Rio Rancho’s Rios announces run for state representative

Corrine Rios, a Rio Rancho resident, has announced her candidacy for the New Mexico House of Representatives’ District 57 seat.

Rios brings experience in education and a passion for family values to her campaign. With a background in teaching, including five years in the Moriarty school district, Rios holds a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees in elementary education. Since 1998, she has been homeschooling her five children, the youngest of whom is now 14.

Now she wants to put her experience to work for New Mexico.

“We have to take a look and see why New Mexico is always the last on the good lists. And it is no coincidence that we have been run by the Democrats which are now, you know, liberal progressives wanting to push these unreasonable and unfair policies on Americans,” Rios said. “I want to get up there to educate and vote conservatively. … What I’m hearing out on the street is people are getting annoyed with their tax dollars going overseas, going to programs that don’t work, going to people who don’t work, going to illegals, and we have to put a stop to that for New Mexicans and for Rio Rancho.”

Rios got interested in politics in 2014 and became heavily involved in politics after the 2020 election. She was a volunteer campaign manager for Ethel Maharg and a paid campaign manager for Jay Block, who each ran for governor in 2022. Rios also served as a political consultant for state Rep. Alan Martinez.

Rios now seeks to transition from behind-the-scenes work to direct involvement in shaping policy as a state representative.

“I’ve been in politics, but in a different way. I’ve been kind of behind the scenes,” Rios said. “I’m just tired of helping. I actually want to be out in Santa Fe actually voting and educating voters. … I want to be able to teach my district and New Mexico what is going on, how it impacts these deals, how they impact and kind of let people decide for themselves because voting along party lines is just killing the state.”

Rios’ roots in New Mexico run deep, having grown up in the state and living in Rio Rancho for the past 15 years. She is also a small business owner, managing properties and employing local workers.

Education and family values are central to her platform. She advocates for educational choice, believing that competition among schools can lead to better outcomes for students. She also emphasizes the importance of protecting children from “pornography” in schools.

“Family stability is the backbone of a civilized society,” Rios said. “All the research is showing that having pornography in our schools accessible to underage children is not deemed as healthy. We have to draw the line and protect our children. We need to do that even if that means maybe some of these authors cannot have their free rights in the public schools … because some of those books that are in our libraries and schools right now, they are atrocious. I don’t care if they are heterosexual or homosexual. I don’t care; they are not appropriate for children. And we need to fight to protect children.”

As a military family member, Rios is also passionate about supporting veterans and improving their access to health care and benefits.

“We need to take better care of our vets,” Rio said. “They’re not getting good care. We need to allow them to go to whichever hospital they want to go to. We need to give them more of a tax break. We need to quit taxing their Social Security. You know, these are men and women who have sacrificed for their country, and I don’t think we do we do enough for them.”

Rios’ campaign focuses on bringing a fresh perspective to state politics, one grounded in the values of hard work, fiscal responsibility and a strong commitment to family.

“I really am like everybody in Rio Rancho. I really can relate to a lot of people. I’ve been married 32 years, (with) five children, seven grandchildren. I drive a 20-year-old car. I lived in the same house for 15 years.” Rios said. “I think I have a different perspective. We get a lot of these politicians that just want to rattle off, they’ve been here in Washington, they’ve worked in this department, worked in that department, work here, work that, but sometimes it takes a different perspective, away from the establishment stuff. … This country is not looking like it did when I was a kid. And I want my children and my grandchildren to grow up in a free America and a free New Mexico.”