Duke Rodriguez, the former New Mexico cabinet secretary and cannabis CEO seeking the Republican nomination for governor, earned another victory in court Friday morning. A Santa Fe judge dismissed a lawsuit that alleged Rodriguez does not meet the state’s residency requirements.
Former Public Regulation Commissioner and fellow Republican candidate for governor James Ellison filed the lawsuit and accused Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver of failing to verify Rodriguez’s residency. It also accused Rodriguez of predominantly voting in Arizona rather than New Mexico.
A spokesperson for the New Mexico Secretary of State on Tuesday told Source NM that Rodriguez registered to vote in New Mexico in 2010, but noted that his registration was canceled in 2021 as part of a “statutory voter list maintenance process in compliance with the federal National Voter Registration Act.” Rodriguez registered to vote in New Mexico again on Jan. 14 of 2025.
Friday’s decision marked the second time this week a judge has struck down a challenge to the legitimacy of Rodriguez’s campaign. An Aztec judge on Tuesday dismissed a complaint from former Republican Party of Bernalillo County Chair John Rockwell and Navajo Dam resident James Maes that accused him of not meeting the residency requirements spelled out under the state Constitution. Rodriguez’s attorney countered that those requirements are to hold office — not to appear on the ballot.
“Two courts have now dismissed these residency claims…New Mexicans deserve a real campaign — not courtroom theater,” Rodriguez told Source NM Friday.
The state’s constitutional residency requirement for candidates mandates that they “have been continuously registered to vote here for five years” and “have maintained a residence here,” the Secretary of State’s office previously told Source NM.
Rodriguez in litigation has previously referred to himself as a “resident of Scottsdale, Arizona.” And for years when New Mexico court officials attempted to serve him with parking tickets, the envelopes were often sent back to court and marked “return to sender.
Rodriguez announced his Republican campaign for governor in December. He faces Ellison, as well as first-term state Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Aztec), Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and former New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission Chair Doug Turner. The primary election is June 2.
