Contested local contests Nick Paul and Karl Melton Victors

The primary election is completed and Otero County has another low voter turnout of only 21.29 percent of all eligible voters participating or 5129 out of a possible 27057.

Congratulations to Alamogordo City Commissioner Nick Paul the winner in the Republican primary for Senate District 33.

Paul easily won Otero County, with 71 percent of the votes, but finished second in Lincoln County, with 34 percent of the votes compared to 38 percent for Crawford. Overall, more people voted in Lincoln than in Otero (2,834 to 2,180). Lincoln had a 32 percent voter turnout; Otero had 21 percent. District 33 covers only a small section of Chaves, where Paul gathered 115 of the 231 total votes.

Nick Paul had won the primary with 50 percent of the total of 5,245 votes, which were divided between Chaves, Otero and Lincoln counties. Runner-up Lynn Crawford, Mayor of the Village of Ruidoso finished with 30 percent of the vote, and rounding out the three-person race was Ruidoso Realtor Rhonda Romack, who earned 20 percent.

In a statement from Mr. Paul he said, “District 33, thank you! I am honored to have been elected by you in this primary election. We have fought the good fight with our values of faith, family, and freedom at the center of our campaign. Our community needs a conservative voice at the Roundhouse to represent us, and I am up to the task. We are going to Santa Fe to fight for our working families, support our law enforcement, protect our farmers and ranchers, and defend our rights and freedoms. Thank you to my wife, Sarina, and my team for their support. This is the beginning of our efforts to restore New Mexico.”

In the race for treasurer dirty politics won over experience. Congratulations to Karl Melton who won over Rachael Black in the Treasurer’s office.  Mr. Melton and his partner John Block issued the following statement; ”What an incredible campaign! I am deeply honored and humbled to serve as your next County Treasurer in January. Thank you, Otero County, for placing your trust in me during this competitive primary. Your embrace of our shared conservative vision and our goals of improving the quality of life in Otero County fills me with hope and inspiration. With all Republican elected officials working together, we can make Otero County reach the full potential we all know it is capable of.

When my term starts, we will immediately work on increasing the transparency of county investments, improving the investment portfolio to increase returns, and generating more revenue for the county’s budget.

I’d like to personally thank State Reps. John Block and Stefani Lord, and Calibers gun store owner Louie Sanchez for endorsing our campaign. To all of my incredible donors and volunteers, your dedication has motivated me, even in the most challenging days of this campaign. Together, we knocked almost 3,000 doors! It truly was a team effort, and I’m incredibly proud of what we all accomplished.

Otero County—You can rest assured your hard-earned tax dollars will be secured and invested prudently and effectively so that the best county in the state can prosper!”

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