Democrats and Republicans from around the state will gather on Saturday at separate locations in the
Democrats will gather at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. Republicans will gather at the Marriott Uptown Hotel in
Both events are open to the public, but only elected delegates from county conventions and their alternates may participate. The delegates will vote on the order that candidates will appear on the ballot in June and, in some instances, may even reduce the number of candidates running.
Candidates must receive the votes of 20 percent of delegates at the conventions to appear on the ballot. If they don’t achieve that goal, they can opt to try to gather a large number of signatures in a short amount of time as an alternate route to the ballot.
Several Democrats are seeking all three open U.S. House seats, so the convention is important in all three races. For Republicans, the most interesting contests to watch will be the U.S. Senate and Second Congressional District primary races.
Registration for the Democrats’ convention begins at 8 a.m. The convention begins at 10 a.m. with a speech from Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, and then candidates will give their speeches before delegates vote.
For Republicans, registration begins shortly after 9 a.m., and the convention begins at 10:30 a.m. Candidate speeches are tentatively scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m., and the Lincoln Day Dinner begins at 7 p.m.