Former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull joins GOP gubernatorial debate in Albuquerque

Former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull stood on an Albuquerque debate stage Friday night as the Republican candidate with the strongest local name recognition in Sandoval County, and he was selling the same thing to statewide GOP voters that he built in city hall: more than 35 years in New Mexico, a long mayoral record, and a family story rooted in Rio Rancho.

At the Albuquerque Journal debate, hosted with KOAT Action 7 News and News Radio KKOB, Hull joined businessman Doug Turner and civil servant-turned-cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez in a forum that stayed notably civil. The three candidates spent much of the evening talking about affordability, public safety and education, and all three argued that independent voters will decide the November race as much as registered Republicans will.

For Sandoval County, Hull’s presence carried a sharper edge than a routine Albuquerque political event. He was first elected mayor of Rio Rancho in April 2014, reelected in March 2018 and again in March 2022. City officials describe him as Rio Rancho’s longest-serving mayor, and his campaign has leaned on the image of a local leader who has lived in New Mexico for more than 35 years with his wife, Carrie, while raising five children here.

That local record now has to travel farther than Rio Rancho city limits. A Journal poll released before the debate showed Hull at 30 percent among likely Republican and independent primary voters, ahead of Turner at 21 percent and Rodriguez at 9 percent, with about 40 percent still undecided. That leaves Hull as the current frontrunner, but not yet a locked-in nominee in a race where independent and decline-to-state voters can now choose a major-party ballot without changing registration.

The June 2 primary is New Mexico’s first semi-open primary, and early voting began May 5, first at county clerk offices before additional sites open across the state. That schedule makes the debate part of the final sprint to define each candidate before more ballots are cast.

One of the few clear breaks came over national politics. Turner emphasized his past support for Donald Trump, while Hull and Rodriguez rejected MAGA-style labeling. The difference matters in a state where the Republican nominee will need crossover support just as much as core party loyalty.

For Rio Rancho and the rest of Sandoval County, the test is straightforward: whether Hull’s municipal record can persuade voters that a mayor who won three terms in one city can govern a state that includes different schools, different budgets and different pressures far beyond the Rio Rancho line.