Avoiding the easy button

The general election is Nov. 3, 2026, three short months away. The representative for House District 37, Joanne Ferrary, announced earlier in the year that she would not seek re-election. The primaries have passed, and candidates for both major political parties are locked in, now campaigning for this seat in the general election.

A week ago, Rep. Ferrary announced that she would retire early, prior to her term being up in January 2027, effective on July 31, 2026. This leaves District 37, a significant portion of Dona Ana County, unrepresented. Per state law, the Board of County Commissioners for Dona Ana County will select a replacement for Rep. Ferrary, to fulfill the remainder of her term.

But who? That is the debate right now in Dona Ana County. The writing is on the wall – will they pick the current Democratic candidate already on the ballot?

The commission is predominantly held by the Democrat party, based on affiliations the commissioners ran behind in their campaigns. If they pick the Democrat candidate, this will provide an incumbency benefit, shown in voting research to be an often-significant election advantage, to a candidate that is not yet elected by voters in a general election. Regardless of party affiliation, that simply isn’t fair.

Instead, to show transparency and fairness, the commission should select, as interim representative, a different candidate, not currently running for the office. Perhaps Ferrary’s 2022 opponent, who achieved 42.8% of the vote? I won’t advocate for her 2020 opponent to serve as interim, as that is the Republican nominee for the 2026 election and we would have the exact same situation of unfair advantage.

Perhaps Terry McMillan, who held the office from 2014 to 2016 would be interested? Heck, even Ferrary’s husband, if interested, would be a viable candidate for five months until the winner of the general election was sworn in.

Don’t just press the easy button. The commission should do their research, call people that might be interested, and find an unbiased and unbiasing interim representative.

The one or two interim committees on which Ferrary served (it is difficult to tell how many because the NMLegis website has already scrubbed her profile), likely won’t meet but a few times between now and when the legislative session begins in January and by then, the winner of the general election will be installed in the seat.

All this to say, the district likely won’t suffer much if the seat even remains unfilled for a time, perhaps until the general election when the voters will have chosen who should represent them.

Regardless of who, two people should not, and those are the candidates currently on the ballot for the District 37.

Shawna Pfeiffer is a life-long Dona Ana County Resident, graduate of NMSU, small business owner, hobby farmer, dog-lover, outdoor enthusiast and mother to two young children. She can be reached at srpfeiffer1@gmail.com.