KEY RACES IN NOVEMBER’S GENERAL ELECTION
Albuquerque attorney Brian Colón appeared poised to win the Democratic nomination for state auditor Tuesday, while Stephanie Garcia Richard was on track to become the party’s nominee for state land commissioner.
Colón was leading Las Cruces consultant Bill McCamley, a state representative, with 62 percent of the vote, compared with McCamley’s 38 percent, according to partial unofficial results.
The winner will face Republican Wayne Johnson, who was appointed to the job by Gov. Susana Martinez last December. Johnson ran unopposed Tuesday in the Republican primary.
“I did this with a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Colón told his supporters Tuesday night. “There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted to do more than serve the people of New Mexico. I’ve got a debt of gratitude I want to repay.”
A former state Democratic Party chairman, Colón ran for mayor of Albuquerque just last year, losing to former state Auditor Tim Keller.
“We’re excited to be on this new wave,” said Colón, who said he traveled by RV more than 3,000 miles around the state during his campaign.
He pledged to focus on transparency and integrity, if elected, and emphasize his background in finance and law.
In the three-way Democratic primary for state land commissioner, Garcia Richard, a three-term state representative, was leading political newcomer Garrett VeneKlasen.
VeneKlasen’s spokesman Alan Packman said VeneKlasen called Garcia Richard to concede late Tuesday, with Garcia Richard holding a lead of 39.5 percent to 37.2 percent. State Sen. George Muñoz, a builder and developer from Gallup, was running a distant third at 23 percent.
The winner will face former state Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, who had no opponent in the Republican primary. Libertarian Michael Lucero, a rancher, is also on the November ballot for the open seat vacated by Aubrey Dunn, who is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian.
VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, is a longtime conservationist but has never held an elected state office.
Garcia Richard, an educator from Los Alamos, has served for six years in the state Legislature. All three candidates pledged to help New Mexico attract wind and solar projects to boost revenue for public schools and universities.