Republican drops out of Congressional District 2 primary

A Republican who had hoped to face off with U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) in November on Wednesday announced that he was dropping out of the primary election.

Jose Orozco of Albuquerque had previously qualified to vie with Republican Greg Cunningham in the primary for the Second Congressional District seat. Orozco, whose campaign materials described as a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency contractor, posted to social media that he was withdrawing his candidacy and endorsing Cunningham, who now faces no opposition in the June 2 primary election.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Orozco wrote on social media, adding that he believed “consolidating support” for Cunningham will give Republicans a better shot at flipping the congressional district on the night of the Nov. 3 general election. “Now is the time for unity, focus and action. Together, we can win in November and restore strong leadership for our district and our country.” 

In the statement, Orozco wrote that “public service is not about political clout” and that Cunningham will “deliver real results for the people of New Mexico.”

At a March pre-primary convention, Republican delegates threw their support behind Cunningham, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as an Albuquerque Police Department detective.

While Orozco announced his withdrawal on social media and perhaps elsewhere, he did not provide a statement of withdrawal to the Secretary of State’s office by Tuesday’s statutory deadline for primary candidates, according to Lindsey Bachman, director of communications, legislative and executive affairs for the office. “Thus, he will appear on the primary election ballot,” she wrote in an email.

Incumbent Vasquez narrowly won the seat, which represents much of Southern New Mexico and the borderland region, in 2022, when he defeated then-U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.). He is running unopposed in the June primary.