Mark Ronchetti

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Mark Ronchetti

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Meteorologist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Mark Ronchetti (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of New Mexico. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Biography

Mark Ronchetti lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ronchetti earned a degree from Washington State University in 1996. His career experience includes working as the chief meteorologist of Albuquerque’s CBS and FOX affiliates.

Elections

2022

See also: New Mexico gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2022 (June 7 Republican primary)

New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2022 (June 7 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of New Mexico

Incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Mark Ronchetti and Karen Bedonie in the general election for Governor of New Mexico on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)	52.0	370,168
		Mark Ronchetti (R)	45.6	324,701
		Karen Bedonie (L)	2.4	17,387

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 712,256
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Gordon Steputis (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Mexico

Incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Lujan Grisham	100.0	125,238

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 125,238
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Mexico

Mark Ronchetti defeated Rebecca Dow, Greg Zanetti, Jay Block, and Ethel Maharg in the Republican primary for Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Ronchetti	58.4	68,658
		Rebecca Dow	15.5	18,185
		Greg Zanetti	13.9	16,394
		Jay Block	10.6	12,469
		Ethel Maharg	1.6	1,845

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 117,551
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Louie Sanchez (R)
• Tim Walsh (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of New Mexico

Karen Bedonie defeated Ginger Grider in the Libertarian primary for Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Bedonie	86.1	980
		Ginger Grider (Write-in)	13.9	158

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,138
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2020

United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate New Mexico

Ben Ray Luján defeated Mark Ronchetti and Bob Walsh in the general election for U.S. Senate New Mexico on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ben Ray Luján (D)	51.7	474,483
		Mark Ronchetti (R)	45.6	418,483
		Bob Walsh (L)	2.6	24,271

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 917,237
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico

Ben Ray Luján advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ben Ray Luján	100.0	225,082

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 225,082
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D)
• Giovanni Haqani (D)
• Andrew Perkins (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico

Mark Ronchetti defeated Elisa Martinez and Gavin Clarkson in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Ronchetti	56.5	89,216
		Elisa Martinez	26.1	41,240
		Gavin Clarkson	17.4	27,471

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 157,927
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mick Rich (R)
• Rick Montoya (R)
• Louie Sanchez (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico

Bob Walsh advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate New Mexico on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Walsh	100.0	1,454

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,454
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profile

Mark Ronchetti

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Mark Ronchetti lives in Albuquerque, where he and his wife, Krysty, are raising two young daughters. A proud New Mexican, Mark and Krysty want their children to be able to chase and realize their boldest dreams - right here, at home.Like many, Mark believes that elected leaders in Congress too often put politics ahead of the people they represent. He's running for the U.S. Senate to truly be New Mexico's voice in the nation's capital, where he will work to keep America strong and well-protected, preserve and grow New Mexico's role in providing for our national defense, secure our southern border, and bring much-needed federal help in the daily fight against crime. Mark is a conservative who also believes that taxes should be low and 2nd amendment rights should be protected. As a proud political outsider, he says New Mexico deserves a senator who has not been part of the problem in Washington, but a senator who will represent true New Mexican values."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Crime

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Border Security

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Energy

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate New Mexico in 2020.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Ronchetti did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Ronchetti's campaign website stated the following:

