6-01-2026 10:47am

Otero County Voters Decide Contested GOP Primaries Tuesday

Chris Edwards Editor

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — June 1, 2026 — Otero County voters head to the polls Tuesday for a primary election shaped almost entirely by Republican contests, with the open sheriff's office, a bitterly fought county commission seat, and a magistrate judgeship topping a ballot that has drawn months of attention from local and statewide media.

The June 2 primary determines party nominees for the November 3 general election. In a county where voter registration runs roughly 60 percent Republican, the GOP nominees in many of these races are heavily favored to win in the fall — making Tuesday's outcomes decisive.

County Sheriff: Three Republicans, Two Visions

The marquee race is the contest to succeed term-limited Sheriff David Black. Three Republicans are competing for the nomination, and local coverage has framed the field as a choice between continuity and reform.

Raul Robles, the current undersheriff in the current sheriff's office, is the continuity candidate. He has pledged to appoint Black as his undersheriff if elected and campaigns on honoring the outgoing administration's record while expanding patrol coverage in the county's rural areas. Robles did not appear at the community candidate forum in May and his campaign has been rocked with controversy around ethics questions of deputies supporting his candidacy.

Cesar Ramos, a retired U.S. Border Patrol firearms instructor and former Otero County Republican Party chair, is running on reform, transparency, and stronger officer training. At the May 5 forum, he called for enhanced certifications for deputies and a shift away from internal hostility toward closer cooperation with federal agencies.

Geraldine Yazza Martinez brings perhaps the most distinctive résumé in the field. An enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and an Alamogordo High School graduate who served in the military, she has built a career of firsts — the first female undersheriff in Lincoln County, the first female chief of the Mescalero Conservation Department, and currently the first female police chief in the Village of Tularosa. She has pledged to rebuild public trust and strengthen interagency cooperation, and local analysts have noted her potential cross-community appeal in a primary now open to crossover voters.

Hanging over the race is the Elijah Hadley murder case, in which a former sheriff's deputy faces a first-degree murder charge. The trial has been pushed to August — after the primary but before the general election — leaving its political impact muted for now but potentially explosive in the fall during the general election if the incumbent ticket were to win and possibly face an independent challenger.

County Commission District 2: An Incumbent and a Party Crisis

In District 2, incumbent Commissioner and New Mexico State Republican Chair (under court order to step down) Amy Barela, faces a primary challenge from Jonathan Emery, a retiring Otero County Sheriff's lieutenant and military veteran. The two filed within two minutes of each other on March 10 — a coincidence of timing that touched off a statewide controversy and lawsuits in two district courts and has garnered national attention.

Barela, seeking re-election, has pointed to county initiatives such as a jail education program that lets inmates earn workforce credentials. She also served, but was ordered by the courts to vacate, as chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico — a dual role that became the center of a months-long legal and political fight.

Emery launched his campaign in January on a platform of fiscal responsibility, economic development, infrastructure, and public safety. He has publicly distanced himself from the party-chair dispute until filing a lawsuite in the closing days of the campaign, framing his decision to run as a personal commitment to community service rather than a move to unseat the incumbent.

The conflict turned on a Republican Party rule barring a sitting chair from running against a fellow party member without stepping down. The resulting litigation drew in the New Mexico Supreme Court and forced the recusal of every judge in the Twelfth Judicial District. Days before the primary, a district court ruled against Barela and ordered her removed her as state party chair, siding with plaintiffs that included Emery.

The seat has a history of nail-biters: the same District 2 commission primary was decided by a recount in a recent cycle, with the two Republicans separated by roughly 15 votes.

Magistrate Judge, Division 2: Greene vs. Cutts

The ballot's third contested Republican primary pits incumbent Albert R. Greene III against challenger Joseph W. Cutts for Magistrate Judge, Division 2. Magistrate judges handle misdemeanor cases and preliminary hearings; the seats are nonpartisan in name but frequently partisan in practice.

Races Already Settled

Several offices drew only one candidate per party and will not be decided Tuesday. James M. Bowman is the lone candidate for county assessor, Jessica Lynn Suggs for probate judge, and John Robinson Secrest III ran unopposed for Magistrate Judge, Division 1. In County Commission District 1, Republican Christopher Wayne Glidden and Democrat Alan David Gonzalez each filed, setting up a contested general election rather than a primary fight.

Where and When to Vote

Polls are open Tuesday, June 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Otero County uses Voting Convenience Centers, meaning any registered county voter may cast a ballot at any open site. According to the county clerk's election notice, the Election Day locations are:

In and around Alamogordo

Sgt. Willie Estrada Memorial Civic Center — 800 E. 1st Street
Tays Special Events Center — 2400 N. Scenic Drive
Otero County Fairgrounds — 401 Fairgrounds Road

Outlying communities

Tularosa Public Safety Facility — 609 St. Francis Drive, Tularosa
Chaparral Far South Fire Station — 827 Luna Street, Chaparral
La Luz Elementary School — 99 Alamo Street, La Luz
Mescalero Community Center — 108 Central Ave., Mescalero
Cloudcroft High School — 10 Swallow Place, Cloudcroft
James Canyon Fire Station — 2346 US Highway 82, Cloudcroft
Mayhill Community Center — 11 Civic Center Drive, Mayhill
Weed Fire Station — 32 Agua Chiquita, Weed
Pinon Fire Station — 4538 Owen Prather Highway, Pinon
Timberon Fire Station — 27 Bobwhite Circle, Timberon
Boles Acres Fire Station — 10 Sage Avenue, Boles Acres
Burro Flats Fire Station — 556 Laborcita Canyon Road, La Luz
High Rolls Fire Station — 39 Old Railroad Drive, High Rolls

Two precincts vote by mail only: Precinct #2 (Orogrande) and Precinct #3 (Cienega).

Absentee voters should note that all mail ballots must be received — not merely postmarked — by 7 p.m. on June 2.

Secured drop boxes are available at the Otero County Clerk's Office (1104 N. White Sands Blvd., Alamogordo), the Tularosa Public Safety Facility, and the Cloudcroft Council Chambers (201 Burro Ave.), and ballots may also be dropped at any Voting Convenience Center on Election Day.

A reminder for unaffiliated voters: under New Mexico's expanded primary access, independent and decline-to-state voters can participate simply by requesting a party ballot at their polling place, with no permanent change to their registration required.

When to Expect Results

Unofficial returns typically begin posting after polls close at 7 p.m., with absentee and early-vote totals usually reported first and Election Day precincts arriving through the evening. Results will appear on the Otero County Clerk's website and the New Mexico Secretary of State's results portal, with statewide data also carried by the Associated Press on a rolling basis.

Given the low-turnout nature of local primaries and this county's history of razor-thin commission results, a final call in the sheriff's or commission race could slip past election night if margins are tight.

Watch Parties

As of publication, no official election-night watch parties had been confirmed by the Otero County Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or individual candidates. Campaign gatherings in the county are often arranged informally in the final 24 to 48 hours, so voters looking to attend should check candidates' Facebook pages or contact the Otero County Clerk's Office at 575-437-4942 for the latest information.