近距离内射合集

The polls had barely closed on Election Day before a new showdown started to come into focus.

After finishing atop a six-candidate field, incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and challenger Darren White wasted little time launching their first salvos in what鈥檚 expected to be a pugnacious runoff election.

A day after Election Day, White said his campaign was pleasantly surprised by unofficial election returns that showed him just 5 percentage points behind Keller 鈥� with 36% of votes cast for the incumbent and 31% for White.

鈥淭wo-thirds of the voters last night rejected an eight-year incumbent, and that鈥檚 because crime and homelessness are out of control,鈥� White told the Journal.

He also said his campaign would be competitive with Keller when it comes to fundraising in the run-up to the Dec. 9 runoff election, even though the mayor will receive an additional $377,973 in public campaign finance funds this week after being the only candidate to qualify for the program this summer.

鈥淲e have received overwhelming support since last night, and we鈥檙e going to be on a campaign that will provide us with resources to go toe-to-toe with the mayor,鈥� White said.

For his part, Keller likened the start of the runoff election to 鈥渉alftime鈥� of this year鈥檚 election cycle, saying he was ready for a strong second-half showing.

鈥淣ow it鈥檚 a two-person race, and the differences could not be more clear,鈥� Keller said Wednesday. 鈥淎lbuquerque cannot afford a Trump-aligned mayor who would take us backward across the board.鈥�

His campaign manager also said Keller would draw a 鈥渟harp contrast鈥� with White on issues including the city鈥檚 stance on immigration.

The five-week sprint to the runoff election was triggered under the city鈥檚 election code when no candidate surpassed the 50% vote threshold. Two Albuquerque City Council races will also be decided in next month鈥檚 runoff election.

Despite a sluggish start to early voting, nearly 135,000 votes were cast in this year鈥檚 Albuquerque mayoral race, according to unofficial election results, or about 37.1% of registered voters in the city. That surpassed the 32% turnout mark from the city鈥檚 last mayoral election in 2021.

Runoff election dynamics

The outcome of next month鈥檚 mayoral runoff election could hinge on which candidate wins the support of voters who cast their ballot for someone else.

Alex Uballez, who came in third in the race with about 19% of votes cast, urged his supporters on election night not to support White but stopped short of endorsing Keller.

Uballez and the mayor spoke on election night but had not had a follow-up conversation as of late Wednesday, an Uballez campaign spokesman said.

Longtime New Mexico political observer Brian Sanderoff said an Uballez endorsement of Keller could be politically significant, as Uballez received as much as 60% of the votes cast in one University of New Mexico voting precinct.

While it鈥檚 unlikely that Uballez supporters would back White, Sanderoff said it鈥檚 not a certainty that they would support Keller in the runoff election.

鈥淭he question is, will they vote?鈥� said Sanderoff, who is the president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc.

If Keller is able to win the support of most Uballez voters, that could put him over the 50% threshold needed to claim victory next month, Sanderoff added.

After the two-term mayor spent much of the run-up to this week鈥檚 Election Day defending his record and accomplishments, Sanderoff said he expects Keller will take a more aggressive approach in the runoff election.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see a different political strategy from Keller, I鈥檓 sure, in the runoff,鈥� Sanderoff said.

White seeking to maintain momentum

The path to a White victory in the runoff election could be trickier to map.

Even if White were to win over voters who backed one of the three other candidates running for mayor 鈥� Louie Sanchez, Mayling Armijo and Eddie Varela 鈥� and retain his own supporters, it would still leave him short of the 50% mark.

The former Bernalillo County sheriff and state Department of Public Safety chief said he planned to launch a new round of radio and television ads in the coming weeks.

鈥淭here was really no time to celebrate,鈥� White said. 鈥淲e enjoyed last night鈥檚 victory and we鈥檝e been back at work since early this morning.鈥�

He also said the higher-than-expected turnout could signal a desire for change among Albuquerque residents, while adding he was hopeful that turnout in the runoff election would also be strong.

鈥淭he future of our city is really on the ballot,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we anticipate it will generate as much interest as it did yesterday.鈥