Zach Withers

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Zach Withers
Image of Zach Withers

Independent

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

East Mountain High School

Bachelor's

Middlebury College, 2012

Personal
Birthplace
Albuquerque, N.M.
Profession
Farmer
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign YouTube

Zach Withers (independent) ran for election to the New Mexico House of Representatives to represent District 22. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Withers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Zach Withers was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He graduated from East Mountain High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College in 2012. His career experience includes working as a farmer and in the craft alcohol industry. Withers has been affiliated with Polk's Folly Farm and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22

Incumbent Stefani Lord defeated Fred Ponzlov and Zach Withers in the general election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Stefani Lord
Stefani Lord (R)
 
56.4
 
10,476
Image of Fred Ponzlov
Fred Ponzlov (D)
 
34.9
 
6,486
Image of Zach Withers
Zach Withers (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
8.7
 
1,620

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 18,582
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22

Fred Ponzlov advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Fred Ponzlov
Fred Ponzlov
 
100.0
 
1,789

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,789
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22

Incumbent Stefani Lord advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 22 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Stefani Lord
Stefani Lord
 
100.0
 
2,354

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,354
Candidate Connection = 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Withers in this election.

Pledges

Withers signed the following pledges.

  • U.S. Term Limits

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Zach Withers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Withers' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I was born and raised in the East Mountains, the district where I'm running for office. My politics are local. They focus on water, land, food, local economy, and the rural character of our community. I am not running to push a partisan agenda or an ideological viewpoint. Effective governance happens when we have an engaged community. It also starts with electing people that are invested in working on behalf of everyone in their community to address the very real and pressing issues we face in stead of advancing their own political agendas, the party line, or the financial interests of their donors.

All across District 22 aquifers are being drained and wells are going dry. This reality poses major challenges to everyone in our community. We need targeted planning, and a government focused on working with communities to shift our water use so we have water for future generations.

The health of the soil is the one factor we can engage with that has an impact on the amount of precipitation that will make it back to the aquifer. Healthy soil absorbs more water, which not only helps recharge ground water but helps farms and ranches become more productive, resilient, and economically viable. The worth of the land however goes beyond its water absorption capacity, food production potential, or real estate appraisal. This land is our home. Developing a respect for the land and caring for it is vital if we want our communities to sustain.
  • We must balance our water budget in New Mexico. The state needs to prioritize data collection, planning, and local funding to support communities shifting to substantive water conservation strategies.
  • We need a functional state government focused on issues which are most important to New Mexicans. Many politicians head to the Roundhouse with a federally driven agenda. Our legislature meets for 30 or 60 days on alternating years. We need to focus on the issues we can change and that will change the lives of our neighbors, for the better.
  • We need to support farmers and ranchers, who are pillars of our district, to transition to responsible and regenerative agriculture that can happen for generations to come. This helps preserve the rural character of our community.
I'm most passionate about water, food, and responsible governance.
Currently feeling deeply inspired by Viktor Schauberger.
The Milagro Beanfield War
An elected official should be available to their constituents, listen to the issues that matter to those they represent, and be prepared to take action to affect positive change for their community. Further, an elected official should not be driven by their party agenda, rather by the needs of their neighbors.
Im good at being friends with most anyone while still being able to disagree with almost everyone. I understand what civil service is and I am doing this to the end of serving my community. Most of the issues I want to work on at the legislature are things that I am already trying to do in my day to day life running a farm and a small business. I speak from experience.
A person elected to the New Mexico state legislature is responsible for representing and developing policy that addresses the needs of the residents of their district, as well as everyone in the state. These needs include access to water, land health, human health and welfare, education, and ensuring that future generations of New Mexicans can grow and thrive.
9/11. I was 12.
My Grandpa, Gene Polk, paid me $2 for every gopher I caught. We fed them to my Grandma's rescued red tail hawk Jezzy.
Sleep.
It's important that there is a functional and cooperative relationship between the Legislative and Executive branches while maintaining effective checks and balances.
Water. Declining availability of water poses major challenges across multiple sectors including oil and gas production, residential development, and agriculture.
It is useful for state legislators to have previous experience in governance, a basic understanding of our states political process, and a tolerance for politics. It is not beneficial for our state to be run entirely by career partisan politicians.
Anything that happens in New Mexico happens through collaboration. It is essential to have working relationships other legislators.
I have an immense amount of respect for Jim Smith, one of our former state legislators who taught english at East Mountain High where I graduated.
No, I want to represent and work for my neighbors on local issues.
Nearly every day I hear stories of neighbors whose wells run dry. Managing water for today and future generations is essential.
Yes.
My focus will be on addressing water governance in hydrological basins that are closed to new water rights allocations and addressing issues related to inter-basin water transfer. I am also involved in discussions regarding efforts to reform the State Game Commission and enacting Right to Repair legislation in New Mexico. I have a deep vested interest in influencing the roll out of the State Meat Inspection program authorized last year to ensure it is meeting the needs of direct market meat producers.

I am less interested in putting my name on bills than working in coalition to provide effective non-partisan governance to the people of New Mexico. I would like to get rid of billboards. I might run that bill unilaterally.
I have not sought any formal endorsements.
Energy Environment and Natural Resources; Agriculture, Acequias Water Resources; Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs; Appropriation and Finance
We need more of it.

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.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Zach Withers campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* New Mexico House of Representatives District 22Lost general$3,699 $2,830
Grand total$3,699 $2,830
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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External links

Candidate

New Mexico House of Representatives District 22
  • Website
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  • YouTube
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 26, 2024


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