Runoff Election Analysis — NMiF style

If you subscribe to this newsletter, you’re aware by now that Tim Keller routed Darren White 58-42 in his bid for an unprecedented third consecutive term as Albuquerque mayor this week. We spent about half of this week’s episode of New Mexico in Focus analyzing the race — and what’s ahead for Keller with a new-look City Council as he eyes the next four years. 

I’m using this space for a little note about how we put that analysis together. 

When I started in New Mexico journalism more than 20 years ago, Eric Griego and Greg Payne were on the council. The differences between them couldn’t have been starker. Griego was a Democrat, Payne was a Republican, and that was just the headline. It was at the first council meeting I ever covered that the two nearly came to blows over a proposed indoor smoking ban. 

What an introduction to Albuquerque politics. 

In the decades since, Griego has left the Democratic party, and Payne is no longer a Republican. Like me, they’re both independents now, and I figured they’d be the perfect pair of guests for this week’s election postmortem. I was right. 

Rather than rehash the conversation NMiF Host Nash Jones guided Griego and Payne through, I’ll just encourage you to watch the two segments — one diving into how Keller, a deeply unpopular mayor, managed to run away with this election, and the other looking ahead to what’s next for Albuquerque in 2026 and beyond. 

– Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer