Trump, Biden, others set to appear on N.M. primary ballot

Dec. 22—While the name of former President Donald Trump is, as of now, poised to be excluded from the presidential primary ballot in neighboring Colorado, the same won't be true in New Mexico.

Trump is among five Republicans who were nominated to participate in New Mexico's 2024 presidential primary during a meeting Friday of the so-called Presidential Primary Nomination by Committee.

The committee, which consists of top lawmakers from both parties and the chairpersons of New Mexico's three recognized major political parties, certifies the list of Republican, Democratic and Libertarian candidates who will appear on the June 4 presidential primary ballot. The committee also named one Libertarian and three Democrats, including President Joe Biden, whose names will be on the ballot.

In an interview afterward, Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce criticized the Colorado Supreme Court's 4-3 decision earlier this week to make Trump ineligible from holding the presidency under the so-called "insurrection clause" of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was included in the 1868 amendment to bar some ex-Confederates from holding office.

"The president has not been convicted of insurrection," Pearce said. "He's not even charged with insurrection at this point. How can four justices, without having a hearing, without giving due process, without the ability for the person who's the target even be allowed to speak, [make such a decision]? ... This is an actual attempt to destroy democracy when you don't have the right to speak on your own behalf."

Trump's lawyers have said they plan to appeal the Colorado ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Party-certified presidential candidates will be vetted in February by the state Secretary of State's office to ensure they meet administrative requirements to run for the office. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, said she won't exclude candidates who meet administrative requirements unless a court says otherwise, according to the Associated Press.

"These are constitutional issues, and it is not the secretary of state's role to make this kind of a legal finding in New Mexico," said spokesman Alex Curtas. "As long as a candidate meets all the administrative requirements to be placed on the ballot in 2024, they would not be excluded from the ballot unless a court with jurisdiction made a legal finding and ordered that person to be excluded."

Daniel Garcia, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, said in a statement the party isn't coordinating or leading any efforts to remove Trump's name from the primary ballot, nor is it aware of any efforts to do so "at this time."

Garcia took a swipe at the GOP nonetheless.

"It's a shame that the Republican Party of New Mexico has Trump's back even when he echoes Hitler by saying immigrants are 'poisoning the blood of our country' or defends his actions on Jan. 6," Garcia said. "The New Mexico GOP had the opportunity to stand up for democracy today, yet New Mexico Republican Chair Steve Pearce squandered that opportunity and still nominated Trump and his extremist MAGA agenda for New Mexico's ballot."

In addition to Trump, the New Mexico GOP nominated four other candidates — former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — to participate in the primary.

However, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson wasn't nominated. Pearce told the committee, chaired by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon, that Hutchinson hasn't been in contact with the state party and is "close to zero" in the polls.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico nominated Biden as well as Minnesota U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips and spiritual author Marianne Williamson.

"We're looking forward to hitting the ground running in 2024, campaigning across New Mexico to get out the vote for President Biden and his record of job creation and helping New Mexico families get ahead," Garcia said.

Asked why the party submitted two names besides Biden's, Garcia said the party "submitted the name of campaigns that are generally recognized nationally to comply with state law and let every voter in our diverse Democratic Party have the chance to have their voice heard in the primary election."

The Libertarian Party of New Mexico nominated only one candidate, Lars Mapstead.

In addition to Bacon and the party chairs, other committee members included House Speak Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque; House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec; Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; and Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen.

At the start of Friday's meeting, Bacon said counsel for the Republican Party of New Mexico had sent a letter a day prior requesting the hearing be rescheduled and calling Friday's meeting "unduly early.

"By way of comparison, this meeting was not held in 2020 until mid-February," the letter states. "This difference is significant as a practical matter as well as a technical one, as it is highly probable that the field of Republican presidential primary contenders will have narrowed between now and then, what with the Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada caucuses and primaries taking place in the intervening period."

Rather than delay the meeting, the committee agreed Friday that candidates will be allowed to withdraw before Feb. 15.

"We'll submit an amended list on the 14th if necessary," Pearce said. "If nobody drops out, fine, we'll keep it the way it is."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.