The New Mexico Secretary of State on Tuesday finished the tally of who will appear on the June 2 primary ballot, officially giving U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) a primary challenger, and making the Republican bid for governor a three-way race.
Tuesday marked the deadline for election officials to verify whether candidates who did not earn enough of their party’s support at pre-primary conventions collected enough signatures to make the primary ballot. Some candidates, like first-term state Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Aztec), were already disqualified for failing to submit new declarations of candidacy following a poor outing at the party convention.
Matt Dodson, a self-described Democratic Socialist from Farmington, is set to face Luján in the June primary race for the U.S. Senate seat. Dodson earned 14% of delegates for his U.S. Senate bid at the state Democratic Party’s convention in Mescalero. Candidates needed to get at least 20% to automatically make the ballot.
After collecting further signatures, though, Dodson made the cut. He told Source NM Tuesday that he was thrilled to be on the ballot and said his outing at the convention illustrated “just about everything wrong with the Democratic Party right now.”
The Secretary of State qualified Republican Duke Rodriguez, a former state cabinet secretary and cannabis CEO, in a three-way gubernatorial race that includes Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and public relations professional Doug Turner. Both Hull and Turner earned enough votes at the party’s pre-primary convention to qualify for the ballot. Rodriguez skipped the debate.
“The Secretary of State’s final designation is the starter’s gun, and from here we run through Election Day,” Rodriguez told Source NM Tuesday.
Questions of whether Rodriguez lives in New Mexico or Arizona have plagued his campaign since he announced his bid for the state’s highest office in December. He’s successfully fended off two challenges to his eligibility as a candidate in court and faces an appeal in the New Mexico Supreme Court, which has not yet made a decision on his eligibility.
Rodriguez is set to speak as a gubernatorial candidate at an Albuquerque Journal town hall event Wednesday afternoon.
The Secretary of State’s Office also qualified several other candidates who didn’t garner enough convention support.
Candidates have until April 7 to pull out of the primary election, according to the Secretary of State’s candidate guide.
U.S. House of Representatives
Jose Orozco, an Albuquerque Republican and former drug enforcement officer, earned a spot on the ballot to challenge fellow Republican Greg Cunningham, a former Marine and police officer. Both are vying for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) Orozco did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Governor
Election officials qualified Republican A. Blair Dunn, an attorney and former Libertarian attorney general candidate, for the lieutenant governor’s race after he lost out at the convention. Likewise, they qualified Republican Manuel “Manny” Lardizabal for the same race. They’ll face state Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice). Dunn and Lardizabal did not respond to requests for comment.
Write-ins
Numerous write-in candidates, whose names will not appear on ballots, also qualified:
They are Republican Larry Marker of Roswell for the U.S. Senate seat held by Luján; Republican Joshua James Ryan Lawrence of Albuquerque for the Office of the State Auditor; Republican Jim Ellison of Cedar Crest for State Treasurer; Republican Richard Zubia of Albuquerque for the state House of Representatives seat currently held by Democrat Rep. Miguel García; Democrat David Mooney of Radium Springs for the state House seat currently held by Republican Rebecca Dow; Republican Adam Prior of Rio Rancho for the state House seat held by Democrat Kathleen Cates; and Democrat Jacob Trujillo of Albuquerque for the Public Education Commission.
