By Chloe Henson / Daily Lobo
Gubernatorial candidates Gary King and Susana Martinez are gearing up their campaigns for the general elections in November.
King won the Democratic primary election with 35 percent of votes, according to the Secretary of State website. Debra Haaland will run for the Democratic lieutenant governor position.
Martinez and Lt. Gov. John Sanchez ran uncontested in the Republican primaries and will run as incumbents.
Shaylyn Garcia Roy, educational advisor for King’s campaign, said King is trying to unite the Democratic Party in New Mexico by meeting with leaders and voters, she said.
King may not have as much support from the Democratic Party as he would like because of the five-way primary race, said Lisa Bryant, a political science PhD from UNM. She said King will have to work to win voters who voted for Alan Webber or Howie Morales during the primaries.
“One of his biggest challenges going into the general election in November is going to be to gain independent voters’ support and to pull Democrats to his side,” Bryant said.
Meanwhile, Martinez should try to win over northern New Mexico’s Hispanic Democrats, Bryant said.
“They tend to vote Democrat, but they’re a very conservative population,” she said. “She knows that if she can pull them over, she can win the Hispanic and Latino vote in northern New Mexico.”
Just after the primaries Martinez traveled to northern New Mexico to meet with voters, according to a press release sent out by her campaign.
Local groups are also working to increase Republican votes for Martinez.
The Republican Party of Bernalillo County is contacting voters of all ages to encourage them to vote, said Frank Ruvolo, chairman of the Republican Party of Bernalillo County.
“We just do our own thing to encourage Republican voters of Bernalillo County to vote,” he said.
Ruvolo said he thinks Martinez will do well because she has a good organization, has a considerable amount of money and has had identifiable political achievements during her term.
“For the most part, she’s done well with some of her proposed legislation and ideas,” he said.
