Photo by alphabunny_photos/flickr.com
There were no surprises at the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, the official filing day for candidates who want to appear on the June and November ballots.
Now Secretary of State Mary Herrera, who is seeking re-election to a second term herself, said she will direct her staff to certify each candidate’s petitions and prepare for possible challenges.
Herrera said she anticipates several petition challenges, especially for some signatures collected by Republican candidates who announced their decisions to run within the last two weeks.
Despite their late announcements, Matt Chandler (attorney general), Spiro G. Vassilopoulos (state land commissioner), state Sen. Dianna Duran (secretary of state) and Jim Schoonover (state treasurer) collected enough signatures to file their petitions on Tuesday.
NMPolitics.net caught up with the secretary of state in Albuquerque on Tuesday to talk about the filing process.
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As expected, Diane Denish was the only Democratic candidate to file signatures for her party’s nomination for governor.
Claiming organization strength, Denish filed 10,200 signatures, including signatures from every New Mexico county.
“I am extremely grateful for this strong level of grassroots support from every corner of New Mexico,” Denish said.
All five announced candidates for the GOP gubernatorial nomination met the 5 p.m. deadline.
You can find the full list of candidates who filed today by clicking here.
Democrat candidates had to submit 2,162 signatures, while Republicans had to collect a minimum of 1,060.
The candidates now have until March 13 to prepare for their parties pre-primary nominating conventions. To secure a spot on the ballot without having to collect additional signatures, they must garner at least 20 percent of their parties’ delegate votes.
NMPolitics.net also spoke to Herrera about concerns she has about funding for the election. She says she’s short $489,000 for the primary election and $794,000 for the general election. Herrera said if lawmakers don’t approve funding during the current legislative session she’ll be forced to ask for another Board of Finance loan, which is not guaranteed. Herrera told NMPolitics.net she is still paying off a $800,000 loan from the 2008 election cycle.
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Peter St. Cyr is a contributing writer for NMPolitics.Net and a political reporter for 770KKOB.com. He can be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.