Lawsuit filed challenging Duke Rodriguez's eligibility to run for governor 

SANTA FE — Just days after officially filing to run for governor, Republican Duke Rodriguez is facing a legal challenge over whether he complies with a residency requirement in the New Mexico Constitution.

Specifically, a lawsuit filed this week in state court in Aztec raises questions about whether Rodriguez meets a requirement that candidates must have "resided continually" in the state for at least five years before being elected.

If a judge determines he does not meet that requirement, Rodriguez could be disqualified as a candidate.

Rodriguez, who owns houses in both Albuquerque and Scottsdale, Arizona, voted in both the 2022 and 2024 general elections in Arizona, where he first registered to vote in 2001, according to Maricopa County records obtained by the Journal.

While he voted in Albuquerque's regular local election — and its runoff election — last year, Rodriguez's voting record in Arizona could make him ineligible to run for governor this year, according to the lawsuit.

The court challenge was filed by two Republican voters, John Rockwell of Albuquerque and James Maes of Navajo Dam. The petition was filed without an attorney.

Rockwell, a former Bernalillo County Republican Party chairman, said Friday he had been monitoring the issues surrounding Rodriguez's candidacy and did not directly coordinate the court challenge with any GOP candidates.

"It seems to me he can't be a resident of both states," Rockwell said, referring to Rodriguez.

Rockwell also said it was better for the residency question to be resolved before the June primary election, saying, "It will save him a lot of time and effort, and it will save the other candidates a lot of time and effort."

New Mexico's residency requirement has tripped up other candidates before, including in 2017, when GOP lieutenant governor candidate Kelly Zunie withdrew from that year's race due to concerns she might not meet the residency stipulation.

For his part, Rodriguez, who is the president and CEO of Ultra Health, New Mexico's largest medical cannabis company, is no stranger to court battles.

In past years, he has been an active participant in lawsuits challenging medical cannabis purchase and possession limits, and the state's stance on allowing non-residents to enroll in the program.

He also filed a Supreme Court petition in October that challenged the legality of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's line-item vetoes of a $161 million spending bill. That petition was ultimately dismissed without the Supreme Court issuing a full written ruling, an action that Rodriguez said factored into his decision to run for governor.

Rodriguez said Friday he had not yet been served with a complaint, but described the court challenge as an apparent "political stunt."

"My eligibility under New Mexico law is clear, and any suggestion otherwise is frivolous," Rodriguez told the Journal. "When campaigns cannot compete on ideas or momentum, they turn to procedural distractions. That is not leadership. It is insecurity." 

He also said a state senator aligned with one of his GOP rivals had recently tried to get him to drop out of the race for governor and run for U.S. Senate instead.

"I am clearly not a member of the good old boys' club," said Rodriguez, who last year expressed a willingness to spend at least $2 million of his own money to run a competitive race.

Rodriguez is currently one of five GOP candidates running for governor who were certified this week by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver's office. The other candidates are Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, state Sen. Steve Lanier of Aztec, former Public Regulation Commissioner Jim Ellison of Cedar Crest and small business owner Doug Turner of Albuquerque.

On the Democratic side, former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman are set for a high-profile primary showdown. Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima had also been running for governor as a Democrat but said recently he would run instead as an independent.

This year's race for governor is open since incumbent Lujan Grisham is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. The two-term Democratic governor will step down at the end of this year.

A hearing in the ballot eligibility case has been set for Feb. 24 before District Judge Curtis Gurley, according to court records.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com