“	Election Integrity Ensuring secure elections where the results are trusted and accepted by our citizens is critical for a healthy democracy. Mark Ronchetti believes we must make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. That’s why Mark strongly supports Voter ID measures requiring voters to show photo identification to vote. This is a common-sense measure supported by an overwhelming majority of the public. In fact, voters in Albuquerque passed a Voter ID measure in 2005 for city elections that was in place for over a decade. Despite false fear-mongering from the Left, voters were not disenfranchised. Mark will push for a statewide Voter ID law in New Mexico. Mark supports the practice of allowing voters to vote early, or absentee. However, he strongly opposes the practice of automatically issuing mail-in ballots without a voter request. Given the high number of bad addresses contained in our state’s voter file, automatically issuing mail-in ballots without a request from the voter is an invitation for fraud. Mark will fight against any efforts to legalize ballot-harvesting in New Mexico. Ballot harvesting is the practice of political operatives collecting mail-in ballots from voters and then dropping them off at polling locations. There are very well-documented cases of voter fraud arising out of the ballot harvesting, including the results of a congressional election in North Carolina being overturned. Mark will fight any and all schemes to legalize ballot harvesting in New Mexico. One of the best ways to prevent voter fraud and improve voter trust of the process is to increase citizen involvement in poll watching and poll working opportunities. Mark will make that a priority of his election integrity program to ensure the entire process is open and transparent. The Economy We’ve heard it for years – New Mexico is a difficult place to do business. Sadly, the proof of this statement is all around us. Every state that borders New Mexico has a stronger economy with more jobs, more growth, and more opportunity. The cost of doing business is simply higher in New Mexico than in states around us – and the red tape is thicker. As a result, anyone raising a family in our state knows what all of this means: when our children grow up, we too often export their talent to other states, where it’s easier for them to pursue their dreams and a well-paying career. Recent U.S. Census results show that New Mexico is barely growing and on track to soon start losing population. The COVID pandemic showed everyone that New Mexico is too hard on our family-owned small businesses, which serve as the backbone of the economy in cities and towns across our state. Sadly, 40% of small businesses closed over the past two years, crumbling under the weight of onerous and inflexible shutdown orders from the government. Even in the middle of the pandemic, the Governor and state lawmakers imposed new, costly employment regulations on small businesses. The good news is we can fix the problems we’re facing and build an economy that will create opportunities and jobs for our kids here at home, while making New Mexico an attractive place to relocate for workers and companies alike. But, we have to do things differently. Mark’s approach to improving our economy includes: Real reform to our tax structure by lowering taxes, making it easier for small businesses to create more jobs and encouraging companies and people to choose to locate in New Mexico. Standing up to the Biden Administration’s policies that are crippling oil and gas production, raising gas prices, and making America more dependent on foreign energy sources. Embrace an all-of-the-above energy approach – including oil and natural gas, wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen, and nuclear power – and choose to be a global leader in the production and deployment of carbon capture technology. Stopping runaway government spending. When government grows at an unsustainable rate, taxpayers and small businesses inevitably foot the bill. Under Governor Lujan Grisham, state government spending has exploded – increasing by more than $2 billion in just 4 years. Focusing our government on doing the basics to grow our economy, including expanding broadband, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and better aligning K-12 education and higher education to provide the workforce necessary to attract new, good-paying jobs. Positioning New Mexico as a leader in international trade and the protection of America’s supply chain. We can and should be producing more in New Mexico and stop ceding this ground to California, Arizona, and Texas. Getting people back to work and supplying our businesses with the workforce they need. We still have one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates even as businesses are begging for new hires. We do not need liberal policies that foster an entitlement culture where too many people are paid not to work. Education New Mexico is 50th in education. For far too long politicians have put liberal bureaucrats and their ideology ahead of parents and kids. They have forced our kids into failing schools, somehow believing the same old policies would yield different results. Mark will give parents a stronger voice when it comes to their children’s education. That future starts with empowering parents, emphasizing local control, and getting money out of bureaucracy and into the classroom. We must increase options in our schools — grow the charter school technical and vocational programs within our public schools, so our graduates are ready for the workforce when they graduate. Mark believes our schools should be focused on teaching our children to master core subjects, rather than trying to indoctrinate kids in liberal ideology. The prolonged closure of our schools by Governor Lujan Grisham exposed the fragile mental health condition of our youth and set them even further behind children in neighboring states. We must invest more in tutoring and programs designed to help our kids makeup for the lost learning they have suffered as a result of the Governor’s extreme approach, while addressing their mental health needs. We need to make sure we have a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal leading every school. Mark will support policies that attract great minds to work with our children, including transitioning from other occupations into the classroom. Crime Crime in New Mexico is out of control. We are the second most violent state in the country. It’s not simply part of a recent, broader national trend. Violence has plagued our state for decades. The reason is simple: we have soft laws signed by Governor Lujan Grisham and enforced by liberal judges that allow violent criminals right back out on the street to commit more violent crime. Mark will fight to end “Catch and Release,” repeal the sanctuary state policies, appoint conservative judges, support our police, expand our police forces with well-trained and paid personnel, and fight for tougher laws targeting violent criminals in order to end our revolving door justice system. Protecting our Freedoms We have seen what happens when government gets a hold of real power during COVID. They seize control and take away personal freedoms. Government thinks it has all the answers, but nothing could be further from the truth. Governor Lujan Grisham has arbitrarily enacted draconian measures that strip individuals and small businesses of their freedoms, while giving preferential treatment to big corporations, her donors, and even herself. We need to restore the balance by putting government back in its place and allowing freedom to flourish once again. Second Amendment No freedom is more under attack than our Second Amendment rights. From supporting efforts to outlaw certain firearms and magazines to even banning gun shows at Expo, the current Governor has made her opposition to gun rights disturbingly clear. Mark is a gun owner and strong supporter of our Second Amendment rights. Mark will oppose efforts by liberal gun-grabbers who seek to criminalize law-abiding gun owners rather than focus on prosecuting criminals. Life Mark is a man of faith and strongly Pro-Life. He will champion religious freedoms and the Right to Life. Sadly, New Mexico is known as the late-term abortion capital of America. Mark Ronchetti will fight to end this barbaric practice. COVID Mark believes in a very simple approach to COVID – follow the science. That is something our current Governor has not done. Top-down government mandates forced on the people of this state are not the way forward. Mark will take COVID very seriously, but the one-size-fits-all/government-knows-best policy with no regard for emerging science is a mistake. Border Security Mark will order the National Guard to the border, eliminate the sanctuary policies that hide illegal immigrants who commit crimes from federal immigration officials, and do away with other policies that encourage illegal immigration, such as providing taxpayer-funded stimulus checks to illegal immigrants. Mark will also create a Border Strike Force within New Mexico’s Department of Public Safety, modeled after a similar and successful initiative in Arizona. It will target border-related crimes, such as cracking down on organized drug trafficking, gun smuggling, human smuggling, stolen vehicles, and violent criminal apprehensions. The Border Strike Force will work with law enforcement agencies at all levels of government to disrupt the cartel’s criminal activity.	”
—Mark Ronchetti's campaign website (2022)

