Las Cruces, N.M. captured Aug. 31, 2021. Las Cruces is part of House District 53, which is seeking a new Democratic candidate to replace Jon Hill, who stepped down from the race Aug. 5, 2024. (Photo by Santana Ochoa for Source NM)
UPDATE Thursday, Aug. 22, at 5:15 p.m. — This story has been updated to reflect that the day to select the candidate has changed. Voting by Democratic Party of New Mexico members begins Friday, Aug. 23, to select a new House District 53 candidate. A meeting with the candidates and State Central Committee members will still be held on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024.
Seven New Mexico Democratic party members will select a replacement candidate on Friday from a pool of three people running to replace Jon Hill on the ballot for House District 53.
After winning the primary for the Southern New Mexico House seat with 58% of the vote, Hill stepped down in early August, saying he’d fallen ill and was waiting on a diagnosis. He died on Aug. 16. A career educator, Hill is remembered as “not just a candidate” on his campaign website , but as a dedicated community member.
As he withdrew from the race, he backed Sarah Silva, a longtime Las Cruces organizer and now coach, saying she shared his vision “for long-term economic and social growth.”
There is a meeting with candidates and the committee Thursday scheduled for 6 p.m., but it’s not public. The Democratic Party of New Mexico declined to release the names of the seven State Central Committee members making the selection, citing their privacy.
New Mexico House District 53 spans most of eastern Doña Ana County to the southern border and includes the southwest corner of Otero County. The district includes portions of Las Cruces and Anthony, and all of Chaparral.
Daniel Garcia, spokesperson for the party, confirmed that all of the state Democratic Party members making the selection live in Doña Ana County. None of the voting members live in Otero County.
Garcia told Source NM Thursday evening that voting for the replacement will open Friday and close Sunday, or when all the votes are cast, whichever comes first.
This is the first bid for office for two of the candidates: Silva and Kasey Peña, a middle school teacher.
Rep. Willie Madrid (D-Chaparral), who lost to Hill in the June primary, is also seeking the nomination.
Silva also received endorsements this week from Democratic state lawmakers living in Las Cruces, including Rep. Joanne Ferrary, Rep. Nathan Small and Sen. Jeff Steinborn.
Peña entered the race with endorsements from six current and former Democratic officeholders.
This week, Peña also secured backing from LGBTQ organization Equality New Mexico, Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) and Doña Ana County Commissioners Manny Sanchez and Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez, according to a news release.
Madrid told Source NM in a phone call that he had no endorsements and was not seeking any, saying that process would come if he received the nomination.
Madrid said it was unfair that Chaparral would only be represented by two advisory members, who would have no final say in the vote because they are not members of the party’s State Central Committee.
“We don’t have an input on tonight’s outcome,” Madrid said.
Chaparral is a colonia of more than 15,000 people and is bisected by the Doña Ana and Otero county lines.
The replacement Democratic candidate will face Republican Elizabeth Winterrowd in November.
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