The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Several former lawmakers will try to rejoin the Legislature, and many who’ve had free rides in the past won’t this year. There are potentially competitive primary and general election contests all over the state.
The bottom line from candidate filing day seems to be that we have lots of potentially competitive state legislative races to watch this year in New Mexico.
I’ve already written about many of the more interesting races. Here’s a list of some I’ve not written about before that took shape when candidates filed on Tuesday:
- As expected, State Rep. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces filed to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Nava. He’ll face a primary challenge from former Sunland Park Mayor Jesus “Ruben” Segura, who opted against running for a third term in that office four years ago. The winner will face Republican Brett Preston in the heavily Democratic-leaning district.
- Up north, Democratic Rep. Thomas Garcia of Ocate opted to challenge Sen. Pete Campos of Las Vegas in a primary rather than taking on Nick Salazar of Ohkay Owingeh in the House. Redistricting put Garcia and Salazar in the same district and forced the choice. Salazar drew two primary opponents, and the winner will face a Republican in November.
- Former Sen. Shannon Robinson (yes, THAT Shannon Robinson), a newly registered Republican who was a Democrat when he served in office, will run against the Democratic senator who unseated him in 2008, Tim Keller of Albuquerque.
- Former Republican Sen. H. Diane Snyder – who Democrat Tim Eichenberg unseated four years ago – will try to retake the Albuquerque-area seat from him.
- Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, who had a free ride in 2008, won’t have it so easy this time. He’ll face one of two Republicans in November – Cliff Pirtle, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce in 2010, or Chad Hamill, the Roswell fire chief and a school board member.
- Democrat Nate Cote of Organ will try to retake the House seat Republican Rick Little of Las Cruces took from him in 2010.
- Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, will face a primary challenge from Larry Martinez, a small businessman from Lordsburg. The winner will face Republican Russell G. Allen, the chairman of the Republican Party of Doña Ana County and the owner of movie theaters in Las Cruces.
- Democrat Stephanie Richards, who nearly unseated Republican Rep. Jeanette Wallace of Los Alamos in 2010, will run against Jim W. Hall, who replaced Wallace in the House when she died last year.
- Angie Spears, the Republican who Gov. Susana Martinez is backing in her bid to replace the retiring Clinton Harden of Clovis in the Senate, won’t have a free ride. Two other Republicans, John Patrick “Pat” Woods and Mark Myers, also filed to run. No Democrats filed for the seat.
- Sen. Bernadette Sanchez of Albuquerque will face three challengers in the Democratic primary – Jacob Candelaria, president of Equality New Mexico; former Albuquerque City Councilor Steve D. Gallegos; and Carlos Jose Vallanueva.
- Republican Rep. Dianne Hamilton of Silver City, who no Democrat has challenged since 2002, will face one of two Democrats – State Democratic Party Central Committee member Guadalupe Cano or former Silvery City Mayor Terry Fortenberry – this year.
- Four Democrats filed to run for the Albuquerque-area Senate seat Eric Griego is vacating to run for Congress. They include James Taylor, who Griego beat to win the seat in 2008; State Rep. Eleanor Chavez; Cecilia Romero Tkach, who has run unsuccessfully for the seat before; and businessman Michael Padilla. No Republicans filed to run for the seat.
Additional links
That’s just a sample. There are lots of interesting races around the state. You can learn more from the New Mexico Telegram, Capitol Report New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal, the Las Cruces Sun-News, The Santa Fe New Mexican, and the Associated Press.
You can also find a list of candidates who filed Tuesday on the Secretary of State’s website. Many filed in local counties instead of with that office, so if that list isn’t complete, you can find the Bernalillo County list here and the Doña Ana County list here.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Allen was the former chairman of the Doña Ana County Republican Party.