Southwest
Trump makes play for blue-leaning state as he briefly detours from the battlegrounds
It’s been two decades since a Republican carried New Mexico in a presidential election.
You’ve got to go back to President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election.
But former President Trump, making a brief detour from campaigning in the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine whether he or Vice President Kamala becomes the next president, parachuted into the one-time swing state that now leans blue.
“Look, I’m only here for one reason,” Trump told supporters Thursday at a rally in Albuquerque, the state’s largest city.
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Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives at a campaign rally at Albuquerque International Sunport Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“They said, ‘Oh, a Republican can’t win that state.’ They say a Republican can’t win. But you know what? We’re going to win it,” the former president optimistically predicted.
Trump also said his stop in New Mexico was good for his “credentials” with Hispanic voters.
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“I’m here for one simple reason. I like you very much, and it’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community,” he argued.
The former president is facing backlash from some Latino voters after a comedian speaking at his large rally in New York City Sunday called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
There hasn’t been an abundance of polling in New Mexico, but most recent surveys indicate the vice president with an upper single-digit lead over the former president. Although one survey suggested a tighter contest for the state’s five electoral votes.
Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives at a campaign rally at Albuquerque International Sunport Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
With time such a precious commodity for presidential campaigns and the clock quickly ticking toward Election Day, New Mexico Democrats said Trump’s trip to the state — his first in five years — is a fool’s errand.
“Trump is wasting his time coming to our state as polling shows New Mexicans are set to reject his MAGA extremism and divisive rhetoric yet again,” Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia claimed in a statement ahead of the former president’s trip.
Referring to the Oct. 31 stop in Albuquerque by the former president, Garcia took a verbal shot at Trump, saying “a rotund orange mass will be in Albuquerque on Halloween, and we’re not talking about a pumpkin.”
Trump urged his supporters to get out and vote, saying, “New Mexico. Look, don’t make me waste a whole damn half a day here, OK.”
While the former president’s New Mexico rally five days before Election Day may not boost him in the battle for the state’s five electoral votes, it could boost Republicans down ballot.
Nella Domenici, the Republican Senate nominee in New Mexico, campaigns in Carlsbad, N.M., Oct. 29, 2024 (Nella Domenici Senate campaign)
Nella Domenici, the 2024 GOP Senate nominee and the daughter of New Mexico’s last Republican senator, is trying to defeat Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is running in November for a third six-year term, as her party works to win back the chamber’s majority.
“Trump is definitely going to help us with the independents,” Domenici predicted in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the former president’s visit. “People are really excited to have Trump come here.”
Domenici, who spoke at the Trump rally, emphasized that “it definitely excites the base hugely, and the base is kind of a growing term.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
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