As many expected, Harvey E. Yates Jr. was elected to be the new chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico on Saturday.
Yates, an oilman from Albuquerque, will lead the party for the next two years and replaces Allen Weh, who has served since 2004. Yates defeated Allen McCulloch of Farmington and Michael J. Meyer of Albuquerque for the leadership position after securing the backing of many high-profile party leaders.
“I’m very honored New Mexico Republicans are entrusting this great party to my leadership as we head into the next election cycle,” Yates, 66, was quoted by the Albuquerque Journal as saying.
Also Saturday, former congressional candidate Bill Redmond of Los Alamos was elected treasurer of the party, defeating former Bernalillo County GOP chairman Fernando C de Baca, who resigned from that position last fall after making racially charged comments that offended many. Nina Martinez, the party’s former secretary, was selected to be first vice chair, and Rod Montoya was selected as second vice chair. Robert Perea will replace Martinez as secretary of the state GOP.