Lawsuit may disqualify New Mexico Democrat in governor race

A Democratic candidate for governor of New Mexico is seeking to disqualify a rival candidate from their party’s June primary election.

Court records obtained Monday show gubernatorial candidate and former media executive Jeff Apodaca has accused state Sen. Joseph Cervantes of failing to submit enough petition signatures to run for the Democratic nomination for governor.

The lawsuit alleges that about 1,400 signatures submitted by Cervantes are not valid, leaving him shy of registration requirements to run.

Apodaca says the signatures were checked against state voter registration records and included duplicate names, non-Democrats and unregistered individuals.

Cervantes campaign officials had no immediate comment on the challenge.

U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham also is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Congressman Steve Pearce. Pearce has no primary challengers.