ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Political candidates are gearing up for next Tuesday’s primary election.

One of the biggest showdowns is in northeast Albuquerque, where Democrat Heather Berghmans is running to unseat Democratic state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto. The Senate District 15 race is easily one of the nosiest this year, as an accomplished state senator with a history of controversial behavior tries to hang onto his seat.

Ivey-Soto was first elected into the Roundhouse over a decade ago, and he’s helped craft dozens of new laws in New Mexico. However, he’s also faced numerous sexual harassment allegations and that’s playing a role in his competitor’s campaign.

Berghmans is no stranger to the Roundhouse or the allegations of what happens inside.

“What I’ve heard from the community is that they want a leader that can work well in the Roundhouse to get, to find solutions to these problems and not be a distraction,” Berghmans said.

Berghmans is focused on issues like homelessness and public safety, but her campaign website challenges Ivey-Soto, saying he “has been credibly accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and other forms of abuse over the last two years.”

“It’s important for me to let voters know how he conducts himself in the Roundhouse,” she said.

In 2022, multiple women accused Ivey-Soto of sexual harassment and aggression. That list includes a current state lawmaker, a former lobbyist, and gun violence prevention advocate Mirando Viscoli.

“He, between two doors in a building where there are no cameras, yelled and screamed at me and violently pointed his finger at my face, in my face,” Viscoli said. “It was one of the worst moments of my life.”

Ivey-Soto denies the allegations, but he did step down as chair of the Senate Rules Committee after a leaked report revealed there was probable cause he violated anti-harassment rules.

“I do believe that actually, that initial investigation should not be done by the Legislature,” Ivey-Soto said. “Because I think the public naturally is going to be suspicious either way.”

The New Mexico State Ethics Commission dismissed a similar ethics complaint against Ivey-Soto last year. The senator says revisiting the allegations is a distraction from accomplishments, like a new pretrial detention bill.

“It’s been pretty stressful,” Ivey-Soto said. “You know, we’ve been really wanting to talk about the issues, talk about a lot of the bills that I’ve been working on, the policy issues that I’ve been passing, and the things that I’ve been doing in the district.”

Ivey-Soto pointed out that several of his fellow state senators have donated to his reelection campaign, and one even appeared in his campaign ad extending their support. However, Viscoli argues that should not excuse the numerous accusations of bad behavior.

Whoever wins the primary will likely face Republican Craig Degenhardt in the general election this November.

MANZANITA, Ore. (KTVZ) – A dead humpback whale washed ashore Monday morning at Nehalem State Park near Manzanita, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department confirmed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working to determine the cause of death, but results may not be available for a week, OPRD said.

The whale washed ashore about a mile north of the north Nehalem jetty, near a management area for the western snowy plover, the agency said. Oregon’s beaches are protected nesting grounds for the small shorebird, meaning no access is allowed to the beach from the dry sand area, where signs are posted and pets are not allowed.

OPRD advised beachgoers to watch for special signs or fences during nesting season, March 15-Sept. 15, and to follow the rules to help protect snowy plovers.

There have been multiple dead whales that have beached along the Oregon coast in the past year-and-a-half, KGW reported. In February, a young fin whale washed up on Sunset Beach in Warrenton, near Astoria. In January 2023, three dead whales washed up on the Oregon coast within a span of a week; two of them were gray whales, the other was a 40-foot sperm whale.  

SALT LAKE CITY — An iconic statue of Martha Hughes Cannon will soon leave Utah.

Cannon, who lived from 1857 to 1932, was Utah’s first female state senator and a pioneer in women gaining the right to vote. Her statute, currently sitting on the 3rd floor of the Utah Capitol, outside the old Supreme Court Chambers, will soon be on its way to Washington D.C. to take its place in the U.S. Capitol after a long Covid delay.

Per federal law, each state has two statues placed in the National Statuary Hall to represent it. In 2018 Utah passed a law to send Cannon’s statue to replace Philo Farnsworth and stand alongside Brigham Young. Farnsworth was the inventor of electronic television, his statue will now head to Utah Valley University.

“We want Utah’s women’s suffrage history to be acknowledged nationwide,” said Lt. Gov Deidre Henderson, who was instrumental in the legislation passed when she was a state senator.

Utah’s Congressman, Blake Moore also acknowledged the importance of Martha’s statue coming to D.C.

“[It’s a] pretty neat experience. Utah has a very rich history with the suffrage movement from Sarah Young again to Martha Hughes Cannon. That’s something that we need to celebrate,” Moore said.

Henderson and Moore say women in America have the right to vote because of women like Cannon, who was a leading voice to challenge the status quo. In 1896, Cannon beat out her husband to be elected to the state senate seat.

“(She was) a woman who, once she helped other women earn a voice in their state government, she showed them how to be a representative in their state government,” Henderson said.

She hopes that when Cannon’s statue is placed where the nation will see, it will continue to serve as the blueprint for American women.

“Utah women were far ahead of their time in terms of equality, in terms of voting rights, in terms of education, access…And that’s a fact that’s often overlooked and missed out on in the rest of the country today. And it’s time that we reclaim our history,” she said.

The statue will travel by truck to D.C. There will be a public send-off party at the Capitol on June 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. that the public is invited to attend. There will be live music, food from local food trucks, and activities for children and families.