ABQ mayoral race challengers seek to catch up to Keller's fundraising lead

Buoyed by public campaign funds, incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has a significant advantage over his electoral rivals when it comes to campaign cash for the Nov. 4 election.

Keller, who is seeking his third consecutive term as mayor, has received $757,147 in contributions, with the bulk of that amount — a total of $733,968 — coming from public campaign funds, according to reports filed recently with the Albuquerque city clerk’s office.

He was the only candidate to qualify for public financing by submitting enough voter signatures and $5 contributions during a roughly two-month period. Keller was also the only mayoral candidate to qualify for public financing in his 2017 and 2021 campaigns.

Keller’s campaign manager Neri Holguin said the public campaign financing gives the incumbent an edge in the race, while pointing out that four of the other six candidates tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the public cash.

“The Keller campaign enters the fall with the clear advantage of having earned public financing,” Holguin told the Journal. “Unlike our opponents, we’re not chasing dollars — we’re focused on meeting voters where they are and talking about the future of Albuquerque.”

Meanwhile, several of the six other candidates in the race have tapped their personal bank accounts to boost their campaigns, though their combined fundraising totals to date lag behind the amount of money received by Keller.

Albuquerque city councilor and former police officer Louie Sanchez loaned his campaign $150,000 in June, while parking lot business owner Daniel Chavez gave $100,000 to his campaign.

Sanchez has reported raising $222,488 in all, while Chavez has received $114,375 in contributions, a figure that includes the personal donation.

Sanchez said his campaign haul shows support from Albuquerque residents who are tired of high crime rates and want change.

“We’re proud to lead in private fundraising and to be the only campaign with the momentum to defeat Tim Keller,” Sanchez said in a statement.

Among the other candidates, former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has taken in nearly $180,000 in contributions, a figure that includes $15,000 in contributions from White’s former business partners in the cannabis industry. White sold his business, PurLife, several years ago.

Meanwhile, White’s campaign has also reported monthly $1,700 in-kind contributions of office space provided by Doug Peterson, a local real estate mogul who has clashed with Keller’s administration over crime and homelessness issues.

His campaign manager Erin Thompson said Peterson offered the campaign space to White’s campaign. She also declined to say whether White would join other candidates in tapping personal funds for his campaign.

“We are confident we will have the resources necessary to effectively communicate our message of change to the voters, but won’t be discussing our finance strategy in the media,” Thompson told the Journal.

The other three candidates who qualified for the ballot are former Sandoval County deputy manager Mayling Armijo, former Albuquerque deputy fire chief Eddie Varela and Alex Uballez, the former U.S. attorney for the district of New Mexico.

Armijo’s total of $77,666 in contributions includes a $15,000 loan she gave her campaign. Uballez, for his part, has reported receiving financial support from former state Auditor Brian Colón, a Democrat, among his $98,411 in contributions.

If no candidate surpasses 50% of the votes cast in the Nov. 4 election, a runoff election between the two top-place finishers will take place within 45 days.

Absentee voting in the mayoral race begins Oct. 7, with expanded early voting then set to begin Oct. 18.