The challengers in the 11 person field seeking to qualify for public financing have dropped their bids for the $756,000 and are now going hat in hand seeking private contributions while Keller closes in on getting that generous pot of taxpayer cash.
The latest and last to give up are Dem City Councilor Louie Sanchez and former Republican BernCo Sheriff Darren white.
Only Keller is set to collect the required 3,870 individual $5 donations needed to qualify for $756,000 in taxpayer funds to run his campaign for a third consecutive term. He has 80 percent of them and enough time to finish the job.
It's hard to overstate how huge a development this is in the 2025 chase for Mayor.
The opposition candidates have a mountain to climb to raise at least $500,000 each that political consultants say is the minimum necessary to effectively compete with the mayor.
The candidates are also required to collect 3,000 petition signatures from registered voters to appear on the November 4 ballot.
Keller, Alex Uballez and Daniel Chavez have all qualified.
White, Sanchez and Eddie Varela appeared poised to make it. Mayling Armijo has 53 percent of the signatures needed as the June 21 deadline approaches.
SOMBER DEVELOPMENT
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| Darren White |
That is a very high bar but now at least visible after the public financing debacle that struck the alternative campaigns.
Veteran Dem consultant Sisto Abeyta called the failure of any Keller challenger to get the big pot of public money "a somber development for his opponents."
All eyes are now on parking tycoon Daniel Chavez who has already donated $100,000 of his personal money to finance the collection of the ballot signatures. Will he reach again for his checkbook?
If Chavez wants to play some more he may have to.
He is running as an independent but has hired a Republican consulting firm. It won't be easy to attract private cash in a race that Keller is now seen as dominating. The pressure is on political unknown Chavez to make a game of it and tap his own account.
White is dealing with a very divided Republican party that will make his raising of private money a heavy lift.
SENIOR ANALYSIS
One of our Senior Alligators (a very reliable and experienced source of many years for the newbies out there) says of Keller's standing.
The election is now close to being his to lose. Or maybe already is. Uballez will have to hit him hard from the left to shake Keller's progressive base. Chavez or Mayling Armijo going aggressively after the center and right would help. White getting the money to be relevant is another factor. The chances of all this happening don't seem high.
In 2021 Keller qualified for public financing and his two opponents did not but one of them, Sheriff Manny Gonzales, was able to raise more private money than the public amount being awarded. Gonzales still lost in a landslide in the three way race.
This year's campaign began with Keller's opponents convinced that the high crime and ongoing homeless problem in the city would spell his doom. Now his opponents are looking at their own doomsday if this exhausted mayoral field can't regroup and make a fight of it.
This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.