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Republican Party of New Mexico will elect a new chair in December
From left, Steve Pearce, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico; House Speaker Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque; Ann Keith, general council for the New Mexico Chief Justice; and Jessica Velasquez, chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico are shown at the New Mexico Supreme Court in Santa Fe last December. Pearce will not run for reelection as GOP state party chair.
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The Republican Party of New Mexico will have a new leader at the helm by the new year.
New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce, a former Congressman and state representative who served as chairman for six years, is not running for reelection to the post.
Pearce will still be involved with the party, said party spokeswoman Ash Soular. Pearce was unavailable for an interview until after the Thanksgiving holiday.
There are six people running to replace Pearce: Amy Barela, the party’s vice-chair and an Otero County commissioner; John Brenna, chairman of the Valencia County Republican Party Executive Committee; Robert Kwasny, who ran for Bernalillo County Clerk earlier this year; Mark Murton, a former Army officer and former manager at Sandia National Laboratories; Mick Rich, who previously ran for U.S. Senate; and District 30 state Sen. Joshua Sanchez.
If elected chair, Sanchez would be allowed to continue serving as a state senator, Soular said. It’s the political party’s own rules that govern who is allowed to be chair, according to the Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Alex Curtas.
The deadline to declare candidacy for the position has closed, so no other names will be considered.
More than 500 members of the Republican Party of New Mexico State Central Committee will vote on a new party chair at the party convention Dec. 7 in Truth or Consequences, Soular said.
The central committee is made up of state elected officers, each counties’ elected officers, and members appointed by county chairs and confirmed by each respective county central committee.
The party chair serves a two-year term. The new chair will take office on Dec. 8, the day after the election.
Three other state party positions will be decided on, according to the RPNM website, as well as amendments to some of the party’s state rules.
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- First vice-chair candidates: Leanna Derrick, Gary Person and Hessel Yntema
- Second vice-chair candidates: Craig Degenhardt, Andrea Moore and Mike Nelson
- 3rd Congressional District vice chair candidates: Sharon Clahchischilliage and Sam LeDoux.
Four party positions are uncontested: Kathleen Apodaca for secretary; Kim Skaggs for treasurer; Joshua Neal for 1st Congressional District vice chair; and Julianne Stroup for 2nd Congressional District vice chair.
