Raúl Torrez wins Democratic primary for attorney general

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Raúl Torrez has won the Democratic primary for attorney general in New Mexico to challenge Republican attorney and U.S. Marine veteran Jeremy Michael Gay of Gallup.

The Albuquerque-based district attorney defeated State Auditor Brian Colón to vie for the state’s top law enforcement post as Attorney General Hector Balderas terms out of office.

Torrez has portrayed himself as a seasoned courtroom attorney and prosecutor of crime and corruption.

He has pledged to expand the state’s capacity and expertise to handle consumer-rights litigation and prevail in a prolonged legal battle with Texas over management of Rio Grande waters amid a decadeslong drought.

Torrez’s recent tenure as district attorney coincides with a crime crisis in Albuquerque, including a record-setting number of homicides in 2021.

He has sought unsuccessfully to roll back bail reforms that allowed judges to deny pre-trial release to dangerous defendants and release low-risk defendants who might remain in jail because they can’t afford bail bonds. The reforms were initiated by statewide referendum in 2016.