Jun. 1—The race for First Judicial District Attorney is shaping up as one of the most expensive primaries in the state.

Incumbent Mary Carmack-Altwies raised almost $172,000 between May 7 and May 28, most of which came in the form of a $160,000 loan to her campaign. She spent more than $162,000 and ended the reporting period with more than $32,000 in the bank, according to campaign finance disclosure reports filed with the state Secretary of State’s office on Thursday.

Her opponent, former District Attorney Marco Serna, raised a little less than $22,000 but started the reporting period with considerably more than his opponent. Despite spending about $134,000, he closed with almost $40,000 on hand for the final stretch before the Tuesday vote.

With no Republican running for the seat, the Democratic primary winner is virtually guaranteed to be the next district attorney for Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties. The race has been one of the more heated local contests, with the candidates trading barbs on controversial topics such as drunken-driving prosecutions and Carmack-Altwies’ handling of the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin and the prosecutions that followed the felling of the Plaza obelisk.

Carmack-Altwies and Serna both rank among the top 10 fundraisers and spenders in the 2024 primary election, according to the Secretary of State’s data. With $313,308 raised in total so far, Carmack-Altwies has raised the third-most in the state, behind only the two candidates for Second Judicial District Attorney, which covers Albuquerque. Of this, $220,000 is money she has loaned to her campaign, according to campaign finance filings.

That puts her ahead of powerful lawmakers, such as Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, one of the Legislature’s top fundraisers and a conservative Democrat who is facing a primary challenge, and House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, who represents a safely Democratic district and is unopposed in his primary but who contributes generously to other Democratic House members.

Serna, who has raised $184,966, has raised the eighth-most out of any primary candidates in the state, just behind Martínez. Most of his haul has come in individual contributions; his filings don’t show he loaned his campaign any money, and the Secretary of State’s office data shows just $4,424 of his total comes from the candidate.

In terms of spending, Carmack-Altwies’ $282,744 makes her second-highest in the state, behind only incumbent Second Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman. Serna has spent the ninth-most out of any candidates in the state at $148,059.

Both campaigns have been spending tens of thousands of dollars to get their message to voters. Serna’s latest report includes $75,000, in three separate installments, with a Florida company on campaign literature and mailings; more than $20,000 on radio airtime and production costs; and $25,000 on text messaging and social media.

Carmack-Altwies’ report notes spending almost $120,000 cumulatively on TV airtime and production costs and more than $40,000 with the Albuquerque firm SWEL for “Research, Media Buy, Mailer, Campaign Consulting.”

Local legislative races

Although state Rep. Ambrose Castellano is financially ahead of opponent Anita Gonzales in his race to keep his House District 70 seat, Gonzales has drawn some notable support.

Castellano has voted against progressive priorities such as abortion rights, clean fuel standards and paid family and medical leave. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has come out in favor of Gonzales, donated money and campaigned alongside her, the only legislative primary in the state in which the governor has played such a prominent role.

The district includes San Miguel County and extends south to Moriarty and Duran.

Castellano raised more than $42,000 during the last filing period, spent more than $45,000 and closed with almost $75,000 in cash on hand. Gonzales raised more than $14,000, spent more than $16,000 and closed with more than $42,000 on hand.

Their donor lists tell the story of the divide between the moderate and progressive wings of the state Democratic Party. Castellano’s contributors in May include business groups such as the Apartment Association of New Mexico, the New Mexico Restaurant Association, the New Mexico Medical PAC, Devon Energy and Permian Resources. Meanwhile, Gonzales is raising money from groups such as the state chapters of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, New Mexico Voices for Children and the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club.

Overall, Gonzales’ top donors throughout the campaign include the pro-abortion rights group Emily’s List, Lujan Grisham, the climate change activist group Climate Cabinet and the IBEW union, while Castellano’s include Devon Energy Production, New Mexico Gas Company and Associated Contractors of New Mexico. A similar pattern is playing out in several other primaries in other parts of the state in which a Democrat who voted against the 2024 version of paid family and medical leave is facing a challenge from the left, with business groups backing the incumbent and progressive donors supporting the challenger.

In Senate District 24, an open seat in Santa Fe where longtime incumbent Sen. Nancy Rodriguez is retiring, Linda Trujillo is by far outraising the other two Democratic candidates. During the most recent filing period she raised more than $18,000, spent almost $48,000 and closed with more than $30,000 still on hand.

Trujillo’s top donors include Chevron, IBEW, and the Committee on Individual Responsibility, which is affiliated with the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association and Foundation.

County Commissioner Anna Hansen raised almost $14,300 during the reporting period, spent about $18,600 and closed with $9,958.41. Veronica Krupnick raised $7,255, spent just $733.08 and closed with $8,955.54.

Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, who is fighting to keep her House District 41 seat in Northern New Mexico, is raising and spending far more than her opponent Margaret Cecilia Campos. Herrera ended the reporting period with almost $30,000 in the bank compared to a little more than $3,000 for Campos.

Herrera raised almost $13,000 during the period in May covered on the report from a mix of individual and political committee donors, with her backers including the NEA, the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, and fellow lawmakers. The Speaker Fund, the campaign arm of the House Democratic caucus, also has given to her campaign. Although Campos raised about half of what Herrera did during the reporting period, her backers include a few political action committees such as the New Mexico Restaurant Association, the Independent Community Bankers Association and Pojoaque and Ohkay Owingeh pueblos.

County clerk, commission

Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark is raising and spending far more than her opponent, former Clerk Geraldine Salazar. Clark ended the last reporting period with almost $26,000 on hand, compared to about $5,400 for Salazar. While Salazar did raise more during the few weeks in May that are covered — almost $5,000 compared to about $3,000 for the incumbent clerk — Clark went into the reporting period with far more cash on hand, and $2,000 of Salazar’s haul was a contribution she made to her own campaign.

The Democratic primary for the District 2 county commission seat remained rather low key. Lisa Cacari-Stone appears to remain ahead in the money race, having spent about $11,400 during the last reporting period and closing with about $5,400 in cash on hand. With the help of a loan to his own campaign, Benito Martinez Jr. outraised her during the reporting period while spending $4,138 and closing with about $5,400.

District 2 candidate Scott Fuqua’s latest campaign finance report had not yet been posted on the Secretary of State’s website Friday afternoon.

Fundraising has been more of a contentious topic in District 4, where the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has endorsed Adam Johnson, has been attacking his opponent, Mika Old, over contributions from entities connected to Richard Yates, a relative of prominent Republican oilman Harvey Yates.

Old raised $8,450 during the last reporting period, of which $2,750 came from Hotel Santa Fe, $2,500 from the New Mexico Association of Realtors and the rest in individual donations. She spent almost $7,900 on radio and digital advertising and campaign mailers and closed with $15,656.62 on hand. Johnson raised a little more than $2,500 during the reporting period — mostly from individual donors but with some in-kind help from the Sierra Club — and spent almost $4,400. He closed with more than $19,800 on hand.

District 4 candidate Stephen Chiulli raised just $200 during the last reporting period, spent $265 and closed with $1,616 on hand.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.