Two candidates face each other in GOP primary race for lieutenant governor

May 16—A retired aerospace engineer who used to be a Democrat is squaring off against a retired teacher who serves on the Albuquerque school board in a low-key Republican primary race for lieutenant governor.

Anthony "Ant" Thornton, who retired from Sandia National Laboratories in 2015 after a 27-year career, was the top vote-getter in the Republican preprimary nominating convention, garnering 59 percent of the delegate vote.

His opponent, Peggy Muller-Aragón, an Albuquerque school board member since 2015, finished last in the five-way contest with 7 just percent of the delegate vote.

Muller-Aragón and the three other candidates seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor failed to meet the 20 percent threshold to earn a spot on the ballot; she was the only one who qualified for the primary by collecting nominating petition signatures from voters.

Muller-Aragón, 64, said in a brief telephone interview she jumped into the race "very, very late" and didn't have enough time to court delegates.

"I looked at the field [of candidates seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor] and said, 'Our goal is to win in November,' and I didn't see somebody in there who was going to be able to bring that," she said, adding she gathered more than 3,300 voter signatures in short order.

"They wanted me to be on the ticket, and I think it's important for people to have a choice, and they wouldn't have had a choice had I not done that," she said.

On her campaign website, Muller-Aragón said she is running to "defeat the progressives."

"The only way to do this is to put together a winning ticket," the website states. "A winning ticket which brings balance, previous ballot success, and most importantly a candidate with real educational experience and insight."

In the interview, Muller-Aragón said she has a proven track record of winning elections as a school board member and that she would complement the ticket in November, regardless of who wins the Republican nomination for governor.

"I look at them and think they all have such great qualities," she said. "I would be honored to serve alongside any of them."

Asked which of the five gubernatorial candidates he would like to be paired up with, Thornton said he'll let voters make the decision.

"I can work with any of them," he said. "Two of the gubernatorial candidates [Jay Block and Greg Zanetti] have already endorsed me. They said they want me to be their lieutenant governor candidate."

Thornton, who lives in the East Mountains of Albuquerque, is making his second run for public office. He finished second in the Republican primary for Senate District 19 in 2016.

For the lieutenant governor's race, Thornton said his campaign's theme is "leadership defending liberty."

"The sole purpose of government ... is to protect individual rights, and we tend to forget that," said Thornton, 66.

"When we see what happened just recently with the COVID pandemic and how the leadership was sort of taking away your rights — your rights to go to church, your right to keep your business open and getting rid of your physical rights, saying you had to take a [vaccine] shot in order to get access to buildings or to keep your job — that's the complete opposite of what the intent of government is supposed to be," he said. "It should be protecting the rights, not taking them away."

Thornton, a self-described military brat, was born in California but "moved all over." He said his father spent 27 years in the U.S. Air Force.

"I grew up in a kind of a Leave It to Beaver family except Mrs. Beaver had a little darker tan," said Thornton, who is Black.

After graduating from high school in Colorado Springs, Colo., he attended the University of Colorado, where he graduated in 1978 with a degree in aerospace engineering.

"I was recruited by Sandia labs to come work here in New Mexico in 1979," he said, adding he earned a master's degree from Stanford University and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Purdue University while working at Sandia.

Muller-Aragón, who was born and raised in Grants, has a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's in education administration, both from the University of New Mexico.

"I'm running because I really believe I'm adding to the ticket," she said. "I understand education, which is a big part of our state budget."

Thornton also worked seven years at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs and five years as director of corporate strategies for the Universities Space Research Association, a nonprofit that works to advance space science and technology. He said he served seven years as an officer in the Navy Reserves.

Thornton said he was a Democrat but became "disillusioned" with the party during former President Barack Obama's first term and registered as a Republican in 2011.

"I looked at my values and my priorities, and I didn't agree with where the Democrat Party was going, so that's why I changed over," he said. "What I discovered was that Democrats weren't really interested in helping the common man. They were only interested in two things: power and control."

Thornton said he has the right skill set to serve as lieutenant governor.

"I use an acronym that's called 'POET,' " he said.

The "p" is for president of the state Senate, a constitutional role for the lieutenant governor.

"Last year, I served as a Senate analyst for the 2021 legislative session, so I know how the sausage is made," he said. "The goal is to work across the aisle to trap and prevent bad legislation before it reaches the floor."

The "o" is for ombudsman for constituent concerns, also a constitutional role.

"I am the only candidate who is a certified member of the International Ombuds Association," he said. "I am trained as a mediator negotiator in alternative dispute resolution."

The "e" is for experienced executive.

"I managed multimillion-dollar programs over the course of my career, and I can serve as the go-to person for the governor to lead projects for the state," he said. "In other words, I would be the right person to hand off initiatives that they want to get done."

Finally, the "t" is for his technical background.

"I can be the technical ambassador for the state," he said. "With my background, I can work with Sandia, Los Alamos [National Laboratory], Air Force Research Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range to help transition technology out of the labs to private industry. ... My passion is to create high-tech jobs here in New Mexico."

Thornton is leading in fundraising. He's raised $134,000 so far and has just over $61,000 cash on hand. Muller-Aragón has raised a little over $71,000 and has about $35,000 left in the bank.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.