Geise replaces Sanchez at state Democratic Party

Laura Sanchez has resigned from her job as executive director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico after a presidential caucus plagued by problems.

Replacing Sanchez is Josh Geise, a veteran Democratic political operative, state party Chairman Brian Colón confirmed in a news release naming him the interim executive director.

“As we move forward to November, our singular focus is carrying New Mexico for our Democratic presidential nominee, electing Tom Udall to the U.S. Senate and winning all three open congressional seats,” Colón said in the news release. “This is a historic year in New Mexico and I’m excited to have Josh leading our staff at the party as we move forward to November.”

Sanchez resigned over the weekend, and Geise said in an interview that he began work today after meeting with Colón on Monday. He said he doesn’t know how long he will serve as interim director.

“I think we’ll sort of address that at a later date,” Geise said.

The change comes after a Feb. 5 caucus that was plagued by problems. A lack of funding, planning and organization led to the party being overwhelmed by huge voter turnout. It took nine days for the party to finalize results and declare Hillary Clinton the winner, and even after that many have questioned the integrity of the results because of concerns about the reliability of the voter list the party used and other issues.

Gov. Bill Richardson and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez were among the critics of the way the caucus was run. The news release announcing the personnel moves didn’t mention the caucus problems.

Geise said in the release that he is excited to take the job “in what is shaping up to be the most intense campaign cycle in New Mexico history.”

“We have a lot of long days and nights ahead of us and, with the leadership of Chairman Colón, I am confident Nov. 4 is going to be a very good night for New Mexico Democrats,” he said.

Geise most recently worked on Richardson’s presidential campaign as the early states political director. He was the coordinated campaign director for the state’s Democrats in 2006 and, last year, ran the successful campaign for approval of the spaceport tax in Doña Ana County for lobbyist Butch Maki’s campaign consulting arm, The Victory Group.

Colón hired Sanchez in August following a national search. At the time he called the Deming native “a model Democrat” and said her experience as an attorney and political activist would serve the state well.

“Laura did a tremendous job during my first year as chairman as we embarked on an unprecedented listening tour around our state to reach out to Democrats in all corners of New Mexico,” Colón said in today’s news release. “Laura’s work ethic and dedication to the Democratic Party have never wavered, and I wish her the best of luck in the future.”

Colón and Sanchez could not be reached for comment.