Trump is playing for the blue-leaning state while briefly diverging from the battlegrounds

It has been two decades since a Republican took office New Mexico in a presidential election.

One has to look back to the re-election of President George W. Bush in 2004.

But former President Trump took a quick detour from campaigning in the seven crucial battleground states that will likely decide whether he or Vice President Kamala becomes the next president, parachuting into the once-swing state that is now the Blue tends.

“Look, I’m here for one reason,” Trump told his 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 the Albuquerque International Sunport in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, October 31, 2024 (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“They said, 'Oh, a Republican can't win this state.' They say a Republican can't win. But you know what? “We will win,” the former president optimistically predicted.

Trump also said his stay in New Mexico would be good for his “reputation” with Hispanic voters.

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“I am here for one simple reason. I like you a lot and it’s good for my reputation in the Hispanic or Latino community,” he argued.

The former president is facing backlash from some Latino voters after a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” at his large rally Sunday in New York City.

There haven't been many polls in New Mexico, but the most recent polls suggest the vice president has a high single-digit lead over the former president. However, a poll suggested tougher competition for the state's five electoral votes.

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives at a campaign rally at the Albuquerque International Sunport in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, October 31, 2024 (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Since time is such a precious commodity for presidential campaigns and the time is getting closer and closer Election day, New Mexico Democrats said Trump's trip to the state – his first in five years – was a fool's errand.

“Trump is wasting his time coming to our state as polls show New Mexicans will once again reject his MAGA extremism and divisive rhetoric,” New Mexico Democratic Party spokesman Daniel Garcia claimed in a statement the former president's trip.

Referring to the former president's Oct. 31 visit to Albuquerque, Garcia launched a verbal attack on Trump, saying, “There will be a round orange mass in Albuquerque on Halloween, and we're not talking about a pumpkin.”

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Trump urged his supporters to get out and vote, saying: “New Mexico. Look, don’t make me waste a whole half day here, okay.”

While the former president's rally in New Mexico five days before Election Day may not give him a boost in the fight for the state's five electoral votes, it could give Republicans a leg up.

New Mexico Republican Senate candidate Nella Domenici campaigns in Carlsbad, New Mexico on October 29, 2024 (Nella Domenici Senate Campaign)

Nella Domenici, the GOP 2024 Candidate for Senate and the daughter of New Mexico's last Republican senator, is trying to defeat Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is running for a third six-year term in November as her party works to regain the House majority.

“Trump will definitely help us with the independents,” Domenici predicted in an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of the former president’s visit. “People are really excited about Trump coming here.”

Domenici, who spoke at the Trump rally, emphasized that “it definitely energizes the base tremendously, and the term 'base' is kind of a growing term.”

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