Wait ’til November? Hardly — 15 Roundhouse races decided June 5

From Capitol Report New Mexico - The general election is not set until November but a review of Roundhouse races shows that for 15 seats in the state Senate and House of Representatives, it will be all over but the shouting on June 5. That’s because the party primary elections in those 15 races involve candidates who — should they win on June 5 — won’t face any challengers from the major opposing party in November. Twelve of those races involve Democratic Party candidates and three involve Republican hopefuls. For example, take House District 46 in Santa Fe County — a district with a sizeable Democratic base — that has been held since 1975 by Ben Luján, who is retiring at the end of this year. No Republican has filed to run for that seat so the winner in the June 5 Democratic primary between candidates Carl Trujillo and David Coss will essentially get a walkover to the Roundhouse in November. Theoretically, an independent can run for any of the 15 races but the odds of victory would be very remote and third-party candidates have little more than a month (June 26) to file with the Secretary of State’s office. Read more

Wait ’til November? Hardly — 15 Roundhouse races decided June 5