Six contenders vie for 1st Congressional District seat in N.M.

It’s official: Six candidates are running in a special election June 1 for the 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Along with Republican state Sen. Mark Moores and Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury, the field includes Libertarian Chris Manning, independent candidate Aubrey Dunn Jr. and two write-in candidates — Laura Olivas and Robert Ornelas, who is listed with an address in California.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced the candidates in a news release Friday.

“I’m pleased to announce today that my Office has officially certified six candidates for the special election ballot and I encourage all eligible voters to start learning about the candidates and getting prepared to vote,” she said in the statement.

In late March, Republican Party of New Mexico central committee members in the district selected Moores, of Albuquerque, as the GOP nominee out of a field of seven hopefuls. A few days later, Democratic Party central committee members chose Stansbury, also of Albuquerque, out of a field of eight. Stansbury defeated state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez in a runoff election after none of the candidates received 50 percent of votes in the first round.

Dunn, a rancher and retired banker, is a former state

land commissioner who previously was a Republican. He is an Alamogordo native but has an address listed in Mountainair on the Secretary of State’s Office website.

Manning, a Kirtland businessman and military veteran, was the Libertarian Party’s candidate in the 3rd Congressional District in 2018.

Olivas’ website says she has lived in New Mexico for 17 years and worked in both the service

and health care industry. She is from Albuquerque, according to the Secretary of State’s Office website.

The office lists Ornelas’ mailing address in Anaheim, Calif., and shows an out-of-state phone number.

An online flyer for his campaign says he is a Christian evangelist, youth advocate and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate. According to his Facebook page, he also is a member of the American Independent Party and is “Pro-life, Constitutionalist, Activist for Urban Issues, 2012 VP Candidate.”