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Veteran Rep. Rhonda King, a Democrat from Stanley, has decided not to run for an eighth term.
King, who started in the House in 1998, says she wants to spend more time with her family, which includes a young daughter. She says she will continue working with the Tri-County Juvenile Justice Board, which provides youth programs.
King, who represents District 50, is vice chairwoman of the House Education Committee and is a member of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
She’s a member of the politically connected King family; her uncle was the late Bruce King, the state’s longest-serving governor, and her cousin is Attorney General Gary King.
PRIMARY RIVAL: Sen. Bernadette Sanchez, a Democrat from Albuquerque’s West Side, has picked up a primary election opponent.
Democrat Jacob Candelaria announced he is running for the District 26 seat. Sanchez, meanwhile, confirms she plans to run for re-election.
Candelaria has worked as an analyst for the Legislature — the Legislative Finance Committee and the House speaker’s office — and is the director of Equality New Mexico.
Sanchez, a school counselor, has held the seat since 2001. She is chairwoman of the Senate Conservation Committee and chairwoman of the interim Economic and Rural Development Committee.
The primary election is June 5.
Deborah Baker, Journal Capitol Bureau, dbaker@abqjournal.com
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
