- The Latest: Embattled senator loses Democratic nomination
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Embattled state Sen. Richard Martinez has lost his bid for the Democratic nomination to Leo Jaramillo. Martinez was seeking a sixth term but his political future became uncertain after being convicted and jailed for drunken driving after rear-ending a car at a stoplight in Española last year. The Ojo Caliente resident had previously served as chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. Jaramillo, a Rio Arriba County Commissioner and Española resident, also has drunken driving conviction in his past. Jaramillo will take on Republican Diamantina Storment of Chama in the heavily Democratic district.
- Fernandez defeats Valerie Plame in New Mexico House primary
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez has defeated former CIA operative Valerie Plame to win the Democratic primary for an open seat representing New Mexico in Congress. Leger Fernandez on Tuesday overcame six competitors to win her party's nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he runs for U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring. Leger Fernandez was making her first bid for public office as a professional advocate for Native American communities and voting rights issues. She could become the first woman to represent the state's 3rd Congressional District. The northern New Mexico district is dominated by registered Democrats, so the nomination is likely to be decisive.
- Democratic nomination eludes ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez defeated former CIA operative Valerie Plame to win the Democratic nomination in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District in Tuesday's primary. Leger Fernandez is a professional advocate for Native American pueblo communities and voting rights issues. She overcame six competitors including Plame to win her party's nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he runs for U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring. Republican primary voters embraced the familiar faces of a former television weatherman and two-time congressional nominee in attempts to claw back a House swing seat and Senate seat from Democratic control.
- The Latest: Ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame loses N.M. race
Former CIA operative Valerie Plame has lost her race in the Democratic primary for an open seat representing New Mexico in Congress. Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez overcame six competitors to win her party's nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he runs for the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring. In her first run for public office, Plame harnessed her fame as a former U.S. intelligence operative whose secret identity was exposed shorty after her diplomat husband disputed U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion.
- New Mexico reports 116 new virus cases among state inmates
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico health officials have reported an additional 227 coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to more than 8,000. The figures released Tuesday include 116 new cases among inmates in the custody of the New Mexico Corrections Department that are being held at a lockup in Otero County. That comes after health officials said a day earlier that a male inmate in his 30s there had died after being infected. The inmate had preexisting conditions. It was the first COVID-19 inmate death for the southern New Mexico facility. The state also reported five additional deaths Tuesday, bringing the total to 367.
- Charges in New Mexico GOP building vandalism dropped
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Vandalism charges against a former Democratic aide accused of tagging the building of the Republican Party of New Mexico have been dropped. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's office last week dismissed charges against Cameron Chase McCall. He was charged in February with criminal damage to property after authorities compared video footage of the vandalism with a photo of him on his Facebook page. But prosecutors say there was no enough evidence in the case and there were discrepancies involving the vehicle used. Republican Pary of New Mexico spokesman Mike Curtis declined to comment.
- Hundreds of protesters march peacefully in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Hundreds of people marched peacefully Monday night in downtown Albuquerque a day after a similar protest against the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis preceded the setting of dozens of small fires and other damage in New Mexico's most populous city. There was a heavy police presence as the crowd that gathered Monday evening near the University of New Mexico marched in rain while chanting "I can't breathe." The crowd began to disperse around 10 p.m. and most had left by midnight. Mayor Tim Keller said agitators for violence were to blame for damage that occurred hours after Sunday' evening's largely peaceful march.
- Report: Child disparities highest in US South, West
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A new report says childhood disparities are worst among rural, black-majority counties in the American South and isolated counties with large Native American populations. A Save the Children report released Tuesday found that children in the most disadvantaged counties die at rates up to five times of children elsewhere in the same state. The report says children in those counties also are 14 times as likely to drop out of school and are three times as likely to lack healthy food and consistent meals. The report examined 2,600 counties using federal data from 2018. The group recommends expanding early childhood education programs.