Mullins, Pearce to challenge freshmen congressmen Lujan, Teague

Steve Pearce and Tom Mullins won the two contested Congressional primaries in New Mexico. Both are Republicans who will challenge Democratic incumbents in the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts, respectively.

The 3rd Congressional District Republican primary was thought to be the more competitive of the two, with Adam Kokesh getting national attention and support from libertarian-Republican icon Ron Paul. Mullins, an engineer in the oil and gas industry, won the race 69 percent to 31 percent over Kokesh according to the latest unofficial numbers from the Secretary of State’s office.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Pearce handily beat Cliff Pirtle. The latest unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office shows Pearce winning 86.2 percent to 13.8 percent over Pirtle.

Mullins will face incumbent Ben Ray Luján in the general election and Pearce will face incumbent Harry Teague.