New Mexico SC affirms Senate candidate's disqualification

SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline)--The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that a state Senate candidate lacked enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Letitia Montoya of Santa Fe sought to run in the 25th Senate District in the state's June 3 Democratic primary, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

The high court's unanimous decision Wednesday affirmed an earlier decision by state District Judge Tim Garcia, who found that some of the people who signed Montoya's petitions were not registered Democrats in the Senate district and thus were not valid.

The justices' decision leaves Rep. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, as the only candidate for the seat being vacated by Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe.

With no opponent in either the Democratic primary or the general election, Wirth will almost certainly win the Senate seat, the newspaper reported.

In their lawsuit, Wirth's supporters contended that Montoya had only 76 valid signatures, half of the 152 she needed.