Less than one week after announcing that he would give up his seat in the NM House of Representatives to focus on his law practice, Rep. David “DOMA Dave” Chavez, a Republican, announced today that he would challenge Democratic state senator Michael Sanchez in November.
Sanchez has held the Belen-based senate seat since 1993, and also serves as the senate majority leader. A position that makes Sanchez arguably the most powerful of the state’s 112 legislators, as the majority leader decides what bills will make it to the senate floor for a vote.
Chavez made the announcement today at the Republican Party of New Mexico nominating convention in Albuquerque. This is not the first time Chavez has sought to challenge Sanchez for the seat—the two were pitted against each other in 2000, an election that Sanchez won handedly.
Less than one week ago, Chavez announced his retirement from the state legislature, saying that he needed to focus more time on his law practice.
“One can get dizzy trying to follow David Chavez’s political game playing,” said Jacob Candelaria, Executive Director of Equality New Mexico. “One day, he’s out of politics because he can’t balance serving both his constituents and his own clients. The next day, he takes it back. Maybe he has found more hours in the day, who knows,” continued Candelaria. “One thing is for certain, with David Chavez in the legislature pushing his right wing agenda, his constituents are sure to be shortchanged,” concluded Candelaria.
