our current President, who he might have to work with at least another four years?
In a statement, Ronchetti wrote, “Hatred for your political opponents can never be stronger than your love of New Mexico—when it is, nobody wins,” yet he may have hired the single most divisive campaign manager possible, who ruthlessly ruins political enemies, despite the political ramifications for his party, and the state.
The baggage tied to Ronchetti’s prominent backers, his membership as a mainstream liberal media personality, not to mention his hesitancy to embrace President Trump, shows just how many questions still remain about the new candidate for Senate and where his priorities lay. Other than what he has told us, we know nothing about him, which should raise many eyebrows to his candidacy.
2020 is such a vital election, since President Trump is on the ballot, and his team looks to win the great state of New Mexico. If we put a weak Republican on the top of the ticket, it will hurt candidates across the state, and it is not a time to take a chance on a candidate who has never proven his conservative principles before. This election, more than any other, we need to reach more women, Hispanics, millennials, and other groups. It’s clear there are other candidates who exemplify a unifying pro-New Mexico message and can reach these groups, not to mention stand by President Trump in the process.
This is not an election in which we should gamble on a candidate just because we’ve seen them reading us the weather on the local news. We must make educated decisions based on proven experience—and Mark Ronchetti just doesn’t have that.
Thank you John for your reporting on Mark.
I must admit, at first, I believed that this candidate was honest and had a sense of integrity for our state. Then I started to doubt what Mark stands for and who he was speaking to and what are his true leanings in politics. (I also wonder how easily he can be bought, as most of the weak humans we send to DC are bought.) Money talks and bull crap walks.
I now understand Mark and his intentions for New Mexico and that is to pad his pockets like the rest of the scum we seem to elect and it appears that Mark has no idea what Service to New Mexico and her citizens means. It may be that mendacity and avarice runs in Ronchetti, if he is associating with the Never Trumps of New Mexico.
A leopard never changes its spots nor a tiger its stripes….Ronchetti certainly has the background and support to be a RINO.
#TRUMPONLY2020
Douchebag Ronchetti,go back to where you came from.
I am a die hard President Trump supporter since day one. I don’t like all his tweets nor do I appreciate how he says things, but I support him. Find out more About Mark before writing him off.
I completely agree with Richard Carrillo! On his website, he says he DOES support the President. Almost every Conservative will tell you they don’t always agree with his tweeting (although I admit, I think it’s an ingenious tactic to rile up the liberal media), but they love what the President is doing. Mark says he is pro-gun, and pro-life and that’s a far site better than what we currently have running this state. I’ll take that improvement any day! Please don’t influence his defeat … he may be the one Conservative that has a chance to win BECAUSE of his local celebrity status.
I tried finding out more about Mark & emailed back & forth both he & his campaign manager but they completely skirted my questions.
Mark Ronchetti is dishonest – he distorts the facts when reporting on his opponents. I thought democrats were the only ones that did this, or is he a democrat in disguise?
Mick Rich for US Senate. Knowledgeable, prolife without exception, and excellent curriculum vitae. Let’s remember that Elisa Martinez was a huge defender of Susana Martinez’s prolife in name only politics and she really has no experience. She is just not qualified. This article is correct about the weatherman. Rich for Senate.
Thank you for this great article! I had already decided I wouldn’t vote for Ronchetti after emailing him to ask if he supported President Trump. He never did clearly answer me & all his campaign manager said was that he himself came from the Trump campaign but didn’t state what Ronchetti’s beliefs are? I can’t stand Darren White who my husband (retired law enforcement) worked with & said no one trusted White. There will be better Republican candidates who do support our President to vote for. Americans are fed up with these line-their-pockets do-nothing politicians.
#2020TrumpLandslide
Hey John. I appreciate your work to expose the snake-in-the-grass republicans. There is nothing worse than backstabbing politicians.
Keep up the good work. We need real “America First” Leaders now, more than ever.
It is curious that there is little to be found at all about Ronchetti’s positions so I decided to research it myself. This site is really the only thing that came to the top.
Your candor is appreciated.
Eliza Martinez will get my enthusiastic support on June 2 and hopefully in November as well.
Douchebag Ronchetti,go back to where you came from.