Sandoval County Commission certifies primary election

Serving as the election canvassing board on June 14, the Sandoval County Commission voted unanimously to certify the results of the 2024 primary elections in Sandoval County that took place on June 4.

Sandoval County Chief Deputy Clerk Joey Dominguez presented a canvass report to the commission showing that of the 81,499 eligible voters in Sandoval County, 17,206 voted, either early, absentee or on Election Day, which is a voter turnout of 21.11%.

Senate District 9 saw two candidates eliminated from the race after the primary.

Republican Audrey Trujillo beat Frida Susana Vasquez 1,518 (58%) to 1,099 (42%), and Cindy Nava won the Democratic nomination over Heather Balas by a vote of 2,638 (55%) to 2,194 (45%).

Those two will face off for the seat in the November general election.

Other results from the primary election saw Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block beat former District 10 Sen. Candace Gould Tuesday to win the Republican nomination for Senate District 12 by a count of 1,917 (68%) to 906 (32%).

Block will face Democrat Phillip Ramirez in the November election.

The House field of candidates also dwindled Tuesday with Catherine Cullen beating both Corrine Rios and John D'Antonio to win the Republican nomination in District 57.

Cullen will face Michelle Sandoval for the District 57 seat, which is open because six-term state Rep. Jason Harper opted not to run again, in November.

Cullen got 522 votes (38%), Rios had 412 (30%) and D’Antonio received 458 (33 %).

Steve Jones (16,835, 51%) edged out Louie Sanchez (15,919, 49%) to win the Republican spot for the District 1 U.S. Representative race. Jones will face Democrat incumbent Melanie Stansbury in November.

Kenneth Brennan (985, 60%) beat Wendy Lossing (664, 40%) to win the Republican race for the District 50 state House of Representatives in the general election. Brennan will face incumbent Matthew McQueen in November.

Susan Herrera (2,390, 63%) beat fellow Democrat Margaret Campos (1,375, 37%) to win the state House District 41 spot. No Republicans are running for the seat.

Chris Luchini needed only 17 votes to top Phillip Mach (12 votes) for the District 43 House Republican nomination. Mach will face Democrat Christine Chandler in November.

Dominguez was joined by Bureau of Elections manager Tina Dominguez for the presentation of the canvass report in great detail. Both were praised, along with Sandoval County Clerk Anne Brady-Romero and everyone in her office, for improving election transparency while adapting and improving with each election.

“I kind of look at this as a retired military officer, and we have something that we live by called ‘perfection is the standard.’ And it's a very tough standard to meet,” Block said. “I think you guys did a phenomenal job.”

Brady-Romero, whose husband, Robert, passed away in April, was especially grateful to Chief Deputy Clerk Dominguez, BOE Manager Dominguez and the entire staff that helped the election run smoothly.

“I want to thank Joey and Tina and all the staff. I sincerely appreciate all the hard work you do. Especially with me going through the difficult time that I've been going through,” Brady-Romero said. “Tina and Joey have been instrumental in taking care of me, the staff and the constituents of Sandoval County. If I could give them a huge raise or a bonus I would because I just feel that they are just irreplaceable. I depend on them very much and appreciate them all.”