Font ResizeSANTA FE - The audience for Gov. Susana Martinez's first State of the State address on Tuesday likely included some Republicans around the country who are starting to get to know a political figure who one day could be giving a bigger speech.
While in past years the former Las Cruces prosecutor focused on the local political scene, observers say Martinez - the nation's first female Hispanic governor - could eventually be headed for something larger, a suggestion backed up by her ties with national leaders and consultants.
Already, her possible role in national politics has been mentioned in publications as diverse as the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and Politics Daily.
Some political scientists have compared her to Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor who became the Republican vice presidential nominee.
High school friends have recalled Martinez as a teen in El Paso, Texas, saying she'd be the first female president.
But Martinez is just days into her new job as New Mexico state government's top executive, and political scientists around the country say her trip could take a while.
"If I were a betting woman, I'd say the Republican Party is going to be looking to bring her in a more active role," said Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, an assistant political science professor at Northwestern University who is studying Republican women. "But she still has to make a name for herself, because she really was a political unknown."
Still, there are indicators
Her choice for education secretary, Hanna Skandera, for example, has worked for big-state former Republican governors Jeb Bush of Florida and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
Her pick for the Human Services Department, Sidonie Squier, was once a director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Richard May, selected by Martinez to head the Department of Finance and Administration, worked for the U.S. House Budget Committee.
The administration's choice for the Children, Youth and Families Department, Yolanda Berumen-Deines, worked in the Texas Department of Human Services.
And Danny Diaz, her transition spokesman, is a one-time communications director for the Republican National Committee.
Her campaign contributors, as well, are from well beyond New Mexico, or even Texas, where she was born.
Records show she got almost as much money from Washington, D.C., as she did from donors in Albuquerque, including $1.3 million from the Republican Governor's Association and large contributions from well-known Republicans Bob Perry and Foster Friess.
To the speculation about her political future, Martinez says she's focused on New Mexico and daunting tasks at hand.
"The governor has been very clear that she's focused on fixing the budget crisis in New Mexico and improving the quality of education for New Mexico's children," spokesman Scott Darnell said Wednesday. "These are her priorities."
Still, as she focuses on those tasks, others are noticing Martinez, although in the context of a tide of new Latino leaders, said Louis Desipio, a political science professor at the University of California-Irvine who chairs the university's Chicano/Latino Studies.
"She's often mentioned as part of a one- or two-sentence summary of the Latino victories in the 2010 election, often paired with (Nevada Gov.) Brian Sandoval and (Florida U.S. Sen.) Marco Rubio," he said.
Overall, though, DeSipio said, Martinez isn't yet well known and sometimes her ethnicity seems to be mentioned before her political party, if the fact that she's a Republican is mentioned at all.
To gain more national notoriety, University of New Mexico political science professor Gabriel Sanchez said, Martinez would need to shine in her job, and in particular handling the state financial crunch.
"If she can do something about the budget, being able to tackle it without raising taxes, it will go a long way," he said. "It's like when (former Gov. Bill) Richardson ran for president, he was able to say, 'Look what I've done in New Mexico."'
Soto said Martinez also might make a name for herself if she can make improvements to New Mexico's education system, which was a theme of her campaign.
Soto said Martinez, in Tuesday's address at the Capitol, came across as "tough and sassy." "She's kind of Sarah Palin-esque, saying 'we're selling the jet, and my husband is doing the cooking,"' Soto said.
Beyond what she does in office, Martinez could be what the Republicans are looking for on other levels, Sanchez said. "A Latina face is very unique. It gives you two voting blocks, Latinos and women, and that's the unique value she brings."
But she brings other qualities to the table that national Republicans might like, said Sylvia Manzano, a political science professor at Texas A&M. "The fact that she's not from D.C. is a helpful thing," Manzano said. "She doesn't have the baggage of the ugliness of debates like repealing health care on her hands."
Martinez also could bring new Southwest voters into the Republican fold, Manzano said. "When people think about Latinos, it's not just Miami Cubans."
Manzano said she could see Martinez in a Cabinet position someday or maybe the U.S. Senate. "If she won the governership, she could easily win the Senate," Manzano said. "It's the same electorate, statewide."
Contact Kate Nash at (575) 986-3036 or knash@sfnew mexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.
