Building anger in rural New Mexico erupts in election crisis

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Behind the raw public frustration and anger over election security that has played out this week in New Mexico was a hint of something deeper — a growing divide between the state’s Democratic power structure and conservative rural residents who feel their way of life is under attack. In the state’s vast, rural stretches, frustration over voting and political representation has been building for years. Residents have felt marginalized and overrun by government decisions that have placed limits on their livelihoods. Tensions have been mounting for years as Democrats in New Mexico have consolidated control over every statewide office and the Supreme Court.