This morning, history was made in New Mexico Republican politics — and this newsroom was ready for it.

Within two minutes of Judge Cindy Mercer’s ruling landing, our phones were ringing. Texts flooded in. Emails stacked up faster than we could open them. From the Tularosa Basin to the eastern plains, from the middle Rio Grande corridor to the communities of northern New Mexico who have come to rely on this outlet for honest reporting — our audience responded with the urgency the moment deserved. What followed was a frenzy unlike anything we have seen in this newsroom in a while.

Thirteenth Judicial District Court Judge Cindy Mercer today ordered the removal of Amy Barela as Chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, handing a decisive victory to Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez and his fellow plaintiffs. The ruling grants the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against Barela, the Republican Party of New Mexico, Jim Townsend, and Kimberly Skaggs. 

Court Order Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YvR3yHbep55meFXt0bjh4uIo9GWgQPNU/view?usp=drivesdk

Judge Mercer’s order specifically states that Barela “is hereby enjoined from continuing to hold the position of chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico,” and that the defendants are “hereby enjoined from publicly endorsing or publicly supporting one Republican candidate over another in any contested 2026 Republican primary.”

We reported this story when no one else would touch it. In January, Alamogordo Town News and New Mexico Conservative News first raised the alarm — identifying Jonathan Emery’s challenge to Barela’s Otero County Commission seat and flagging the precarious position it placed the party chair in under her own party’s rules. We asked the questions the establishment didn’t want asked. We kept asking them.

At the heart of the case is a state GOP rule requiring the chair to surrender the office upon entering a contested Republican primary. Barela contended there wasn’t another Republican running for the same office when she filed because she filed first. But her critics argued the rule is clear — and that her position as party chair gave her an unfair advantage over a fellow Republican. 

March 10th crystallized the controversy

What followed was a party machine that dug in, circled the wagons, and used every lever of institutional power at its disposal to protect its preferred candidate. We reported every move — the maneuvering, the backroom decisions, the widening rift that split New Mexico Republicans from Otero County to Santa Fe and beyond.

The suit was brought by Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez, lieutenant governor candidate Aubrey Blair Dunn, and Emery — each of whom advanced criticisms of Barela’s leadership that gained new attention after the party failed to qualify candidates for statewide races at the party’s statewide convention in February. 

THE VOICES OF TODAY

Rodriguez wasted no time. His campaign released a graphic statement that landed on feeds across the state within the hour, declaring: “For too long, a small group of insiders has treated the Republican Party of New Mexico like a private club. They picked the winners, they protected their friends, and they expected the rest of us to fall in line. Today, a court said no. Today, the grassroots won.”

He went further in a separate statement directed squarely at the broader political stakes: “The status quo lost today, and the people who actually do the work — the precinct chairs, the volunteers, the donors who give twenty dollars instead of twenty thousand — they won. This is exactly the kind of fight I will take to Santa Fe as Governor. The political class in this state has had its turn. Now it’s the people’s turn.”

Blair Dunn, the lieutenant governor candidate and co-plaintiff, posted a pointed Facebook message crediting the judge while also drawing a hard line against what he called spin already emerging from the Townsend camp.

Thanking Judge Mercer for her careful work, Dunn went on to directly challenge what Senator Townsend’s team was apparently floating — the notion that Barela is only removed until the primary concludes.

Dunn quoted Rule 1-4-4 in full and was unambiguous: the vacatur is permanent, and the party is obligated to select a successor. If Barela wants the chairmanship back after the primary, she would need to be reappointed by the State Central Committee.

Of Townsend’s legal interpretation, Dunn wrote that the senator is “either dishonest enough to refuse to follow black and white rules, or dense enough that he cannot comprehend plain English. Either way, he should be disqualified from being a senator and committeeman.”

Brandon Vogt is an announcer for KKOB Radio in ABQ and running for the chair of the NMGOP…he told KALH: “I applaud Judge Mercer’s actions in removing Amy Barella from the chair of the GOP. This is something that Republican leadership didn’t have the guts to do.

I’m glad that the lawsuit went through, and a judge got Amy Barella out of that seat.

Now, the Republican party can move on in this very important 2026 midterm election.”

THE SILENCE THAT SPOKE LOUDEST

Now to what was conspicuously absent from the chaos of this morning.

Barela herself offered nothing on the ruling. Instead, she retreated to social media, posting six separate items about her record, her leadership, her accomplishments, and why voters should choose her for Otero County Commissioner. Not a word — not a syllable — about a judge ordering her removal from the chairmanship of her own party.

Townsend’s spokesperson said the senator has his legal team reviewing the ruling. That was the totality of it.

The Republican Party of New Mexico issued an official statement through Executive Director Leticia Muñoz-Kaminski that characterized the court’s action as a temporary injunction — and notably framed the scope of Barela’s removal as unclear. The party’s statement read:

“Today a Valencia County judge entered a temporary injunction against the Republican Party of New Mexico, its chairwoman and treasurer, and the state’s RNC committeeman. The order prohibits, on pain of criminal contempt, all three of the aforementioned individuals from ‘publicly supporting’ any Republican candidate in a contested primary. It also appears to direct Chairwoman Barela to turn over the occupancy of the chair to the First Vice Chair, although the order’s duration is unclear, it does not direct the Party to hold new elections, and it does not declare the position of chair is vacant.”

The party added: “The Republican Party of New Mexico strongly contends that this order is a prior restraint on free speech, in violation of the First Amendment. However, the Party will comply fully with what it understands the order to require, for as long as it remains in effect, and we are in the process of appealing to a higher court.”

In other words: comply for now, appeal immediately, and leave the door open for Barela’s return. The machine protecting its own, to the last.

THE PUBLIC REACTS

The public commentary told a different story than the party’s carefully worded statement.

Claudia Powell, commenting on our Alamogordo Town News – 2nd Life Media page, put the local stakes plainly: “I just want a County Commissioner who puts the local community ahead of party affiliation. I know where her ambition is concentrated, and it is not with the County. You cannot serve two masters.”

Michael Farrell was blunter: “So after months of ‘there’s no vacancy,’ ‘the courts can’t intervene,’ boycott emails, and emotional meltdown speeches… a judge ruled the exact opposite. The Court said the bylaws ARE enforceable, Rule 1-4-4 is unambiguous, and Amy must vacate the Chair while running in a contested primary. Oops.” Farrell also noted that SCC members who asked for the bylaws to be followed had been labeled a “faction,” accused of staging a coup, and told not to attend meetings. “Turns out we were standing on firmer legal ground than the RPNM Executive Committee the whole time.”

Susan Wheatley offered a regional indictment: “In their quest for power, Barela, Townsend and Skaggs brought nothing but embarrassment to southern New Mexico. They should not be rewarded in the future.”

Jamie Green offered a more measured perspective, acknowledging Barela’s work ethic while suggesting her errors in judgment may cost her — and the party — more than anticipated. “Going forward I hope people remember petty behavior has consequences politically and professionally,” Green wrote.

From further afield, the Sandoval WARD1 Action Group captured the mood of a significant slice of the Republican base, posting a mock concert poster — “Ozzy Amy Barela is ordered to step down as Republican Party Chair. All Aboard!!!!” — set to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” with the caption: “Definitely a Crazy Embarrassing train wreck.”

Albert Guilez kept it short: “Couldn’t be happier. Half the corruption in the county gone. I guess rules do apply to those that think they’ve got power.”

And Wendy Irby, posting with a “NOT AMY” avatar, offered perhaps the most succinct summary of the day: “One for the Gipper! One down, one to go!”

WHAT COMES NEXT

The primary is June 2nd — less than a week away. The party has announced it is appealing. The question of whether Barela’s removal is temporary or permanent is already a battleground, with Dunn and the plaintiffs insisting the rule requires permanent vacatur and the party suggesting otherwise.

What is not in dispute is this: a court of law found that the rules of the Republican Party of New Mexico mean what they say — and that no one, regardless of title or institutional support, is above them.

This newsroom reported that story from the beginning. We will be here for every step of what comes next.

Alamogordo Town News and New Mexico Conservative News — First in. Still here.

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