Candidates to file for primary election

Filing day for this year’s partisan primary elections is fast approaching.  

County and state positions will be on the ballot, including Valencia County commissioners, clerk and treasurer, the 13th Judicial district attorney, as well as state senate and house of representatives.  

Candidates can file from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 12, at the Valencia County Clerk’s office, 444 Luna Ave., in Los Lunas. Filing day for write-in candidates is a week later, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 19, also at the clerk’s office. 

Those wanting to run for state senator or representative, district attorney, county commissioner, county clerk or county treasurer will need to file with the county clerk in the county they reside.  

Candidates running for county offices may file with either $50 — cash, check or card — or by filing a nominating petition with 10 or more signatures for offices elected by district or 20 or more signatures for offices elected county-wide. 

State offices require nominating petitions. Candidates running in representative or senate districts that include more than one county will file in the county in which they are registered to vote. The county clerk asks candidates to have all forms filled out in advance, and candidates should have a bank account for use on their campaign committee registration form.   

The declaration of candidacy must be filled out exactly as stated on a candidate’s voter registration. The clerk’s office will also have candidate guides available on filing day with election related information, and notary services will be available at the office. 

Valencia County seats 

There will be three, four-year Valencia County commission seats on the ballot this year — Districts 2, 4 and 5. Those are held by Republicans Troy Richardson, Joseph Bizzell and Jhonathan Aragon, respectively. 

Richardson and Bizzell have each served one term. Aragon cannot run again due to term limits. He was appointed to the commission by Gov. Susana Martinez in August 2013. Aragon ran for the two-year seat in 2014 and was elected to the position. He was then re-elected in 2016 for a four-year term, and again in 2020.  

Other county seats up for election are the county clerk and treasurer, both of which are four-year terms. 

The Valencia County clerk is Mike Milam and the treasurer is Ron Saiz. Both Republicans, Milam has served one term, and Saiz was appointed in 2022 to replace then county treasurer Deseri Sichler, who left the position midterm after being elected to the Valencia County Magistrate Division III seat. 

(Click here for an interactive map of the Valencia County Commission districts.)

District attorney 

The 13th Judicial district attorney position will be on the ballot as well.  

Barbara Romo, a Democrat from Rio Rancho, is finishing up her first term in office.  

The 13th Judicial District is comprised of Valencia, Cibola and Sandoval counties. Candidates for district attorney can live in any of the three counties.  

New Mexico Legislature 

In the state Legislature, all of the senate and house of representative seats are up for reelection. 

The District 29 seat, held by Greg Baca, a Republican, and District 30, held by Republican Joshua A. Sanchez will be on the ballot. Baca has held the seat since 2017, and Sanchez since 2021.  

Elizabeth Stefanics, a Democrat, is the third senator for Valencia County, having held the District 39 seat since 2017. Senators serve four-year terms. 

In the house of representatives, there are four seats representing Valencia County — Districts 7, 8, 49 and 69. 

Republican Tanya Mirabal Moya is finishing her first term in the District 7 seat. In District 8, Brian Baca, a Republican, is also finishing his first elected term in the position, after being appointed in January 2022 to finish out the term of Alonzo Baldonado following his abrupt resignation at the end of 2021. 

Republican Gail Armstrong has represented District 49 since 2017, and Democrat Harry Garcia has served District 69 since 2016. Members of the house of representatives serve for two years.  

U.S. Senate and House of Representatives 

Candidates running for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have already filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State. 

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, is running for his third term. Republican Nella Louise Domenici is the only qualified candidate for her party. Neither has a primary challenger. U.S. senators serve six-year terms. 

New Mexico’s second U.S. Sen. Democrat Ben Ray Lujan isn’t up for reelection until 2027. 

Races for two of the three U.S. Representative districts will be on the Valencia County ballot — Districts 1 and 2. 

Democratic incumbent Melanie Ann Stansbury, of Albuquerque, is running unopposed in the primary, and Republicans Steve Jones, of Ruidoso, and Louie Sanchez, of Albuquerque, will be on the June primary ballot. Stansbury has held the seat since 2021,  

In District 2, incumbent Gabriel Vasquez, of Las Cruces, has been qualified to run, as has Republican Yvette Herrell, of La Luz. Vasquez has held the seat since 2023. Neither has a primary challenger. U.S. Representatives serve two-year terms.