GOP races take shape, Deb Haaland ducks debates w/ Bregman
Over the weekend Republicans gathered in Ruidoso for their “pre-primary convention.” Among other news from the event is that Rio Rancho Mayor Greg Hull led the vote tally with 239 votes from delegates. Doug Turner, a businessman and latecomer to the race, got 104 votes, meaning both will be on the ballot for Republican voters June 2. Other candidates can collect more signatures to get on the ballot. While an interesting barometer the pre-primary convention is not a particularly barometer in determining electoral success.
The same is true for the CD 2 race where Greg Cunningham is on the ballot running against Rep. Gabe Vasquez but Jose Orozco will need to collect more signatures. The race represents the best opportunity for Republicans to win a US House seat in New Mexico this year.
No Republicans are running for state auditor or treasurer, meaning incumbent Democrats Joseph Maestas and Laura Montoya, respectively, are currently running for reelection unopposed.
On the Democrat side, Deb Haaland is not surprisingly ducking debates with her opponent Sam Bregman. She has agreed to a few candidate forums, but with a large lead in the polls and serious questions about her capability to coherently speak publicly about the issues Haaland is expected to avoid debating in both the primary and general elections.