Independents bring competition to state races

Several independents filed to run for seats in the state Legislature on Thursday, facing long odds but bringing competition to what would otherwise be uncontested races.

Two in Northern New Mexico are part of a slate of independents pledging election reform.

Former legislator Tweeti Blancett filed to run for the state House of Representatives in District 40.

Democrat Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde is the only other candidate running for the seat, long held by retiring Rep. Nick Salazar.

And Blancett, who was formerly a Republican, is campaigning in large part on a pledge to better represent the sprawling district’s eastern section.

The Eagle Nest resident called the district an example of the “worst of the worst of gerrymandering,” stretching from Española to Pecos, Angel Fire and Mora.

And Blancett argues the eastern end of the mountains have been overlooked.

Pointing to concerns about rural roads and health care centers, she argued: “We’re not getting for these small communities the attention, much less the funding, to fix these problems.”

A rancher who formerly represented Aztec in the state House, she is now a booster for sustainable energy development.

Jarratt Applewhite of Lamy filed to run for a state House seat against Democrat Matthew McQueen in District 50, which stretches from Eldorado to Edgewood and Mountainair.

McQueen, a lawyer first elected in 2014, is otherwise unopposed and did not have a challenger in the primary election earlier this month. An independent may have better odds there, but Democrats are still the largest single group of registered voters, amounting to 45 percent. About 21 percent of voters are either registered with minor parties or as independents.

A real estate agent and self-described high school dropout, Applewhite was formerly a member of the school board in Santa Fe.

And, like Blancett, he is campaigning in part on a platform of opening up the state’s elections by allowing independent and third-party voters to cast ballots in primaries, making it easier for independent and third-party candidates to get on the ballot and bringing an end to gerrymandering.

Applewhite needed 311 petition signatures (any Democrat in the district would have needed 75).

Meanwhile, in the district that was home to perhaps the most contentious Democratic primary election in Northern New Mexico this year, independent Amadeo Ortiz is running against Democrat Andrea Romero to succeed Rep. Carl Trujillo.

Romero won the party’s nomination from Trujillo in the primary.

Ortiz, who works for Santa Fe County and lives in El Rancho, will now be the only person on the ballot with Romero.

Meanwhile, Democrat Heather Nordquist — who backed Trujillo in the primary — is running as a write-in for the seat.

So, far from deciding the race in what is a reliably Democratic district in Northern Santa Fe County, the primary has now set up a twoto three-way contest that could galvanize those disaffected by the outcome of a race riled by allegations of sexual harassment and misuse of public funds.

Still, an independent winning a seat in the Legislature would be unusual.

Independents have served in the Roundhouse before, but only after winning election as a Republican or Democrat.

For example, Democrat Andy Nuñez left his party in 2011 in a public dispute with thenSpeaker Ben Luján. He tried to run for re-election as an independent in 2012 and lost. Nuñez later won running as a Republican. aoxford@sfnewmexican.com