Mayor Tim Keller and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White are headed to a December runoff after no candidate secured the majority needed to win outright Tuesday. Keller led at 36% and White at 31% with a majority of votes counted at 10 p.m.
Since Albuquerque adopted its current mayoral system in the mid-1970s, no one has won three consecutive four-year terms. Former Mayor Martin Chávez served three terms overall, but not consecutively.
With all 611 precincts partially reporting, Keller led with 45,470 votes, or 36%. White had 39,351 votes, or 31%. Former U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez received 23,439 votes, or 18%. City Councilor Louie Sanchez had 8,269 votes, or 7%. Former Bernalillo County economic development director Mayling Armijo had 7,191 votes, or 6%. Retired fire chief Eddie Varela had 2,151 votes, or 2%, and parking company owner Daniel Chavez had 1,296 votes, or 1%.
Keller, a former state senator and state auditor who has served as Albuquerque mayor since December 2017, ran on falling homicide rates and the expansion of homeless services through the Gateway System. He was the only candidate to qualify for public financing, receiving more than $730,000 in taxpayer funds.
White, a U.S. Army veteran, built a career in law enforcement, serving in the Houston and Albuquerque police departments, as Bernalillo County sheriff, and as Albuquerque’s chief public safety officer under Mayor Richard Berry. He later founded PūrLife, a licensed medical cannabis company. White centered his mayoral campaign on crime and immigration enforcement and drew strong support from business and public safety groups critical of Keller’s approach.
City Councilor Louie Sanchez, a retired Albuquerque police officer with 26 years on the force, represents District 1 and owns a local insurance business. Running as a conservative Democrat, he frequently opposed Keller’s policies, criticizing the mayor’s handling of police leadership and homelessness while calling for tougher enforcement and greater accountability.
Alex Uballez, a former U.S. attorney for New Mexico who served during President Joe Biden’s administration and resigned at President Donald Trump’s request in February 2025, ran as a progressive alternative to Keller, emphasizing public safety and violence prevention. He drew stronger support from younger voters but struggled to gain traction with older, more reliable voters, according to late-September polling.
Mayling Armijo, executive director of a small business development company and U.S. Navy veteran who serves as a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve, was the only woman in the race and the first to file. She previously served as director of economic development for Bernalillo County and deputy county manager for Sandoval County. Armijo built her campaign around accountability and change, calling for stronger business support, mayoral term limits, and a personal pledge to serve no more than two terms.
Eddie Varela, a retired Albuquerque firefighter who rose to deputy chief and later became fire chief in Barstow, California. According to his campaign, he previously served as president of the City of Albuquerque Fire Fighters Union, sat on the Reserve, New Mexico, City Council and led the Catron County school board. His campaign focused on reducing homelessness through nonprofit partnerships and argued the city should step back from the “medical business” of behavioral‑health care.
Under Albuquerque’s city charter, a runoff election is required if no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast. The runoff between Keller and White is scheduled for Dec. 9, with the winner serving a four-year term beginning in January.
According to a City Clerk spokesperson, Keller, who qualified for public financing, must return his remaining public financing funds to the city by Nov. 7 and will receive a new $377,973 distribution for the runoff election. White will raise private funds for the runoff campaign.
Minutes after general election results showed the top two mayoral candidates headed to a runoff, an outside group supporting incumbent Mayor Tim Keller shared polling with City Desk showing Keller…