GOP hopefuls accuse Ronchetti of skipping forums
Mar. 23—SANTA FE — Three Republican candidates for governor say that one of their own, Mark Ronchetti, failed to attend recent candidate forums, depriving voters of a chance to compare candidates in person.
He missed seven recent forums, including four held in the Republican stronghold of southeastern New Mexico, his rivals say.
The Ronchetti campaign, by contrast, contends the candidate — a former meteorologist at KRQE — is traveling the state meeting with voters and that he's already agreed to a televised debate and other candidate events, including one scheduled this week in Roosevelt County.
The criticism, his campaign said, is a gimmick by lesser candidates to attract attention.
The back-and-forth comes as the campaign to secure the Republican nomination for governor enters a critical stretch: Absentee voting begins within 50 days.
The winner will take on Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and a Libertarian candidate this fall.
Brian Sanderoff, a political analyst and president of Research & Polling Inc., said Ronchetti may see less value in going to smaller candidate events because he is already well known in New Mexico, having served as a TV weatherman and run a 2020 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Avoiding them, however, opens Ronchetti up to criticism by rival candidates, he said.
Sanderoff noted that Ronchetti finished behind three of his rivals in delegate voting at the Republican Party convention last month — a sign, he said, that grassroots activists aren't his strength.
"I think the Ronchetti campaign strategy may be to target the mainstream Republican voters rather than grassroots party activists," Sanderoff said in an interview. "The activists may split their vote among many of these other candidates."
Strategic or not, other candidates have slammed Ronchetti's attendance record.
In an interview, Republican candidate Jay Block, a Sandoval County commissioner and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said Ronchetti didn't attend seven recent forums that attracted other candidates, including events in Farmington, Belen and southeastern New Mexico.
"I think it's important," Block said, "for people to hear the candidates together so they can compare and contrast."
State Rep. Rebecca Dow and Greg Zanetti, a financial adviser and military veteran, said they, too, appeared at a series of recent forums without Ronchetti.
"I have a conservative record I'm proud to talk about," Dow said.
Zanetti said Ronchetti has decided "the grassroots Republican base is inconsequential to his campaign."
Ronchetti spokesman Enrique Knell said Ronchetti has accepted multiple invitations to forums and debates. They include events in Roosevelt County this week and Santa Fe County next month.
"Mark Ronchetti is criss-crossing the state meeting with voters," Knell said. "Their concerns are his top priority, not the complaints of primary opponents seeking legitimacy."
Ronchetti also will participate in a debate hosted by KOAT in partnership with the Albuquerque Journal and KKOB radio, the campaign said. It's set to air May 19.
The other candidates recognize Ronchetti's strength as a candidate, Knell said, "so it's no surprise they're resorting to silly gimmicks trying to garner any attention they can."
The Journal wasn't able to reach the fifth GOP candidate, Ethel Maharg, an anti-abortion activist and former mayor of Cuba.
The primary election is June 7.
County clerks are set to begin mailing out absentee ballots on May 10. In-person voting at clerks' offices opens that day, too.
Expanded early voting at other sites will begin May 21.
