Mission: New Mexico Open Primaries Board of Directors believe strongly that we must change the structure within which candidates are elected, financed and districted before substantive policy changes will occur.

Reason: Currently, there is little incentive for the two major parties to work together, so we see the constant hyper-partisanship and gridlock in Santa Fe and D.C.

Solutions: Reforms like open primaries, ranked choice voting, free and fair ballot access for all candidates and non-partisan redistricting commissions have fundamentally changed legislative dynamics in other states.  Let’s not be the last state to adopt these critical reforms.

Candidate Survey:  Please review the candidate survey responses here if you want to see the raw data and actual answers below or download them HERE.  We are pleased at the number of candidates who support our goals.

Endorsement process:  The Board of NMOP analyzed responses to our short survey and endorsed the following candidates for the 2018 election cycle.  These candidates answered our survey in a very positive manner and most have spent countless hours of volunteer time on election reform issues. We urge you to donate to their campaigns, help them in their race this election cycle and call people you know in their district to support them.

U.S. Senate:  Gary Johnson, Libertarian, is very supportive of most of our reform agenda.  He is neutral on open primaries, but very supportive of ranked choice voting, free and fair ballot access for independent candidates and non-partisan districting commissions.  You can support Gary Johnson's campaign HERE.

Congress:  CD1-Lloyd Princeton, Libertarian, is very supportive of all of our mission and goals.  We find it important to support candidates who are trying to break up the duopoly that too often colludes to limit competition in elections. You can support Lioyd Princeton's campaign HERE.

Attorney General:  A. Blair Dunn, Libertarian, serves on our Board and acted as the attorney of record for our lawsuit to block implementation of straight party voting.  He supports all of our mission and goals and has worked hard for election reform.  We believe he will be an important, impartial arbiter in all ballot access and campaign/election issues and lawsuits. You can support Blair Dunn HERE.

State House of Representatives: 

HD20:  Jim Dines, Republican.  Rep. Dines has been a strong supporter of open primaries and one of our lead legislative sponsors. He has set the standard for honest and ethical behavior and is one of the few legislators who do not accept anything of value from lobbyists.  You can support Jin Dines HERE.

HD23:  Daymon Ely, Democrat.  Rep. Ely has been a strong supporter of open primaries and one of our lead legislative sponsors.  We appreciate his accessibility and intellect. You can support  Daymon Ely HERE.

HD27:  Bill Pratt, Democrat.  Bill has run for this office as an independent in the past and now has a clear path to victory because the long-standing incumbent decided not to run for re-election only recently.  He is very supportive of our mission and goals and has spoken at one of our town hall meetings very articulately about the need for competition in all elections. You can support Bill Pratt HERE.

HD29: No Endorsement. Rep. David Adkins, Republican, and challenger Joy Garratt, Democrat, both answered our survey fully supporting our positions, so we look forward to working with the winner.

HD35: Angelica Rubio, Democrat. We have not worked in the legislature with Rep. Rubio, but are enthused she is so supportive and look forward to working with her in the next legislative session. You can support Angelica Rubio HERE.

HD40: Tweeti Blancett, Independent.  Tweeti is a member of the NMOP Board and has been a strong supporter of our missions and goals.  She is a former state representative, a rancher and small businesswoman.  She has a one on one race with a non-incumbent, so she has a clear path to victory. You can support Tweeti Blancett HERE.

HD46: Heather Nordquist, Democrat. Heather is running as a write-in candidate in district 46.  Heather was born in Los Alamos and grew up in the village of El Rancho: she returned to New Mexico in 2014 and purchased a home in El Rancho. In that time she has stood for the values of government transparency and accountability, and was one of the whistle-blowers who exposed the misuse of taxpayer money by Andrea Romero (the Democrat's nominee for HD 46).   Heather's platform is largely focused on ethics reform in government and she strongly supports NMOP's goals.  You can support Heather HERE. Remember - Heather Nordquist is a write-in candidate and will not appear on the ballot, and spelling counts!

HD50:  Jarratt Applewhite, Independent.  Jarratt has been an advisor to the NMOP Board and our c3 organization.  He is a strong supporter of our mission and goals.  He is a former Santa Fe School Board member and a serial entrepreneur.  He is running against an incumbent who voted against open primaries in the legislature, Rep. Matt McQueen.  He has a one-on-one race, so has a clear path to victory.  He has been endorsed by Unite America and is raising money nationally as one of the recognized top independent state house candidates in the nation. You can support  Jarratt Applewhite HERE.

Thank you for ongoing support,

NMOP Board