Today, the Democratic Party of New Mexico called for GOP gubernatorial nominee and former TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti to return or donate to charity all funds his campaign has received from fake electors – those who denied the 2020 presidential election results in New Mexico and tried to illegitimately seat themselves at the electoral college.

Ronchetti’s campaign accepted a $2,000 contribution from Lupe Garcia of Santa Cruz, NM on June 29th and another $1,000 from Rosalind Tripp of Socorro on August 19th. Both are among the five New Mexicans who signed documents submitted to the National Archives that aimed to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in New Mexico. President Biden won the state by 10 percentage points.

“Mark Ronchetti should immediately return the money his campaign received from known fake electors and seditionists,” said Daniel Garcia, Communications Director at the Democratic Party of New Mexico. “The longer MAGA Mark keeps these fraudsters’ funds, the clearer it becomes that these really are the people he wants in his inner circle: election deniers and extremists By keeping these contributions, Ronchetti is proving he would rather try to ride a Trump-fueled campaign of election-denying violence and extremism into the Roundhouse than defend the voice of New Mexicans and the sanctity of our democracy.”

The Democratic Governors Association and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s re-election campaign have both called on Ronchetti to return contributions from the fake electors in recent days. The position of governor is one of three in the state that certifies elections. Donald Trump and his allies have made a concerted effort to install officials in these powerful roles across the country to overturn election results through illegal, unlawful, and undemocratic means – efforts the Trump campaign tried in 2020, ultimately culminating in the violent coup attempt on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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