Editor’s note: As the dust settled on Tuesday night’s election, City Desk reached out to both mayoral candidates headed to the Dec. 9 runoff election to ask how they plan to forge a path to a majority following a deeply divisive general election.
On Thursday, we shared responses from Darren White. Today, we feature Mayor Tim Keller.
Mayor Tim Keller will frame the December runoff as a choice about Albuquerque’s “fundamental direction,” pledging to reach out to voters across party lines as he seeks a historic third term. Keller finished with 46,991 votes, or 36%, while White followed with 40,783, or 31%, pushing the race to a Dec. 9 runoff.
Keller enters the five-week campaign with a clear edge in both votes and funding. A GBAO poll, first reported by City Desk Tuesday night. of 400 likely voters Oct. 16-19 for Ascend ABQ PAC, a group backing Keller, showed him leading 45% to 38%, with 17% undecided and a 4.9% margin of error.
“Mayor Keller has always welcomed dialogue with every part of our community — Democrats, independents and Republicans alike,” campaign manager Neri Holguin said. “That openness will continue in the runoff.”
Keller won five of the city’s nine council districts Tuesday, including District 1 on the Westside, where he beat Councilor Louie Sanchez 34% to 11%, according to the campaign’s analysis of county precinct results.
White trailed Keller by 6,208 votes Tuesday and faces the challenge of winning over voters who supported eliminated candidates, including the 24,718 who backed third-place finisher Alex Uballez and 7,671 who backed Mayling Armijo.
Keller’s campaign is framing the runoff as a choice between moving forward or returning to what Holguin called “the Trump-style fear, chaos and division that Darren White brought to City Hall when he was in charge of public safety.”
As the only publicly financed candidate, Keller will receive $377,973 in new funding, while Ascend ABQ PAC has $37,000 on hand. White is privately financed, and his allied PAC, Change ABQ, reported just $137 in the bank Monday.
The Dec. 9 runoff will determine whether Keller becomes Albuquerque’s first mayor to win three consecutive terms. Early voting runs Dec. 1–6 at 16 sites, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Darren White is a co-founder of City Desk ABQ, along with Publisher Pat Davis, but he has never held employment with City Desk or had any editorial influence, including with this story.