The lawmaker and Santa Rosa mayor will formally announce his candidacy next week
State Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa, announced today that he’s running for lieutenant governor next year.
Campos, who is also the mayor of Santa Rosa, “will formally announce his candidacy” on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Rudolfo Anaya/Bless Me Ultima monument in Santa Rosa, according to a news release. Click here for a map.
Campos’ goals include “job growth, economic stability and improved quality of life through the expansion of renewable energy, innovation in education and vocational training, and the promotion of high quality, accessible, and affordable health care,” the news release states.
Campos has been a lawmaker for six years — he chairs the House Voters and Elections Committee — and the town’s mayor for almost 12 years. He briefly entered the 2nd Congressional District race in November 2007, but dropped out two days after he announced, saying a ruptured disc in his back needed immediate surgery that would have prevented him from campaigning.
Already in the lieutenant governor’s race are Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano and state Sens. Linda Lopez and Gerald Ortiz y Pino of Albuquerque. New Mexico State University Regent Javier Gonzales; Lawrence Rael, who heads the Mid-Region Council of Governments; and former U.S. Navy officer and current law student Matthew Padilla have said they are also considering entering the race.
And Brian Colón, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, is expected to resign from the party position later this week to join the race.
There are no declared Republican candidates for lieutenant governor.