Poll: Mark Ronchetti Leads GOP Competitors in New Mexico Gubernatorial Primary

New Mexico Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti has a “commanding lead” among his competitors two weeks ahead of the primary election, the Albuquerque Journal reported on Sunday.

Forty-five percent of likely primary election voters say they would vote for Ronchetti, who is a former KRQE-TV meteorologist, while just 17 percent say they would support state Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-NM), according to the Journal poll.

Republicans Greg Zanetti, Ethel Maharg, and Jay Block are further behind, and 21 percent of voters say they are still undecided.

President of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc. Brian Sanderoff told the publication Ronchetti’s competitors seem to be dividing the support of voters who prefer someone with more political experience.

“Most of his opponents are more politically experienced, but they don’t have the name recognition that Ronchetti does,” Sanderoff said.

Whoever secures the Republican nomination on June 7 will run against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and Libertarian Karen Bedonie in the November general election. Grisham is running unopposed in her party.

The Journal Poll showed Ronchetti has support from GOP voters in various age categories and around the state, save for Las Cruces and southwest New Mexico.

Watch as Mark Ronchetti sets out his case below:

“That was the only region in which voters were more likely to say they planned to vote for Dow, with 31 percent of voters surveyed in that part of the state saying they support the three-term state lawmaker from Truth or Consequences and 22 percent saying they would vote for Ronchetti,” according to the report.

“However, Ronchetti had a strong lead over his four Republican rivals in the Albuquerque metro area and on New Mexico’s east side, which is a traditionally conservative region.”

The poll was conducted from May 15-19 with 560 registers Republican voters who participated in either the 2018 or 2020 primary elections, or both, and said the are likely to take part in the 2022 primary. The margin of error is ± 4.1 percent.