Chaos as judge boots Republican lawmaker off the ballot

A state legislative district in New Mexico suddenly has no official candidates on the ballot, after a judge disqualified the incumbent Republican's re-election campaign.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, "A judge on Wednesday disqualified state Rep. Rebecca Dow’s nominating petitions, ruling screenshots Dow submitted do not comply with the statutorily required language that would 'enable or allow a voter to review and challenge the nominating petitions.'" Doña Ana County 3rd District Judge Manuel Arrieta concluded in his opinion, “For the foregoing reasons, the Plaintiff’s challenge as to Dow’s nominating petitions is upheld and they are disqualified.”

"The plaintiff in the complaint challenging Dow’s nominating petitions is listed as Tara Jaramillo, a Democrat who won the House District 38 seat in the 2022 election after Dow relinquished it to run for governor," said the report. "After an unsuccessful bid for governor and a redistricting that prompted Dow to move two miles, she won the seat back during a hard-fought race against Jaramillo in the 2024 election." Additionally, the attorney who filed the complaint has reportedly said he will be invoicing the state House Democratic campaign arm.

Dow, who lives in Truth or Consequences, has vowed to appeal the ruling. Unless she is successful, there is now no candidate officially on the ballot for House District 38.

David Mooney, a local Democrat, is mounting a write-in campaign. According to guidance from the Secretary of State's office, Dow herself might not be eligible to do the same.

“I want you to hear directly from me: this was not about whether I earned your support,” wrote Dow in a statement. “We gathered the required signatures. We followed the process to qualify. Instead, this decision came down to a dispute over paperwork — a technical issue that has now resulted in our district having no candidate on the ballot. That should concern every one of us!”