Ronchetti steps up damage control after poor finish at N.M. GOP convention

GOP gubernatorial contender Mark Ronchetti, considered the favorite in the race to unseat Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in November, kicked his campaign into damage control mode Sunday after a poor showing at the Republican pre-primary nominating convention in Ruidoso.

Among the five Republicans seeking the nomination for governor, retired Air Force officer and Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block finished in first place and gets top billing on the June primary ballot.
State Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences and West Point graduate Greg Zanetti finished in second and third place, respectively.
Ronchetti finished fourth. Ronchetti fell short of the 20 percent delegate support needed to earn a spot on the ballot. His name will appear anyway because he collected enough voter signatures to qualify. Anti-abortion activist Ethel Maharg came in last.

Enrique Knell, a spokesman for Ronchetti’s campaign, said the former longtime TV weatherman didn’t pursue the 20 percent delegate support. “We have over 4,000 donors and 7,000 Republicans who signed our petition,” Knell wrote in an email. “That’s a far greater demonstration of grassroots support than having the support of a hundred establishment delegates.”

After the candidate speeches, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block said Ronchetti seemed to know he wasn’t going to meet the 20 percent threshold. “Basically what he told everybody here was, ‘Your votes don’t matter. I already have the signatures so I don’t really care about you guys.’ I was not happy with that,” Block said.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/ronchetti-steps-up-damage-control-after-poor-finish-at-gop-convention/article_ee36f86a-97f6-11ec-b842-77360114259a.html

Former TV weatherman and GOP candidate Mark Ronchetti