Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block wanted to be the Republican nominee for governor, promising to push for a full abortion ban in New Mexico, if elected. He lost the GOP primary, but he remains a county commissioner in a county with a solid Republican majority and rising pressure to advance local abortion restrictions, along with drastic (and likely illegal) changes to voting access laws.
While Block says he is all pro-life and pro-family, at least one member of his family disagrees.
When Block attacked Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s pro-choice stance as “pretty disgusting” on Twitter late last year, his daughter, Madison Block, who goes by Maddie, replied with a tweet of her own.
“My dad likes to call women “disgusting” when they advocate for themselves. He called me ‘disgusting’ too when I called him out on not taking COVID seriously and when I questioned his abusive behavior towards my mom & siblings before he left and disowned us all,” tweeted Maddie Block. “‘Pro-life’ my ass,” she added. Her tweet recently gained new attention when it was reported by the progressive blog themarysue.com. Ms. Block recently confirmed the authenticity of the Tweet and her relationship to Jay Block to this outlet.
Although Block lost the Republican primary by a wide margin, Block’s push for abortion restrictions in New Mexico could still be relevant. Earlier this month, the Otero County Commission passed a county-level abortion ban in spite of warnings from their own county attorney that it would likely be unenforceable. Pro-life activists have pushed other Republican-controlled county commissions, including Sandoval County, to follow suit.