Manny Gonzales disqualified from Republican US Senate ballot

Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales failed to get enough signatures to qualify him for the Republican Party primary race for U.S. Senate.

A spokesman for the New Mexico Secretary of State said Gonzales—a former Democrat—submitted 875 signatures but needed 2,351 to qualify.

Nella Domenici, the daughter of long-time senator Pete Domenici and the other Republican candidate vying for office, was able to qualify for the ballot.

Gonzales launched his campaign earlier this year to challenge incumbent Senator Martin Heinrich. He had switched his voter registration from Democrat to Republican in mid-December.

Gonzales was appointed Sheriff of Bernalillo County in 2009 when the sitting Sheriff resigned. He was elected in 2014 and served until 2022. He previously ran unsuccessfully for Albuquerque mayor against incumbent Mayor Tim Keller, a fellow Democrat, in the nonpartisan race. He lost that race by 30 percentage points.