Democrats and Republicans head to the polls today to decide primary election races for statewide, legislative and local offices, including a bruising and costly five-way contest for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

The winner of the GOP race for governor will take on Democrat Diane Denish in the November general election.

Denish, the lieutenant governor since 2003, is unopposed on the Democratic ballot.

Voters in Santa Fe County will also decide among Democrats running for sheriff, county commissioner, assessor, several judgeships and public regulation commissioner. There are both Democrats and Republicans running for lieutenant governor and state land commissioner.

Only voters registered as Democrats and Republicans can vote because of New Mexico's closed primary system. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The GOP gubernatorial race turned nasty in the closing weeks of the campaign, as front-runners Susana Martinez and Allen Weh punched and counterpunched with television attack ads. GOP state chairman Harvey Yates waded into the dispute a week before the election, declaring that one of Weh's ads was "dishonest" and "inappropriate."

The fight started when Martinez, the Doña Ana County district attorney in Las Cruces, criticized Weh's backing of an immigration-reform initiative by former GOP President George W. Bush, describing it as support for amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Weh, a former state GOP chairman and Albuquerque businessman, cried foul.

He said he opposed amnesty but backed Bush's proposal for a guest-worker program for immigrants who aren't U.S. citizens. The Bush plan also included the possibility of citizenship for unlawful immigrants who met certain conditions, including paying a fine and learning English.

Weh responded to Martinez with an ad alleging misspending by her District Attorney's Office and suggesting that taxes weren't paid. Her campaign said the allegations were false — Yates later agreed — and that a state financial agency had approved all spending and travel reimbursements in the prosecutor's office.

Also on the GOP gubernatorial ballot are Doug Turner, who owns an Albuquerque public-relations company; Pete Domenici Jr., an Albuquerque lawyer and son of former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici; and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque.

The Republicans spent more than $3 million collectively on their primary campaigns, with Weh having dumped $1 million of personal money into the race by early May to help finance a TV ad blitz.

Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff said Weh and Martinez risked a voter backlash with their bare-knuckle TV ad tactics late in the campaign. Negative ads, he said, "play both ways."

"All of a sudden they are slamming each other. That's going to affect the favorability of both of them," said Sanderoff.

There's a crowded field of candidates for lieutenant governor — five Democrats and three Republicans. Land commissioner races feature three Democrats and two Republicans. There also are contested races for three seats on the Public Regulation Commission.

Only two primaries are contested for U.S. House of Representative seats — one of those on the Republican ballot in Northern New Mexico's 3rd District, where Farmington petroleum engineer Tom Mullins and Santa Fe veteran Adam Kokesh are vying to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Luján, a Democrat.

All 70 seats in the state House of Representatives are up for election this year, but 28 incumbents are running unopposed. Among legislators with primary-only challengers is House Speaker Ben Luján, a Nambé Democrat.

Democrats have a contested race for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.

Judge Linda Vanzi is challenged by Rio Rancho lawyer Dennis Montoya in a race with a much harsher tone than typical judicial campaigns. The winner will be unopposed in the general election unless an independent or minor party candidate emerges.

Montoya is the subject of pending disciplinary complaints for alleged misconduct. The state Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday — the day after the primary election — to consider whether to suspend Montoya from practicing law.

Vanzi, when she was a district judge in Albuquerque, filed a complaint against Montoya with the state board that investigates potential misconduct by lawyers and recommends disciplinary action to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

In campaign mailings, Vanzi has pointed out the ethical cloud hanging over Montoya, who says the allegations are unfounded. On his campaign website, Montoya criticized Vanzi for "disgraceful" campaign tactics intended to "rob the Hispanic community of a candidate."




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