2017 Albuquerque mayoral election

The 2017 Albuquerque mayoral election was a nonpartisan election, held on October 3 and November 14, 2017, to choose the next mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Richard J. Berry, the incumbent mayor, did not seek reelection. This was the first mayoral election in Albuquerque without an incumbent candidate in twenty years. All candidates ran on the same ballot. No candidate reached 50% of the vote in the initial round held on October 3, and so a runoff election was held November 14 between the top two finishers.[1]

2017 Albuquerque mayoral election

← 2013 October 3 and November 14, 2017 2021 →
 
Candidate Tim Keller Dan Lewis
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 60,219 36,863
Percentage 62.2% 37.8%

Mayor before election

Richard J. Berry
Republican

Elected mayor

Tim Keller
Democratic

The race was non-partisan (i.e., party affiliations do not appear on the ballot).[2] However, "although the election is nonpartisan, a candidate’s political affiliation obviously can play a role in the campaign."[1] In order to appear on the ballot, a candidate must collect 3,000 signatures from Albuquerque registered voters and submit them to the city clerk's office.[3]

The maximum allowed campaign contribution that may be given to a candidate is $5,193 per person or company, which is 5% of the mayor's salary.[4]

Alongside the mayoral election, five seats of the city council were up for re-election. Incumbent councillors Ken Sanchez (District 1), Klarissa Peña (District 3), Diane G. Gibson (District 7) and Don Harris (District 9) were re-elected. In the 5th district, Cynthia Borrego, who ran as a Democrat, won the runoff against Robert Aragon, who ran as a Republican for state auditor in 2014. The 5th district seat was vacated by Dan Lewis, who ran for mayor.

Primary election

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Candidates

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Declared

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Did not qualify

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Withdrew

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Declined

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Results

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Nonpartisan primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Keller 38,156 39.35
Republican Dan Lewis 22,238 22.93
Democratic Brian Colón 15,884 16.38
Republican Wayne Johnson 9,342 9.63
Democratic Augustus Pedrotty 6,638 6.84
Independent Michelle Garcia Holmes 3,748 3.86
Independent Susan Wheeler-Deichsel 490 0.50
Republican Ricardo Chaves 475 0.49
Total votes 96,971 100.00

Runoff election

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Candidates

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Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Tim
Keller
Dan
Lewis
Undecided
Carroll Strategies[11] October 4, 2017 - ± 4.1% 49% 36% 14%

Results

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2017 Albuquerque mayoral election[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Keller 60,219 62.20
Republican Dan Lewis 36,863 37.80
Total votes 96,813 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

References

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  1. ^ a b c McKay, Dan (December 5, 2016). "ABQ likely to see unusual race for mayor". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  2. ^ a b McKay, Dan (May 4, 2016). "Albuquerque's mayoral race has its first candidate". Albuquerque Journal.
  3. ^ a b c Andy Lyman, Long list of potential ABQ mayoral candidates as signature deadline approaches, NM Political Report (April 26, 2017).
  4. ^ a b c d e Martin Salazar, Money already pouring into mayor's race, Albuquerque Journal (April 18, 2017).
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Martin Salazar, 9 of 16 mayoral candidates qualify for ballot, Albuquerque Journal (April 28, 2017).
  6. ^ Terrell, Steve. "State auditor enters race for Albuquerque mayor". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Dan McKay, State auditor announces bid for ABQ mayor, Albuquerque Journal (January 11, 201).
  8. ^ a b c d Olivier Uyttebrouck, Wheeler-Deichsel enters race for Albuquerque mayor, Albuquerque Journal (February 17, 2017).
  9. ^ Marie C. Baca, Archuleta drops out of Albuquerque mayor’s race, Albuquerque Journal (May 26, 2017).
  10. ^ a b Marie C. Baca, Dinelli decides to skip mayor’s race, Albuquerque Journal (February 1, 2017).
  11. ^ Carroll Strategies
  12. ^ "Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA - Unofficial Election Results". app.bernco.gov. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.