ALBUQUERQUE – Former Albuquerque television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of New Mexico.
Ronchetti said in a statement posted on a campaign website that as governor he would focus on small businesses, education, crime and the border.
“Most importantly, I’ll be a governor that does more than talk. I’ll listen and find solutions that actually work,” Ronchetti said.
In joining a crowded Republican primary field targeting Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Ronchetti is making his second run for statewide office.
Ronchetti was defeated in New Mexico’s 2020 race for an open U.S. Senate seat by the Democratic nominee, then-Rep. Ben Ray Luján.
Ronchetti stepped down from his KRQE-TV job last week. He also stepped away from the station to run in 2020.
The seven other announced candidates for the GOP nomination for governor include state Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block and Greg Zanetti, a retired U.S. Army National Guard brigadier general from Albuquerque.
L:ujan Grisham is seeking a second four-year term.
