Albuquerque voters will return to the polls next month for the runoff election to decide who will be the next mayor and who will be representing City Council districts 1 and 3.
On December 9th, voters will decide the results of three races in which none of the candidates received the simple majority necessary to win office.
Democratic incumbent Mayor Tim Keller will face off against former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, a Republican. During the November 4th election, Keller received 36% of the vote and White received 31%.
On the West Side, District 1 Former Councilor Louie Sanchez is vacating his seat. Democratic candidate Stephanie Telles will run against Republican Joshua Neal. Telles had 36% of the vote and Neal had 26%.
Neal has raised $6,525.33 for the runoff election. Telles has not updated her campaign contributions yet.
In southwest Albuquerque, District 3 Democratic incumbent Klarissa Peña, currently the longest continuously serving city councilor, took 41% of the vote. She will face Democratic candidate Teresa Garcia, who got 38%.
Peña currently has raised $2,500.00 for the runoff election. Garcia has not updated her campaign contributions yet.
Only Peña and Keller used public financing in the election. For candidates receiving public financing, a spending limit is in place with a mayor candidate limited to $755,946.00 and District 3 candidate limited to $41,865.00.
While everyone registered in Albuquerque will be eligible to vote in the mayoral election, only voters registered in District 1 and 3 will be eligible to vote in those districts.
Early voting starts on December 1st and will run through December 6th at early voting centers across Albuquerque. You can also request absentee ballots through November 25th.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
