Justices on the New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon unanimously upheld a District Court judge’s decision to dismiss a challenge to the legitimacy of former state cabinet secretary Duke Rodriguez’s Republican campaign for governor.
“This was the highest court in New Mexico and the decision was unanimous. Period. That should be the end of the conversation,” Rodriguez told Source NM. “It is done. Finished. Complete.”
The lawsuit, brought in February by Navajo Dam resident James Maes and former Republican Party of Bernalillo County Chair John Rockwell, argued that Rodriguez was not eligible to run for governor because he split his time between Arizona and New Mexico and did not renew his New Mexico voter registration until early last year. In court, Rodriguez has previously referred to himself as a “resident of Scottsdale, Arizona.”
Eleventh District Court Judge Curtis Gurley in February told Maes and Rockwell that he believed these disputes were best settled at the ballot box rather than in the court chambers. The duo subsequently appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
Days later, a Santa Fe judge struck down a similar suit that challenged Rodriguez’s legitimacy as a candidate.
Rodriguez, a cannabis CEO and former hospital executive, did not earn enough party support at the March Republican pre-primary convention to automatically qualify for the June 2 primary ballot. However, the New Mexico Secretary of State approved him for the ballot last week based on providing sufficient signatures. He is set to face off against Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and public relations professional Doug Turner for the Republican nomination.
“This was nothing more than an effort by operatives supporting two specific candidates to try to create confusion in voters’ minds,” Rodriguez said Wednesday. “There’s never been a moment that I doubted the outcome. Never.”
Rodriguez’s attorney, former state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, in a statement said the Supreme Court order reinforced his belief that “if you come for the Duke, you better not miss.”