2020

Mark Ronchetti completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ronchetti's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Mark Ronchetti lives in Albuquerque, where he and his wife, Krysty, are raising two young daughters. A proud New Mexican, Mark and Krysty want their children to be able to chase and realize their boldest dreams - right here, at home.Like many, Mark believes that elected leaders in Congress too often put politics ahead of the people they represent. He's running for the U.S. Senate to truly be New Mexico's voice in the nation's capital, where he will work to keep America strong and well-protected, preserve and grow New Mexico's role in providing for our national defense, secure our southern border, and bring much-needed federal help in the daily fight against crime. Mark is a conservative who also believes that taxes should be low and 2nd amendment rights should be protected. As a proud political outsider, he says New Mexico deserves a senator who has not been part of the problem in Washington, but a senator who will represent true New Mexican values.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Crime
• Border Security
• Energy

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Albuquerque is one of the most violent cities in the nation. We badly need new leadership who won't tolerate what has been tolerated for so long. Mark believes that from the federal-level down to our smallest towns more must be done to get our crime epidemic under control. As your US Senator, Mark will work tirelessly with the Department of Justice to get more federal task force resources and additional assistant US Attorneys to put criminals away. Mark also supports measures to eliminate sanctuary city laws around the country that allow illegal immigrants who commit crimes to be released back into our communities, rather than being deported.

Energy independence is vital to our national security, and New Mexico must always be at the forefront of providing energy to the world. It's in our DNA as a state. New Mexico must continue to be aggressive and focused on producing oil and gas, wind, solar, geothermal, and other forms of energy. Fortunately, President Trump is helping grow new energy jobs in New Mexico - and creating a massive state budget surplus in the process.

​

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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