Democratic state lawmaker angling for vacant state House seat after losing primary race

SANTA FE — Four-term state Rep. Harry Garcia of Grants appeared headed for the exits after losing his primary race in June.

But the Democratic lawmaker could end up back at the Roundhouse next month after applying for a vacancy in a different House district.

Garcia, a business owner and Vietnam War veteran, has held the House District 69 seat since he was appointed in 2016 by former Gov. Susana Martinez.

However, he was defeated in the June primary election by fellow Democrat Michelle Abeyta.

With the end of his two-year term approaching, Garcia applied for the House District 6 seat vacancy that Rep. Eliseo Alcon of Milan had held until stepping down last month due to health issues.

The two House districts are adjacent, with the town of Grants split between the two districts.

Garcia changed his address on his voter registration last month after discussing the issue with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

“I’ve always had residences in both districts,” Garcia told the Journal.

He also said he knew there would be concerns about his bid to replace Alcon but said he already knows many of the residents and communities in the district.

“I thought it would be very beneficial for the communities, and that’s why I did it,” Garcia said.

He also said he was told by Toulouse Oliver he could serve out the remainder of his current term while he pursues the vacant seat, though a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office disputed that assertion.

Specifically, Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Alex Curtas said Toulouse Oliver and Garcia did not discuss the legislator’s status in his current House seat.

Curtas also said Garcia would have to resign his House District 69 seat if he’s ultimately appointed to fill the House District 6 vacancy.

The state Constitution says that legislators “shall be deemed to have resigned” if they move or no longer maintain a residence in the district they were elected to represent.

The vacant House seat in question encompasses two different counties — Cibola and McKinley — and county commissioners in both counties must vote on a nominee. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would then decide who to appoint from among the names submitted.

Cibola County commissioners voted to recommend Garcia earlier this month, but McKinley County commissioners indefinitely put off a vote on the vacancy that had been scheduled for Tuesday, according to the county manager’s office.

Meanwhile, swapping out one House district for a different one appears to be rare, if not unprecedented, at least in modern times.

If he’s ultimately appointed, Garcia said he would have no issues working in the state House alongside Abeyta, who defeated him in the June primary election.

“To me, a person who is revengeful because they lost their seat is not a good person,” Garcia told the Journal.

A Lujan Grisham spokesman declined to comment on the vacant House seat Wednesday, saying the Governor’s Office was waiting to see who McKinley County commissioners might nominate.