AP

GOP taps seasoned broadcaster for New Mexico governor race

Jun 7, 2022, 11:22 AM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 12:44 pm

Republican Mark Ronchetti addresses the crowd with his wife and two daughters after winning the Rep...

Republican Mark Ronchetti addresses the crowd with his wife and two daughters after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico, during an election party in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ronchetti will be running against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

(Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)


              Voters drive through a gauntlet of political picket signs at a primary election polling site in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Republican voters are choosing a nominee for New Mexico governor from a field of five candidates. The winner of Tuesday's GOP contest will take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Democratic voters are deciding on a nominee for the top law enforcement post as Attorney General Hector Balderas terms out of office, amid a long list of local races. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
            
              Voters drive through a gauntlet of political picket signs at a primary election polling site in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Republican voters are choosing a nominee for New Mexico governor from a field of five candidates. The winner of Tuesday's GOP contest will take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Democratic voters are deciding on a nominee for the top law enforcement post as Attorney General Hector Balderas terms out of office, amid a long list of local races. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
            
              People wait in line to cast their vote at the polls at a voting center located in the Daskalos shopping center in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., on Election Day on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              Daniel Rascon-Barrow, 6, plays a video game while his mother Lisa Barrow casts her vote at the polls for the Albuquerque city election at a voting center located in the Daskalos shopping center in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              Republican Mark Ronchetti reacts with his supporters after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico during an election party held at the Marriott in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ronchetti will be running against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              Republican Mark Ronchetti shares a moment with Marie Brenner, 6, after he addressed the crowd after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico, during an election party held in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ronchetti will be running against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              Republican Mark Ronchetti shares a moment with his wife Krysty and two daughters before taking the stage to address the crowd after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico during an election party held at the Marriott in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ronchetti will be running against incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              Republican Mark Ronchetti addresses the crowd with his wife and two daughters after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico, during an election party in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Ronchetti will be running against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.  (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
            
              FILE - New Mexico state auditor-elect Brian Colon, right, delivers his acceptance speech in Albuquerque, N.M., Nov. 6, 2018. Colón is running against Albuquerque-based District Attorney Raúl Torrez for the Democratic endorsement to succeed termed-out Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas. Absentee and early in-person vote were underway Thursday, June 2, 2022, in advance of Election Day next Tuesday. (AP Photo/Juan Labreche, File)
            
              FILE - Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez speaks to a panel of New Mexico lawmakers during a meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., Sept. 27, 2017. Torrez is running against State Auditor Brian Colón for the Democratic endorsement to succeed termed-out Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas. Absentee and early in-person vote were underway Thursday, June 2, 2022, in advance of Election Day next Tuesday. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
            
              Los Alamos County Elections Manager Victoria Martinez, right, and student clerk Katelyn Alarid retrieve absentee ballots from a drop box outside a public library in Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Absentee and early in-person voting were underway in advance of Election Day on June 7. Democrats are deciding between two candidates for attorney general to compete in an open race in November. Five Republican candidates are pursuing the nomination for governor to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in the November general election. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
            
              A ballot drop box awaits deposits at an early voting center in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Absentee and early in-person voting were underway in advance of Election Day on June 7. Democrats are deciding between two candidates for attorney general to compete in an open race in November. Five Republican candidates are pursuing the nomination for governor to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in the November general election. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
            
              Registered Democrats Gilbert Archuleta, foreground, and Audrey Esquibel of Santa Fe fill out primary ballots at an early voting center in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Absentee and early in-person voting were underway in advance of Election Day on June 7. Democrats are deciding between two candidates for attorney general to compete in an open race in November. Five Republican candidates are pursuing the nomination for governor to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in the November general election. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
            
              FILE - New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivers the State of the State address during the 56th legislative session Jan. 18, 2022, in Santa Fe, N.M. Five Republican candidates are competing to take on Grisham. The incumbent is favored to keep her job in a state where Democrats control every statewide office and dominate the Legislature. (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Republicans picked a seasoned TV broadcaster to take on New Mexico’s incumbent Democratic governor, nominating former network meteorologist Mark Ronchetti on his pledges to rein in state spending, shore up policing and unleash already record-setting oil production.

Ronchetti won Tuesday’s primary by a wide margin in a field of five candidates that included state Rep. Rebecca Dow, a prominent voice among Republicans in the Legislature.

The GOP nominee, joined on the victory stage by his wife and school-aged daughters, pledged to back police officers by restoring immunity from prosecution and blasted Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for a lengthy suspension of in-person teaching and student proficiency testing during the pandemic.

