近距离内射合集

SANTA FE 鈥� A veteran state lawmaker from Sierra County has been bumped off this year鈥檚 ballot 鈥� at least for now 鈥� following a court challenge to her nominating petition filed by the former Democratic lawmaker she ousted in 2024.

Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, said Wednesday she plans to appeal the disqualification ruling by a state judge in Las Cruces.

鈥淚 have always believed that elections should be decided by the people, not by technicalities,鈥� Dow said in a statement .

鈥淥ur system is strongest when it protects access, encourages participation, and respects the will of the voters,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hat has happened here falls short of those principles.鈥�

Dow, who is currently the third-highest ranking House Republican as GOP caucus chairwoman, had seemed likely to coast into her second consecutive term since returning to the House of Representatives in 2025. She previously served from 2016 to 2022, giving up her seat for an unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2022 and returning to the Legislature following the 2024 election.

In her reelection race this year, Dow faced no challenger for the Republican nomination and would have faced Democratic write-in candidate David Mooney of Radium Springs in the November general election. That seemingly positioned Dow for an easy win in House District 38, which represents parts of Do帽a Ana, Sierra and Socorro counties.

In a surprise twist, however, Tara Jaramillo of Socorro 鈥� a Democrat who served one term in the state House before being unseated by Dow in one of New Mexico鈥檚 most expensive legislative races two years ago 鈥� filed a petition arguing Dow鈥檚 declaration of candidacy and nominating petition were defective.

All 70 state House seats are up for election this year, and candidates around the state filed the necessary paperwork to appear on the ballot last month.

In her court petition, Jaramillo said that Dow listed the office she was seeking as 鈥淗ouse of Repres鈥� on her declaration of candidacy, failing to list the proper name of the office or the district number as the law requires.

Further, Jaramillo argued that Dow did not submit a proper nominating petition, filing screenshots rather than printed copies and that the submission did not present addresses for those who signed 鈥� only county names, House district number and voter ID numbers for each individual. Jaramillo argued this left no way to validate the signatures and she reported that at least one voter listed a different county than where he was registered to vote. The petition did not, however, allege that any attempt at fraud had occurred.

State District Judge Manuel Arrieta on Tuesday upheld the challenge to Dow鈥檚 nominating petition because it did not 鈥渆nable or allow a voter to review and challenge鈥� the signatures as the law requires. He rejected the challenge to Dow鈥檚 declaration of candidacy, holding that while the form was 鈥渢echnically flawed,鈥� it would not have prejudiced voters.

Arrieta has been a state district court judge since 2009, when he was appointed by former Gov. Bill Richardson.

Meanwhile, the petition challenging Dow鈥檚 candidacy is one of several court challenges involving legislative candidates during this year鈥檚 election cycle. At least one other candidate, Democrat Frankie McQuerry of Albuquerque, has also been disqualified, while several other candidates have weathered attempts to knock them off the ballot.

In the race for governor, Republican Duke Rodriguez of Albuquerque has survived two separate court petitions seeking to disqualify him for failing to meet a constitutional residency requirement.

Such challenges are fairly common in New Mexico, though it鈥檚 rare for incumbent lawmakers to be disqualified.

Former state Rep. Sandra Jeff of Crownpoint was tossed off the ballot in 2014 for failing to submit enough valid voter signatures and was unsuccessful in a subsequent appeal.

As for Dow鈥檚 case, the lawmaker would not be able to run as a write-in candidate this year if she loses her Supreme Court appeal, according to state statute. In addition, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver鈥檚 office said election law prohibits political parties from filling vacancies on primary election ballots.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.