The effective Republican nominee for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District Alexis Martinez Johnson rebuked infamous Squad member U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley for what she called a tweet with a “racist implication.”
Some have called Pressley’s tweet bigoted as well.
Black and Latinx commuters are disproportionately criminalized by fare evasion policies. Congress must pass my #FreedomtoMove Act to grant Black and brown riders the freedom to navigate their community without fear.
Martinez Johnson, a proud Latina Republican, tweeted back at Pressley, saying:
As a Hispanic mother, I’m not worried about a $1 bus ticket. We’re dealing with truly unaffordable gas, groceries, and other necessities caused by out of touch inflationary policies like this.
Also, we don’t say “latinx”.
It is unclear if Pressley, a black person, intended to imply that only black, brown, and people of Latin descent jump fares and ride public transit illegally, but that is how many, including Martinez Johnson took it, according to a statement provided to The Star News Network.
“As a Hispanic woman, I resent the frankly racist implication that black and brown people are somehow unwilling or unable to pay for public transit.” she said. “It’s an ugly and demeaning characterization that I find personally offensive.”
Martinez Johnson continued, blasting the legislation Pressley is pushing. “This bill being pushed by Ayanna Pressley and the so-called Squad is woefully out-of-touch. Struggling Americans aren’t worried about $1 bus fares — they’re trying to figure out how to pay for record high $6/gallon gas, and paying nearly double the cost on essentials like bread, milk, and eggs.” she said. “Pressley’s plan would serve only to exacerbate our inflationary crisis. Rather than help our most vulnerable American families, it would instead make it harder for them to get by.
Martinez Johnson concluded, saying “Pressley’s use of inflammatory, out-of-touch language to hoodwink the American people with bad legislation is immoral and unconscionable.”
The Star News Network previously reported that Martinez Johnson is running against incumbent Democrat U.S. Representative Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-NM-03) in the November general election for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District seat. This race is a rematch of the 2020 election which was held under the prior district map.
Martinez Johnson’s opponent, Leger-Fernandez, made headlines when she said in March that that love will unite the United States and the world to defeat Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I believe that love is what we will use to repel that repellent Putin and his vicious war on a democratic and free Ukraine.” said Leger-Fernandez. “I believe that President Biden is operating from a sense of love to unite a country and a world, not to build walls that divide us but to build the bridges that unite us. That is the only way that democracy fights tyranny abroad and at home. We gotta fight it everywhere.”
The race for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District seat is a competitive race due to redistricting and the current national environment. The NRCC, along with former former Vice President Mike Pence’s new PAC, Advancing American Freedom, is targeting the seat for Republican takeover.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, and Parler.
Photo “Alexis Martinez Johnson” by Alexis Martinez Johnson. Photo “Ayanna Pressley” by U.S. House of Representatives. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Andrew Van Huss. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stop using Latinx to describe Hispanics, it’s derogatory and offensive.