Tonia Harris
Republican Tonia Harris has dropped her attempt to unseat incumbent Democrat Jack Thomas in the Rio Ranch-area District 60 House race.
Harris’ 11-year-old daughter requested she drop out of the race, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting. Harris said she realized being elected would mean spending too much time away from her daughter.
The Sandoval County GOP will pick a replacement candidate on Aug. 5.
In the NMPolitics.net monthly newsletter that goes to qualifying donors, I have listed Thomas at No. 4 on my list of most endangered incumbents in New Mexico this election cycle. Harris’ candidacy created a unique situation in this swing district.
Harris’ husband, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Harris, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest a burglar in the Jemez Mountains in 2009. The burglar was also killed in that shootout. While Harris said she wanted to reinstate the death penalty “for the most heinous crimes such as the murder of law enforcement officers,” Thomas voted for the death-penalty repeal that Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law in 2009.
Harris’ personal situation would have helped her connect with voters in a unique way. As a teacher, she also had the ability to speak credibly about education.
It will be interesting to see who the GOP picks to replace Harris on the ballot, and if Thomas will still be in for a tough re-election battle.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that I listed Harris, not Thomas, at No. 4 on my list of most endangered incumbents in New Mexico.