Cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez joins the race for New Mexico governor

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Duke Rodriguez, one of New Mexico's most successful cannabis entrepreneurs and a former state cabinet secretary, has officially announced he's seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Rather than hosting a big party, Rodriguez made the announcement in newspaper advertisements over the weekend, saying he would rather engage with residents directly and ask for their help in sharing his ideas. Rodriguez cited guaranteed health care, improving the state’s education system, fighting crime and safeguarding New Mexico’s public retirement system as priorities.

“I’m not asking for money. I’m asking for a running mate. You,” he wrote in the ads.

After several high-profile potential Republican candidates passed on the race, the Ultra Health president and chief executive decided to make his move.

“I sat back hoping there would be a stronger candidate that I could support,” Rodriguez told the Albuquerque Journal on Monday. “Truthfully, that never happened.”

Rodriguez joins a GOP field that includes Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and state Sen. Steve Lanier of Aztec.

Reaching the governor’s office won’t be easy. No Republican has won election to statewide office since former Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura did so in 2016.

A three-way race for the Democratic nomination is underway between former congresswoman and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Albuquerque-based District Attorney Sam Bregman and former four-term Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima.

Before launching Ultra Health in 2010, Rodriguez served as secretary of New Mexico’s Human Services Department under former Gov. Gary Johnson and was a senior executive for Lovelace Health System. Ultra Health has become New Mexico’s largest medical cannabis company.

Rodriguez already has faced questions about his eligibility due to a requirement in the state Constitution that candidates must have “resided continually” in the state for at least five years before being elected.

Rodriguez, who owns houses in Albuquerque and Scottsdale, Arizona, contends the residency requirement is a nonissue. He said he has maintained a residence in New Mexico since first moving to the state as a teenager in 1971.