Category: 2010 NM Lt. Governor Race

In the second statement released today from the Joe Campos for Lieutenant Governor campaign, Campos extended his thanks to the Democratic Party for its handling of the decision on his eligibility for the primary ballot.

"I appreciate Party Chairman Javier Gonzales' efforts to keep the process open and transparent," Campos stated. "His efforts resulted in a fair and appropriate resolution to the issues raised," Campos said. "The Party has three days to certify the election and the Party staff and the Chairman worked tirelessly late Saturday, all day Sunday, Monday and finally resolved the ballot issue Tuesday."

Campos also said he "appreciates the support of the Democratic Party to stand up for what is right and reaching a just and appropriate decision; submitting his name for a ballot position on the Democratic Party Primary."

In response to the ruling made by Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales today on Democratic primary ballot access for Joe Campos in the Lieutenant Governor race, the Campos campaign released this statement:

The Jose Campos for Lieutenant Governor Campaign announced today that Joe will be on the Democratic Primary ballot in June. "We took on the Richardson machine and won," declared Representative Campos. Campos had received 355 votes for Lieutenant Governor on Saturday at the Democratic Pre-Primary convention, and the 20% threshold was mistakenly calculated and should have been 355 to receive the Democratic Party certification to be on the ballot.

Update: The DPNM just issued a statement clarifying their decision, saying that "after thorough review of the rules of the party and the State of New Mexico Election Handbook, Representative Campos received 20% of the votes cast in the Lt. Governor convention vote. The ruling of the Chair was further supported by a unanimous vote of the DPNM Judicial Committee, 10-0, in favor of recommending the ruling of the Chairman. Representatives from the Rael, Colon and Ortiz y Pino campaigns all stated after the decision that they respected the ruling and would seek no further challenge."

According to the DPNM, Joe Campos received 19.69% of the votes, which in accordance to the rule is rounded to 20%.

"This is exactly why the Democratic Party of New Mexico waits three days before certifying, so everyone can thoroughly review the rules and make the right call," said former Chairman and DPNM pro-bono legal counsel John Wertheim in a written statement. “In this case, the law is clear, and we’re pleased that the other candidates voiced their support and respect for Chairman Gonzales’ ruling.”

Pete Campos speaking at DPNM Pre-Primary Convention

The Joe Campos for Lieutenant Governor Campaign released a statement today indicating they are moving ahead "with gusto" to compete in the primary race -- despite just missing the 20% cut-off for an automatic place on the ballot at Saturday's Democratic Pre-Primary Convention voting. Campos announced, "I'm in it to win it. The votes have been counted and it's game on!" The campaign said he's being "propelled by strong delegate support in the recent Democratic Delegate Convention."

Brian Colón was the top vote getter with 34.5% and gave a fiery speech accepting the nomination

This is one of a series of posts about this weekend's Democratic Pre-Primary Convention. Check back for more photos, videos and commentary on all the action as we get everything processed and organized. Click to see the whole series of posts.

This year, Democrats fielded five primary candidates for Lieutenant Governor and the competition for delegates was spirited. Rep. Joe Campos, Brian Colón, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Lawrence Rael participated in a number of candidate forums and debates and worked hard to attract supporters, get them elected as delegates and convince State Central Committee members to get on board.