Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales took to Fox News Wednesday morning to announce he’s running for U.S. Senate as a Republican.
Gonzales, who served as sheriff and later ran for mayor of Albuquerque as a Democrat, was a controversial figure during his time in office and became embroiled in a federal criminal investigation last year.
Gonzales held the office of sheriff from 2014 to 2022. He lost his mayoral bid in 2021 to Tim Keller. He’ll have to win a GOP primary in order to run against incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is seeking re-election to his third term in the Senate.
The former sheriff courted controversy during Donald Trump’s presidency, meeting with Trump to announce the deployment of federal officers to Albuquerque.
Opponents of the deployment worried the federal officers would be used to police Black Lives Matter protests, as they were in Portland, Oregon, although Gonzales said the officers would only be used to combat violent crime and gun violence.
Democrats and Albuquerque city officials strongly criticized the plan. Heinrich called on Gonzales to resign, accusing him of “inviting (Trump’s) stormtroopers into Albuquerque.” Albuquerque’s mayor Keller said, “there’s no place for Trump’s secret police in our city.”
Even other law enforcement came out against the plan. Then-Albuquerque Police Chief Mike Geier said Gonzales and Trump’s plan “is not real crime-fighting; it’s politics standing in the way of police work.”
In 2021, Gonzales ran a losing race for mayor that was dogged by protests and allegations of fraud. In one highly-publicized protest, a man flew a drone with a sex toy attached over a stage where Gonzales was speaking. Gonzales falsely accused Keller, his opponent, of coordinating the stunt.
In August of that year, a city investigation found Gonzales’ campaign submitted false documents and fake signatures in a bid to qualify for public financing. Gonzales was denied public financing and lost the election to Keller, earning only 25 percent of the vote.
He left the sheriff’s office in 2022 and his troubles continued.
Former New Mexico sheriff, Laguna police chief ID’d in machine gun conspiracy case
A federal investigation identified Gonzales along with former Pueblo of Laguna Police Chief Rudy Mora as participants in a wide-ranging illegal firearms scheme.
Gonzales and Mora have not been charged with crimes in the case, but a Bernalillo County sheriff’s spokesperson said in October that the office is cooperating with federal authorities and the New Mexico Attorney General’s office on an investigation into the matter.
BCSO did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.
A spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, which brought the firearms case, said the office can neither confirm nor deny whether there is an open investigation into Gonzales.
A phone number provided on Gonzales’ campaign Facebook page was disconnected as of Wednesday, and Source NM was not able to reach the campaign for comment.
Gonzales will face Republican Ben Luna in a GOP primary election in June. If he wins, he will go on to face current Senator Heinrich in the general election.
In 2018, Heinrich won with 54 percent of the vote, while Republican Mick Rich earned 30 percent and Libertarian Gary Johnson earned 15 percent.
Heinrich has reported over $6 million in campaign contributions this cycle, while Luna has reported slightly over $3,000. Filings for Gonzales’ campaign are not yet available.
Heinrich’s campaign harshly criticized Gonzales in a statement provided to Source NM. “Manny Gonzales, like his hero and role model Donald Trump, is running for office to avoid his legal troubles,” the statement said. “Hopefully Manny won’t have to fake signatures to get on the ballot this time around.”
In his campaign announcement on Fox News, Gonzales said he left the Democratic Party because of “lack of support for law enforcement” and “the failures of an overrun border,” among other issues.
“I watch national media, I never see New Mexico being at the forefront of solutions. I offer that alternative to having solutions,” Gonzales said in the segment.
Shaun Griswold contributed reporting to this article.
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