Republican Party of New Mexico appeals to state Supreme Court to overturn chairwoman’s ouster

The Republican Party of New Mexico has filed an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court, arguing that a lower court judge’s ruling that required Chairwoman Amy Barela to vacate her seat was unprecedented and “extraordinary.”

Thirteenth Judicial District Court Judge Cindy Mercer on Wednesday issued a ruling that prohibited Barela from continuing to serve as party chairwoman, citing party rules that prohibit chairpersons from holding the post while also running in a contested primary. One of the plaintiffs is Jonathan Emery, who is running in the Republican primary against Barela for the Otero County Commission.

The ruling also prohibited party officials from endorsing Republican candidates during the primary election, which concludes Tuesday.

In an emergency petition filed Thursday, attorney Carter Harrison argued that Mercer’s ruling violated party members’ free speech rights and that courts are not the proper venue to resolve intra-party disputes. If Mercer’s ruling is allowed to go into effect, a “flood of cases” will arrive in local courts when “minority factions of political parties learn that they can take their grievances … to court,” he wrote.

A RPNM spokesperson did not immediately respond to Source NM’s emailed request for comment Friday. 

In an emailed statement to reporters Friday afternoon, Aubrey Blair Dunn, who is running for lieutenant governor as a Republican and was one of the plaintiffs, said the party’s decision to appeal is misguided. 

“The judge’s decision was clear, well-reasoned, and plainly correct, and dragging it into an appeal does nothing but waste the Party’s limited resources and the Court’s valuable time,” he said.

Gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez, another plaintiff, said an appeal will only distract from the Republican Party’s efforts to win elections and expand its coalition. 

“Every day spent fighting each other is a day not spent fighting for New Mexico,” he said.