The Democratic Party leaders fighting Jeff Armijo’s attempt to remain on the ballot are gambling with their political futures.
Those four are Gov. Bill Richardson, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Democratic Party Chair John Wertheim.
They’re all on board with the decision to take Democrat Armijo’s name off the ballot in the state auditor race, which has resulted in one of the biggest political messes we’ve seen around here in a long time.
Though they have a legal argument to back up Vigil-Giron’s decision, there’s no certainty it will hold up in court when Armijo files a lawsuit, which will likely happen today. Many sources in the Democratic and Republican parties have told me they believe Armijo will prevail in court.
Their legal argument for taking Armijo off the ballot is this: Though it’s been the practice for decades that candidates could only withdraw from races with signed, notarized letters, nothing in state law requires a letter. Armijo made his party believe he was withdrawing by sending out a news release announcing he would drop out of the race, so he effectively did withdraw, they say.
There are two potential problems with their argument, sources in both parties say:
• Though state law doesn’t require a letter, it’s been the practice of the secretary of state’s office for decades. It’s also been the practice that the candidate, not his or her party, has to make the request to the secretary of state. In this instance, Richardson’s office, not Armijo, faxed the news release and other materials to Vigil-Giron.
• Even if the legal argument of Armijo’s opponents holds up in court, there’s another precedent that must be considered. Lorenzo Garcia is currently the Republican on the ballot in the auditor race, but his predecessor, Dan Alvarez, filed not only a signed, notarized letter withdrawing from the race, but later another letter withdrawing his withdrawal, which was also accepted by Vigil-Giron’s office. He later withdrew again and was replaced by Garcia.
If he could withdraw his withdrawal in the same manner that he originally withdrew, why couldn’t Armijo do the same? Armijo sent out a news release to announce he was dropping out of the race, and did the same, before Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline to withdraw, to announce he was changing his mind.
In addition to Armijo’s candidacy, here’s what’s at stake:
• Richardson wants more than 60 percent of the vote in November. That would be a springboard for a presidential run. He wants Democrats to vote straight-ticket, and fears having Armijo on the ballot might discourage that.
Strong-arming Armijo off the ticket is a gamble. If the Supreme Court or, even worse, a federal judge overturns Vigil-Giron’s decision, Richardson’s attorneys, who dreamed up the legal argument accepted by Vigil-Giron, look incompetent, and Richardson looks like big, bad Goliath losing to little David.
• Madrid is seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and has a shot at winning, but she’s been plagued by allegations that she failed to investigate the scandal in the treasurer’s office and has become a rubber stamp for Richardson. If Armijo’s opponents lose this one, Madrid could be seen as the rubber stamp for Goliath, and it will be one more reason for Wilson to hammer her.
• Some members of the party already wanted Wertheim out before this mess. If he loses, the once rising star in the Democratic Party might also be on his way out.
Stay tuned.
The Democratic Party leaders fighting Jeff Armijo’s attempt to remain on the ballot are gambling with their political futures. 
Though they have a legal argument to back up Vigil-Giron’s decision, there’s no certainty it will hold up in court when 
There are two potential problems with their argument, sources in both parties say: