With little or no competition for the state's congressional seats and no statewide offices on the ballot, three battles for District Attorney in three of the state's four largest cities largest cities have taken the primary spotlight. 

Coming in the middle of an ongoing crime crisis and with the Governor calling a special legislative session for July to tackle more crime bills, that seems appropriate. 

In  the DA's race in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties,  District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies is in a rematch with former DA Marco Serna. He won the office for one term but in 2020  made an unsuccessful bid for the northern congressional seat. 

Carmack-Altwies has been hammered by Serna for hiring outside special counsel to lead the prosecutions  in the high-profile Rust movie set shooting that claimed the life of a cinematographer and whose star--Alec Baldwin--will stand trial on charges this summer. But her office brought home a win in the case when in March movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Serna is also critical of his successor's handling of DWI cases, saying it has resulted in fewer cases being pursued but the incumbent says her conviction rate is 80 percent. 

Serna, 40, is now more seasoned but his running of the office while seeking the congressional set has been a point of contention. Carmack-Altwies, who worked under him, says he was a bungling administrator.

The two faced off in a spirited debate recently that can be seen here. There is is no Republican seeking the office so the primary winner takes the prize.

BERNCO BATTLE

DA Bregman

Here in Bernalillo County, his polling must show an unabashed tough on crime stance is popular with all types of Democrats from conservative to progressive. 

How else to explain MLG-appointed District Attorney Sam Bregman again showcasing his black hat in his first campaign ad in his contest with former US Attorney Damon Martinez in the Democratic primary for DA?

Bregman's donning of the black cowboy hat, accompanied by his tough crime talk, makes him appear like  a rural county Trump-backing Sheriff but he's betting BernCo is sick and tired of the constant drumbeat of crime. His 60 second spot reads like this: 

In January of 2023 I was appointed district attorney. Since then we've worked around the clock to fight back against Bernalillo County's historic crime wave, taking on the cartels, putting violent gang members behind bars and establishing a zero tolerance policy for guns in our schools. 

Using cutting edge technology to crack down on illegal guns. Unclogging the backlog of open sexual assault cases to get justice for victims. Increasing pretrial detention so instead of violent suspects right back on the streets they remain in custody. 

I took this job to fight crime because our law-abiding residents outnumber the few who are making it unsafe. I am running for district attorney to protect my family and yours. That's why I'll throw the book at career criminals who put our community under siege. Join us, cuz we're just getting started. 

Damon Martinez would like to confront Bregman over his messaging but his campaign says Bregman has turned down a TV debate offered by KRQE-TV as well as one with the progressive group Indivisible ABQ. That could be a signal that Bregman feels he has the lead.

Martinez has raised over $300,000 and Bregman over $400,000 so both have plenty of firepower to make their cases in the final weeks. 

The campaign has been confusing to veteran observers who can't figure out where the large progressive Dem voting block will end up in this race. Maybe both contenders--neither progressive--end up splitting the vote. 

The Dem winner takes the prize. The GOP has been given ten lashes with the blog wet noodle for failing to field a DA candidate even as they assert crime is the top issue here. 

DATELINE LAS CRUCES

Finally, in Las Cruces, Gerald Byers, one of the few if not the only African-American District Attorney in the state, is seeking re-election after running unopposed in 2020. But this time he has well-known opposition in the Dem primary from Fernando Macias, an attorney, former legislator and outgoing Dona Ana county manager.

Byers says he prides himself on his management of the office now and during the pandemic. Macias pledges to "drastically reduce the rate of dismissals and operate the office with full transparency." But his county contract was ended early by the commission and that could weigh on voters. 

Shaharazad Booth and Ramona Martinez are also seeking the Dem nomination. Michael Cain is the sole GOP primary hopeful.

So while New Mexican voters are not being treated to heated primary contests at the top of the ballot, if they dig a little deeper there's plenty of La Politica to grab their attention and their votes.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.