“Now our children are even further behind, and she has no plan to catch them up,” Ronchetti said. “Every at-risk child deserves to know that they have a chance with a great education.”

He added a jab at new social studies standards that increase instruction related to racial and social identity in a heavily Latino and Native American state.

“We’ll focus on teaching them reading, writing, history, science and math. One thing we won’t teach them is how to hate each other,” Ronchetti said.

New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized Native American tribes and nations, while nearly half the population claims Hispanic ethnicity.

Separately, the Democratic nomination for attorney general went to Raúl Torrez, a second-term district attorney for Albuquerque and its outskirts. He defeated State Auditor Brian Colón to vie in an open race against Republican attorney and U.S. Marine veteran Jeremy Michael Gay of Gallup.

Torrez has pledged to expand the state’s capacity and expertise to handle consumer-rights litigation. He has criticized some provisions of judicial reforms that limit the use of money bail in decisions about pre-trial release.

New Mexico has alternated between Democratic and Republican governors since the early 1980s. An incumbent governor last lost reelection in 1994.

The November election for New Mexico governor will be a test of Democratic resolve in an oil-producing region with a strong culture of gun ownership and evolving opinions on abortion access.

The GOP in 2020 flipped a congressional district along the U.S. border with Mexico with the election of Republican U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, a firm defender of former President Donald Trump.

Ronchetti has pledged to deploy 150 state law enforcement personnel to the remote international border with Mexico to combat illegal migration and drug and human trafficking. The proposal echoes National Guard deployments by Republican governors in Arizona and Texas.

In a nod to his days as a TV personality, Ronchetti cracked some jokes on the victory stage. He ridiculed the governor for what he called lavish public spending at the governor’s mansion on premium beef and liquor, contrasting that with his own offer of chips, salsa and a cash bar for supporters on election night.

Lujan Grisham spent much of Election Day surveying recent destruction from the largest wildfire in recorded New Mexico history. President Joe Biden is scheduled to discuss relief efforts during a planned visit Saturday to Santa Fe.

Republicans have faltered in a string of statewide elections, ceding control of every statewide elected office to Democrats, including the five-seat state Supreme Court.

Since taking office in 2019, Lujan Grisham and the Democratic-led Legislature have enacted reforms to ensure access to abortion, expand government oversight of guns and expand police accountability by lifting immunity from prosecution for misconduct.

The incumbent governor has walked a fine line on the environment with climate change initiatives that rein in methane pollution from oilfield infrastructure, phase out coal-fired power plants and mandate new renewable energy investments without restricting oil production. New Mexico last year surpassed North Dakota to become the nation’s No. 2 oil producer behind Texas.

Lujan Grisham has harnessed a surge in state government income to underwrite teacher raises, offer free college education to in-state students, expand preschool and bolster Medicaid coverage across a state with high rates of poverty.

In response to inflation, the state is sending out staggered payments of up to $1,500 per household between June and August.

New Mexico’s most recent Republican governor was Susana Martinez, an El Paso native with family ties in Mexico who served as a district attorney before winning an open race to succeed termed-out Gov. Bill Richardson.

First-term congresswomen were seeking reelection to New Mexico’s three congressional districts, without primary challengers.

In the 2nd District of southern New Mexico, Las Cruces City Councilor Gabe Vasquez won the Democratic nomination to challenge Herrell. He defeated rural physician Darshan Patel.

In the 1st District that includes most of Albuquerque and rural communities to the south, the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury was won by former police Detective Michelle Garcia Holmes.

Holmes ran for the same congressional seat in 2020 and was defeated by Democrat Deb Haaland, now serving as U.S. Interior secretary.

In other statewide races, former Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya won the Democratic nomination for state treasurer, defeating former Magistrate Judge and Treasury official Heather Benavidez. Montoya will compete against former Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya in an open race to replace termed out State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg.

The Democratic nomination for state auditor went to utilities regulator Joseph Maestas, an elected member of the Public Regulation Commission. He’ll confront Libertarian write-in candidate Robert Vaillancourt in a general election without a Republican contender.

In state legislative races, state Rep. Roger Montoya of Velarde was ousted in the Democratic primary by Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde, who gave up the seat in 2020 to run unsuccessfully for Congress.

About 25% of eligible voters participated in the primary, with higher turnout among registered Republicans.

___

AP writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributed from Albuquerque.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

GOP taps seasoned broadcaster for New Mexico governor race