Republican Heather Scott Ellison is now running unopposed for a Democrat-held seat after the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected the party’s attempt to install replacement candidates past the statutory deadline.
Republicans have effectively flipped a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives before a single Election Day vote has been counted.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Democratic replacement candidates Matthew Wayne Herman and Anthony Allison cannot appear on the November ballot in House Districts 23 and 4, ABQJournal reported.
In a 4-1 order, the court sided with election officials in Sandoval and San Juan counties, who argued that state law barred Democrats from filling vacancies created fewer than 90 days before the general election, according to NM Political Report.
The ruling leaves Republican Heather Scott Ellison as the only candidate on the ballot in House District 4, a seat currently held by Democrat state Rep. Joseph Franklin Hernandez.
In other words, Republicans have effectively secured a Democrat-held seat before Election Day.
House District 23 will remain in Republican hands, with incumbent House Minority Whip Alan T. Martinez now running without a Democratic opponent.
Democrats created the ballot crisis after both of their original nominees abruptly abandoned their campaigns.
Elise Falanga Taylor, the Democratic challenger in District 23, withdrew on August 17, just 78 days before the November 3 election. Democrats attempted to replace her with Matthew Herman.
Hernandez, a first-term Democrat representing District 4, withdrew on August 25, exactly 70 days before the election, after reports emerged about an alleged alcohol-related incident at a Chicago hotel during a legislative conference.
Hernandez reportedly acknowledged that he was seeking professional assistance for “challenges with alcohol.” Democrats then attempted to install former state Rep. Anthony Allison as his replacement.
But there was one major problem: They were too late.
New Mexico law permits a political party to fill a post-primary vacancy only when that vacancy occurs at least 90 days before the general election.
Democrats argued that a separate 70-day paperwork deadline allowed their replacement candidates to qualify. The courts rejected that strained interpretation.
Thirteenth Judicial District Court Judge James Noel ruled Wednesday that the 70-day filing deadline applies only when the underlying vacancy was legally eligible to be filled under the 90-day rule.
Because Taylor and Hernandez withdrew after the 90-day cutoff, the Democratic Party never had the legal authority to replace them.
The state Supreme Court upheld Noel’s reasoning in the District 23 dispute and directed Eleventh Judicial District Court Judge Curtis Gurley to issue a consistent order in the District 4 case.
Even Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office sided with the county clerks’ interpretation of the statute while asking the Supreme Court to settle the dispute before the September 4 ballot-certification deadline.
Democratic attorney Kate Ferlic argued that excluding the replacement candidates would deny voters a “meaningful choice.”
But election deadlines apparently matter, even when Democrats find them politically inconvenient.
The consequences are enormous.
District 23 was already represented by Republican Alan Martinez, meaning the ruling protects a Republican-held seat.
District 4, however, is currently controlled by Democrats. With Allison barred from the ballot, Republican Heather Ellison is positioned to take the seat without a Democratic opponent.
The New Mexico Legislature currently lists 42 Democrats and 26 Republicans in the 70-seat House, with two seats classified outside those totals. Ellison’s victory would give Republicans a crucial pickup in a chamber long dominated by Democrats.
The ruling also delivers a brutal reminder that ballot deadlines can decide elections before voters ever reach the polls.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Democrats effectively captured Florida House District 47 after Republican incumbent Paula Stark failed to submit a required financial disclosure before the qualifying deadline.
In that case, a paperwork failure benefited Democrats. Now, the tables have turned in New Mexico.
Democrats tried to rescue two collapsing campaigns through last-minute substitutions.
The courts said no.
Republicans have now protected one seat, and effectively flipped another, before Election Day.
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