Sandoval County Democrats court unaffiliated voters, spotlight food aid in Rio Rancho

Sandoval County Democrats are trying to make two arguments at once in Rio Rancho: that the city is more politically competitive than its Republican reputation suggests, and that the party can deliver help where families feel it most, in the grocery bill and the school lunch gap.

Greg Bennett, the county party chair, has tied that strategy to Blue Rio Rancho, an outreach effort aimed at unaffiliated voters who do not belong to either major party. In New Mexico, voters can change party affiliation by filing a new registration form or updating registration online, and Rio Rancho’s election information points residents with registration questions to the Sandoval County Clerk’s Office. That makes unaffiliated voters a practical target for any local party trying to grow, especially in a city where party lines can shift from one election cycle to the next.

The food aid side of the effort is rooted in Feed Rio Rancho Kids, a program founded in 2019 by Karen Schafer and Kitty Perez. The Democratic Party of Sandoval County says the program, run with the Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation, provides 200 weekend snack packets each month to children in four Rio Rancho Public Schools. School social workers identify the students who need help, making the program a direct response to food scarcity rather than a broad fundraising slogan.

The scale is modest, but the structure is concrete. The Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation provides storage space, a room for assembly and financial management, while volunteers put together the snack packs each month. That gives the Democrats a visible community role in a city where service work can translate into political credibility, especially when the pitch is that helping families and winning votes are not separate projects.

The timing matters as well. New Mexico health data shows 23.3% of children lived in households without consistent access to adequate food in 2023, and Feeding America estimated 104,390 food-insecure children statewide that year. Against that backdrop, a school-based program in Rio Rancho is addressing a real need even if it reaches only a small slice of the problem. Rio Rancho Public Schools has said student nutrition is vital and that each student should come to school with a full belly, a message that aligns closely with the program’s focus.

Rio Rancho’s growth adds another layer to the calculation. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 114,419 on July 1, 2025, up from 104,046 in the 2020 census. More residents mean more potential unaffiliated voters and more families under strain from rising costs, which helps explain why Democrats are leaning on neighborhood-level service work as much as door knocking.

The program has also drawn cross-partisan attention. A Feed Rio Rancho Kids event in September 2024 included Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, state Rep. Kathleen Cates and Sandoval County Commissioners Joshua Jones and Katherine Bruch, alongside Democratic Party members. That mix suggests the food effort has become one of the party’s most visible local assets, whether viewed as civic service or as a path to more durable political organizing in Rio Rancho.