Democratic candidate for sheriff withdraws

The lone Democratic candidate for Quay County sheriff withdrew from the primary election race last week.

Reyes Gonzales, a Tucumcari police officer who made a previous unsuccessful run for sheriff on the Democratic ticket in 2018, filed paperwork on March 28 to officially withdraw from the race, Quay County Clerk Ellen White said.

White said Gonzales did not give his reason for withdrawing.

An email and text to him requesting comment were not answered.

Gonzales’ withdrawal leaves the Democratic Party with no candidate for that office for the June 7 primary election.

White said the local Democratic Party cannot pick someone to run in Gonzales’ place. Any write-in candidates are not allowed until the general election in November.

On the Republican side, current undersheriff Dennis Victor Garcia and recently retired Tucumcari police officer Herman Isidro Martinez are competing for their party’s nomination for sheriff for the Nov. 8 general election.

Early voting for the primary election at the Quay County Courthouse in Tucumcari begins May 10 and lasts through June 4.

The current Republican sheriff, Russell Shafer, is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.