One legislative campaign begins, another ramps up

A GOP educator has formally announced his campaign to replace Brian Moore in the New Mexico House, and a Democrat who has been in the race to unseat state Sen. Clinton Harden for some time is ramping up his campaign.

Dennis J. Roch, assistant superintendent for the Tucumcari Schools, announced his candidacy fro the District 67 House seat on Thursday.

“Dennis knows the district and the issues,” Moore said in a release from Roch. “He will make a superb representative for northeastern New Mexico.”

Roch plans to make education the centerpiece of his campaign, saying “New Mexico residents want decisions about their children’s schools made by local boards of education, not by bureaucrats in Santa Fe or Washington.”

In addition to being a professional educator, Roch has been a member of the state Public Education Commission since 2004 and chaired it since 2006.

Roch also cited agriculture, respect for property rights and the Second Amendment as important issues.

A graduate of Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, Roch served on the staffs of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and former U.S. Rep. Bill Redmond before pursuing a career in public education.

Jeff Carr has been campaigning for the District 7 Senate seat currently held by the Republican Harden for months. In a weekend e-mail to supporters, he sought to widen knowledge of his campaign and asked for contributions. Harden narrowly won re-election in 2004.

“Many of you have already seen me working hard on the campaign trail, and I hope that shows you I will work just as hard for you,” Carr wrote. “This election is not about me. It is about us, the people of District 7 and New Mexico. I will put the interests of the people of this state first, just like I put my family, my students and my honor in serving this country in uniform before my own benefit.”