Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
ROSWELL — Walter Hartwell White, the fictional meth cook from the hit series “Breaking Bad,” is making a run for Congress.
Someone using the name of White, the lead character in the Albuquerque-based, drug-fueled crime drama, filed documents with the Federal Election Commission on June 15 to run as a Republican in the race to represent New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in 2024.
“Breaking Bad,” which aired from 2008 until 2013, centered on White, a high school chemistry teacher who becomes embroiled in the gritty and violent world of drug trafficking when he uses his talents to produce a highly potent form of methamphetamine.
The paperwork also incorporates other elements of the series, referencing White’s troubled sidekick Jesse Pinkman and listing White’s campaign committee as Gus Associates, a nod to Gus Friel, the fast-food entrepreneur and narcotics distributor on the show, who is also listed as the campaign’s treasurer.
Also included in the forms is the address of the Albuquerque house used as White’s residence in the series.
Former U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM-02) already has launched a campaign to unseat current U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) in the 2nd District. Vasquez defeated Herrell by 1,350 votes in November in one of the hardest-fought contests of the 2022 election cycle.
The FEC does not appear to appreciate the prank. A letter addressed to Fring from the agency voiced skepticism that Fring, as campaign treasurer, may “have failed to include the true, correct, complete” information about White’s principal campaign committee.
Per federal law, an individual can face up to five years in prison for making “any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” to a federal agency, including the FEC.
The letter warned that failing to respond to the letter by July 25 will lead to White’s paperwork being removed from the commission’s searchable database of registered campaigns and committees.