The New Mexico Supreme Court denied an appeal of a district court decision ordering Amy Barela to step down as chair of the New Mexico Republican Party.
The June 10 decision came two weeks after 13th District Judge Cindy Mercer of Valencia County issued a preliminary injunction blocking Barela from serving as chair amid her primary campaign for the Republican nomination to seek reelection to the Otero County Commission.
Barela was first elected as the commission’s District 2 representative in 2022 and was running against Otero County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jonathan Emery in pursuit of a second four-year term.
Emery ultimately defeated Barela in the June 2 primary and will likely run unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election as no candidate ran for the District 2 seat in the Democratic primary.
A conflict erupted in March after Barela and Emery filed to run in the primary, with multiple county Republican Party leaders contending Barela could not serve as party chair while running in a primary election against a fellow Republican.
Barela argued that when she signed up to run, at 9:06 a.m. March 10, Emery had yet to do so – meaning, Barela said, she did not have an opponent when she became a candidate. Emery filed his candidate paperwork two minutes later, at 9:08 a.m.
Barela’s dual role as statewide chairperson and contested primary candidate led to months of debate centered on a section of the New Mexico GOP’s bylaws that reads:
“In the event the state chairman or any other state officer of the Republican State Central Committee files as a candidate for public office and there is another Republican who has filed for the same office, the state officer shall immediately vacate the party office.”
Emery filed a lawsuit April 30, arguing Barela’s position with the state party ran afoul of the bylaw and gave her an unfair advantage in the primary. Oral arguments were held May 21, and on May 27 Mercer issued a preliminary injunction barring Barela from serving as chair or publicly endorsing any candidate.
Barela appealed May 28, asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to reverse Mercer’s injunction.
All five justices agreed to deny Barela’s appeal. The court has yet to publish a full opinion on the matter.
The same day her appeal was denied, Barela filed a motion in Supreme Court requesting a stay of the injunction in hopes of preventing New Mexico Republicans’ governing body, the state central committee, from electing a new chair at a meeting scheduled for June 20 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces.
The committee’s first vice chair, Mike Nelson, called the meeting. The state GOP’s website show Nelson as the party’s top official with no mention of Barela.
The committee elected Barela to a two-year term as chair in December 2024.
The Supreme Court has not issued a ruling or scheduled a hearing on Barela’s request for a stay of the injunction barring her from serving as party chair.
Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.