Primary winner tapped for House seat

Gov. Susana Martinez tapped Gregg Schmedes on Friday to fill a vacant seat in the state House of Representatives representing the East Mountains.

Rep. Jim Smith, a Republican from Tijeras, resigned from the seat after this year’s legislative session, and Schmedes, assistant professor of surgery at the University of New Mexico, jumped into the race for the GOP’s nomination to succeed him.

Running to the right, Schmedes won 74 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election, routing his only competitor, Merritt Allen.

Schmedes, also of Tijeras, will face Democrat Jessica Velasquez in the Nov. 6 general election that will likely be a test of just how conservative the district really is.

In the meantime, the governor was left to appoint a successor to fill Smith’s vacant House seat until the election, with recommendations from the boards of commissioners in each of the three counties in the district.

The Santa Fe County Commission recommended Velasquez, of Sandia Park. Bernalillo County commissioners recommended Allen, of Tijeras. Sandoval County recommended Schmedes.

Though the chamber is not expected to go back into session before the election, committees will meet throughout the interim. And representatives can serve as first points of contact for constituents seeking assistance from the state in anything from getting a driver’s license to getting a road fixed.