State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, has decided she won’t run for the First Congressional District seat being vacated by Heather Wilson but will seek re-election next year.
Arnold-Jones made the announcement on Sunday.
“Ultimately, money was the deciding factor,” she wrote in an e-mail. “The answer to that question – ‘Can we raise money?’ – is yes, and I am grateful and humbled beyond words for the support of so many.”
But the money she raised was apparently not enough. Arnold-Jones had previously sent a letter to potential supporters stating that she needed to raise $200,000 by Saturday.
“If on the morning of December 16, 2007 we have collected $200,000 or more, I will put your check in the bank and become a candidate for Congress,” she wrote in that letter. “If not, I will return each and every check to its sender and seek re-election to NM House District 24.”
In the e-mail to me, Arnold-Jones confirmed that she will seek re-election. She said she is already preparing for the 30-day session that begins in January and is looking forward to introducing a bill that will seek to improve math, science and engineering education.
Arnold-Jones called it “an honor and a privilege to serve House District 24 and the State of
The Republicans running for the congressional seat are state Sen. Joe Carraro and Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. On the Democratic side, the candidates are attorney Jon Adams, teacher Jason Call, former Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich and former state Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham.