E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
7 Need Signatures To Get on Ballot
By Sean Olson
Journal Staff Writer
Most of the seven governor and lieutenant governor candidates failing to get their parties' designations for June 1 primary election ballots at conventions Saturday plan to use an alternate route to the ballots.
Three of the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor failed to win the requisite 20 percent of delegate votes needed to be nominated directly to the GOP primary ballot.
All three — state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, public relations firm owner Doug Turner and lawyer Pete Domenici Jr., all of Albuquerque — said they will turn in the extra nominating signatures required for the alternate method of ballot designation. They must do so by March 31.
Three Democratic lieutenant governor candidates did not receive enough delegate votes Saturday. Two of them, Albuquerque Sens. Gerald Ortiz y Pino and Linda Lopez, confirmed Saturday that they would continue their campaigns.
Another Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, Rep. Jose Campos of Santa Rosa, did not return a Journal call Monday. Campos fell only a few votes shy of winning a convention nomination to the ballot. A recount after the Saturday convention did not improve Campos' position.
Only one Republican seeking the lieutenant governor nomination, Santa Fe radiologist J.R. Damron, failed to win convention designation to the ballot.
Damron said Monday that he has not decided whether to continue his campaign and would likely make a decision later this week.
Some of the GOP governor hopefuls said they were encouraged by the results of the convention.
"You've got to consider that if you started out with nothing (for party support) ... it's pretty impressive to pull in some party regulars," Turner said, referring to the little over 9 percent who voted for him.
Arnold-Jones said she was impressed by her roughly 13 percent of the convention vote, especially after taking more than a month off from campaigning and fundraising to serve during the state's recent legislative sessions.
Arnold-Jones said Monday that she will give up her state House seat, which is up for election this year, to continue her governor campaign.
Domenici, who finished last in the GOP governor field with a little less than 5 percent of the vote, downplayed the results. He said he knows there is much more support for his campaign beyond the party insiders who participate in the convention.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
