Sanchez defeats Montoya for District 40 Dem nod

Jun. 8—Two of three Democratic state lawmakers in local contested primaries seized the party's nomination for their House seats Tuesday.

Incumbent Rep. Roger Montoya of Velarde was defeated by former state Rep. Joseph Sanchez, who held an 18 percentage point lead over Montoya.

Sanchez regained the House District 40 position he gave up in a failed primary election bid for the 3rd Congressional District seat in 2020. He will face Republican Jerald Steve McFall in the November general election.

Sanchez positioned himself as a more moderate Democrat than Montoya.

"I really appreciate the district believing in me," he said. "I just hope I can help move the distinct and the state forward."

Montoya said earlier in the week if he lost the race, he would accept it with grace and help Sanchez continue implementing programs and policies that help the residents in their district.

Rep. Susan Herrera of Embudo won House District 41 against former probate judge Marlo Martinez, holding a comfortable 12-point lead late Tuesday. There were no candidates running for the seat from any other major political party.

Martinez is an Española native who has run a family office supply store there since the late 1970s.

Herrera, the former CEO of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation who first won the House seat four years ago, said she did not want to call it a victory until all the votes were tallied.

"It is trending my way? Yes," Herrera said. "I'm very superstitious, so I want to wait until they're all in."

Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe easily won a spirited primary race against two challengers. She won 62 percent of the vote in defeating Santa Fe County Commissioner Henry Roybal and Ryan Salazar, a political newcomer.

She will face Republican Jay Groseclose in November.

"Amazing, amazing; such a relief," Romero said as she left a gathering at Opuntia Cafe in the Railyard around 9:30 p.m. with friends and family.

"I trust our electorate to know what we need, what is best for our community and the state," she added.

Romero was targeted during the campaign by the NRA, which accused her of being against gun-ownership rights. She also watched as fellow House Democrat Patty Lundstrom of Gallup gave $2,000 to one of her opponents, Roybal.

"Outside interests — be it oil and gas or random investors in our campaign who don't know our state when it comes to elections — don't matter," Romero said. "This is what we go back to trusting — our people."

All three races drew attention to a schism between some centrist and progressive Democrats in the House after Lundstrom, chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations and Finance Committee, donated campaign funds to candidates opposing the incumbents.

Based on campaign finance reporting data on the Secretary of State's website, Lundstrom donated over $5,000 to Sanchez and $3,000 to Martinez, as well as the $2,000 to Roybal.

Herrera said Monday she did not think Lundstrom's donations were going to make a difference in the race.

"Do I think we're going to win? Yes," she said.

She said Lundstrom donated $500 to her campaign.

Lundstrom has indicated her decision was tied to disappointment in some Democrats' lack of support for a bill she championed to turn New Mexico into a hub of hydrogen activity. The effort failed.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has since used her executive powers to sign a joint agreement with the governors of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to compete for federal funds aimed at developing hydrogen hubs in those states.