Fighting to stay in the primary, Jonas Moya says he'd champion rural New Mexico as state land commissioner

Jonas Moya has a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.

Over the weekend, the Democratic Party of New Mexico held its pre-primary convention where party delegates voted to designate candidates for the June ballot. Candidates needed to receive at least 20% of the vote to earn a spot on the ballot. Those who failed to meet the threshold need to submit additional petition signatures by next week to run in the primary.

As a Democratic candidate for state land commissioner, Moya received about 7% of the vote at the convention. On Thursday, Moya said he needs about 1,700 more signatures to qualify for the primary.

On the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse,” Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón speaks with Moya about why he’s decided to keep fighting to stay in the race and discuss what his priorities would be if he were to be elected state land commissioner.

A fourth-generation rancher from Tucumcari, Moya is a former Joe Biden-appointed state director of the Farm Service Agency. He talks about his experience working in the agency and his other relevant experience.

Moya shares what he would focus on if elected, including addressing an incoming “tidal wave” of retirees at the State Land Office, building and diversifying revenue streams, and using state land for affordable housing projects. He also talks about how he would address dumping on state land.

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