Congressional seat likely up for grabs

Names of potential candidates have surfaced, but none committed to running yet

Now that Deb Haaland has been nominated to lead the Department of the Interior, who will take her seat in the U.S. House if she is confirmed by the Senate?

Several names emerged Thursday as possible replacements, but no one has officially thrown their hat into the ring.

In a Facebook post, Michelle

Garcia Holmes, a Bernalillo Republican who lost to Haaland in the general election last month, seemed to express interest.“I have been receiving many calls about the possible special election for Congressional District 1 next year,” she wrote. “Just know I will never stop fighting for the people of New Mexico. My hope is you stand strong along side us as we fight for what’s right. We are going to get to the bottom of the 2020 election and continue for fight for our conservative values! Always!”

State Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, ran for the seat in 2018 and finished third in the Democratic primary election. She congratulated Haaland on her Cabinet nomination, saying, “I’m so excited for her.”

When asked if she is still interested

in the job, Sedillo Lopez said, “I’m definitely thinking about it. … But right now I’m focused on everything that we need to get done during the legislative session.”

Damon Martinez, a former U.S. attorney who finished second behind Haaland in the 2018 Democratic primary, and Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former chief meteorologist for KRQE-TV in Albuquerque who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in November against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, also are rumored to be potential contenders. Neither could be reached for comment Thursday night.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the U.S. House, and party leaders were concerned what would happen if Haaland were to vacate her seat. Those concerns delayed Haaland’s nomination, according to Bloomberg News.

The New Mexico secretary of state will call for a special election after the vacancy occurs, “which will presumably be when [Haaland is] confirmed by the Senate and vacates her House seat,” said Alex Curtas, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

Each of New Mexico’s major political parties may nominate a candidate to run in the special election, which must be held “not less than 77 days nor more than 91 days after the date of the vacancy,” according to the state’s election law.

Mike Curtis, a spokesman for the Republican Party of New Mexico, said the GOP has a “deep bench” of candidates.

“We do have people who are interested, but that’s all I can tell you at this point,” he said.

In an email, Miranda van Dijk, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, said: “Unfortunately we don’t have a comment on who might be running at the moment. We’re happy to release names once candidates are able to officially declare their intent to run.”

Sta≠ writer Daniel J. Chacón contributed to this report.

BONNIE JO MOUNT/WASHINGTON POST U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., has been nominated to become the first Native American to serve as interior secretary. ‘A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior,’ she tweeted Thursday. ‘Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land. I am honored and ready to serve.’