Former Dem. Sheriff Manny Gonzales to challenge Heinrich as a Republican

Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales announced Wednesday morning that he will be challenging Senator Martin Heinrich in the race for Senate this year. 

Gonzales, who was previously registered as a Democrat, switched his party registration on Dec. 15. He is now running as a Republican. It is the second time he has run for an office outside of Sheriff—in 2021 he ran unsuccessfully for Albuquerque mayor against incumbent Mayor Tim Keller, a fellow Democrat, in the nonpartisan race. He lost that race by 30 percentage points.

Gonzales made his campaign announcement on Fox News. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to a news release posted on his website, Gonzales “saw just what the radicals in charge in Washington D.C. were doing to states like New Mexico” and “saw a radical led government and President who saw fit to open our borders allowing crime to pour into our streets across New Mexico and a U.S. Senator in Martin Heinrich who just sits idly by without a shred of respect for our great state to say enough is enough.”

“If anything, Sen. Heinrich has aided in this lawlessness, and allowed our great state to be riddled with crime and low education outcomes,” the news release states. “Manny switched parties to become a Republican with much appreciation for the common sense Democrats and independents who have supported him in the past.” 

In response to Gonzales’ announcement Heinrich’s spokeswoman released a statement saying the Senator is running for re-election “to continue delivering real results for New Mexicans.” Heinrich has been in the U.S. Senate since 2012, and before that he served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Albuquerque City Council.

“He remains committed to investing in the brighter future the people of our state deserve,” the statement reads. “That stands in direct contrast to Manny Gonzales, who, like his hero and role model Donald Trump, is running for office to avoid his legal troubles. Hopefully Manny won’t have to fake signatures to get on the ballot this time around.”

When Gonzales ran for mayor against Keller, an investigation by the city’s Office of the Inspector General found a number of the signatures and $5 contributions his campaign submitted to receive $600,000 in public financing were not in fact from the people they claimed to be from.

Gonzales served in the U.S. Marine Corps and in law enforcement for almost three decades. In 2009 he was appointed Sheriff of Bernalillo County when the sitting Sheriff resigned. He was elected in 2014 and served until 2022.

In the summer of 2020 he made national headlines when he appeared at the White House with then-President Donald Trump to announce a law enforcement initiative called “Operation Legend.” That operation entailed federal agents being deployed to Democrat-led cities, including Albuquerque, in response to concerns about crime and backlash to police in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Keller and Heinrich were critical of Gonzales’ decision to stand with Trump, with Heinrich saying “instead of collaborating with the Albuquerque Police Department, the Sheriff is inviting the President’s stormtroopers into Albuquerque.”

Gonzales’ news release seems to refer to this period, saying that he “implemented comprehensive police reform that did not just follow what the rest of the country was doing due to civil unrest, but reform that served his deputies and the community.”

“This ended up being a balanced and effective approach that would serve citizens efficiently,” the news release said. “Manny has always been a champion for the members of his community and when the political climate across the country got hot, Manny kept his cool which allowed him to be an effective Sheriff.”  

More recently Gonzales has been in the news when he and his former undersheriff Rudy Mora were implicated in a cross-country machine gun scheme. They have not been charged. 

Federal agents—referring to “MG” and “RM”—say the two signed documents indicating that the weapons would be used for law enforcement demonstrations but they “had no expectation or understanding that such weapons would ever be demonstrated to their respective law enforcement agencies.” 

Gonzales and Mora signed more than 100 letters for local gun dealer James Tafoya, the owner of the now-shuttered JCT Firearms, to submit to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives so he could import the guns, according to a federal indictment. Automatic weapons face many restrictions in the United States but they can be imported if the buyer has what is called a “law letter” or “demo letter” from law enforcement saying it will be used for a demonstration.

Tafoya has been charged with conspiracy to violate federal gun laws, unlawful importation of a firearm and making false statements in firearms records in the case. 

Three others: Matthew Hall, a former chief of police in Coats, North Carolina; James Sawyer, chief of police in Ray, North Dakota; and Larry Vickers, a firearms dealer and gun enthusiast are also facing charges. The case is being tried in Federal Court in Maryland.

Republican Ben Luna, who describes himself as an “entrepreneur, independent citizen journalist, and American patriot who aims to return America to the founding principles which created the greatest and freest nation,” is also running for Senate. Luna is in Alamogordo.

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