Ad
National, state & county candidates in primary election
Published
Modified
The June primaries are upon us, with early voting wrapping up on Saturday and 15 Voting Convenience Centers open across Valencia County from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 4, to allow county voters the chance to narrow the field of candidates in their party.
All seats in the New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate will be on the ballot this year, as well as the 13th Judicial district attorney.
At the county level, there are three, four-year Valencia County Commission seats on the ballot, in addition to the race for county clerk and county treasurer, which are both four-year seats.
(Click on the race to read the VCNB Q&A with the candidates.)
N.M. Senate
The New Mexico Senate races for Districts 29 and 30 took a bit of a curve this year, with redistricting putting Republicans Greg Baca — District 29 — and Joshua Sanchez — District 30 — in the same district, District 29.
Instead of facing off in the primary, Baca did not file to run, leaving Sanchez as the only Republican to file for District 29.
Only one Democrat, Tina Garcia, filed to run for the seat, meaning both will clear the primary race and be on the ballot for the November general election.
Sanchez, a small business owner, is running for his second term in the Senate after serving one term as the District 30 senator.
Garcia served as the Valencia County clerk from 2000-07 and retired as a magistrate for Valencia County Division I in 2021, after 14 years on the bench. She was also appointed to the Los Lunas Schools Board of Education.
Ad
In District 30, two Democrats out of Cibola County are on the primary ballot — Angel Charley and Clemente Sanchez.
Charley, who has never held elected office, is the executive director of IllumiNative and was the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women from 2019 to 2024.
Clemente Sanchez held the seat for District 30 from 2012-20. He is the president and CEO of Bank of New Mexico.
Elizabeth Stefanics, a Democrat, is the third senator for Valencia County, having held the District 39 seat since 2017. She is running completely unopposed.
N.M. House of Representatives
In the N.M. House of Representatives, there are four seats representing Valencia County — Districts 7, 8, 49 and 69.
Republican Tanya Mirabal Moya is running unopposed for a second term as the District 7 representative. A physics teacher at Belen High School, Moya has a Bachelor of Science in health and wellness and a Master of Science in sports management, coaching and athletic administration.
In District 8, Brian Baca, a Republican, is also running unopposed for his second term. He was appointed in January 2022 to finish out the term of Alonzo Baldonado following his abrupt resignation at the end of 2021. Baca is a deputy superintendent at Los Lunas Schools.
Republican Gail Armstrong has represented District 49 since 2017, and will be running again this year. Armstrong is a business owner and rancher, and has served on the Magdalena Board of Education. She is unopposed in both the primary and general elections.
In District 69, incumbent Democrat Harry Garcia is running again. A retired business owner, Garcia has represented the district since he was appointed in 2016. He will face Democrats Stanley E. Michael, a coal miner, and Michelle Abeyta, a lawyer, on the June ballot.
13th Judicial District Attorney
Democrat incumbent Barbara Romo is running for her second term as district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, which includes Valencia, Sandoval and Cibola counties.
Before being elected DA, Romo was the chief deputy district attorney for the DA’s office. She is unchallenged in the primary and the general elections.
Valencia County Commission
The Valencia County Commission seats for District 2, 4 and 5 are up for reelection this year. Republicans Troy Richardson and Joseph Bizzell have filed to run for their second terms in Districts 2 and 4, respectively.
Republicans James R. Dean and Samuel Moses Esquibel, and Democrat Duana Draszkiewicz are also running for the District 2 seat.
Dean has completed two years of college and is retired from federal civil service with the U.S. Army.
Esquibel, is self-employed and completed some college.
Richardson owns a well drilling company, RNM Water Solutions LLC, and manages a 650 acre farm in Belen. He has completed two years of college.
Draszkiewicz has served on the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors. She is a retired realtor and attended more than three years at the University of New Mexico.
Democrat Charles Eaton is running for the District 4 seat. Eaton was most recently the administrative services director for the city of Belen after retiring as the Valencia County fire chief. He served as a Valencia County commissioner for three terms and as Valencia County probate judge.
Eaton is a Belen High School graduate and completed courses at the University of New Mexico-Valencia campus for his EMS certifications.
Challenging Bizzell in the primary is former Valencia County Commissioner for District 3 David Hyder. A Republican, Hyder has a college degree and is a corrections manager. Bizzell is a contractor and a BHS graduate.
In District 5, Jhonathan Aragon could not run again due to term limits. He resigned his seat as of March 24 to take the deputy county manager position with Valencia County.
Republican Dante E. Berry was the only candidate to file for the District 5 seat. A financial advisor, Berry has an associate degree from New Mexico Military Institute and a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico.
Valencia County Clerk
Republican incumbent Mike Milam is running for a second term as county clerk and will be challenged in the primaries by Republican Carlos E. Aragon.
Milam graduated high school from New Mexico Military Institute and from vocational trade school in Roswell with a degree in applied science.
Aragon was an employee of the Valencia County Clerk’s Office and bureau of elections for more than 15 years, and now works as a commercial appraiser for the Valencia County Assessor’s Office.
Rustin Porter, a Democrat, is also running for county clerk. He holds an Associate of Arts in liberal arts, and is the chief procurement officer for Valencia County.
Valencia County Treasurer
Republican Ron Saiz is the incumbent candidate for the Valencia County treasurer seat. 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.
Saiz is a retired chief master sergeant with the U.S. Air Force/New Mexico Air National Guard.
Republicans Leyda Martinez Hahn and Danielle Marie Trujillo are challenging Saiz in the primary.
Hahn completed high school and is a senior escrow officer for First American Title.
Trujillo is a certified appraiser with the Valencia County Assessor’s Office. She has a bachelor’s of art degree from the University of New Mexico.
Michelle Tafoya, a Democrat, is also running for the position. She is retired from the Air Force Research Laboratory, is a high school graduate and has two years of college coursework in English/technical writing.
Early voting is from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m., through Saturday, June 1, at the Belen Community Center, 305 Eagle Lane; Bosque Farms Public Library, 1455 W. Bosque Loop; Pueblo of Isleta Veterans Center, 4001 N.M. 314 and Valencia County Administration Building, 444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas.
