Former Eddy County Commissioner Jack Volpato will attempt to win the Republican nomination for a New Mexico state legislature seat, Volpato announced this month.
Among other places, Volpato announced his candidacy on his Facebook page on Jan. 18. The primary election was scheduled for June 4. The general election will be Nov. 5.
Volpato is running against state Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R) for a seat representing state District 55 in New Mexico’s House of Representatives. Brown has been in the legislature since 2011.
New Mexico’s 55th state district includes Eddy and Lee counties. The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is in Eddy, close to the county line with Lea. Holtec International has proposed building a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel about 12 miles from the DOE facility.
New Mexico has passed laws that effectively prevent construction of the proposed facility, and a federal judge in Texas has ruled that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license Holtec has received for the facility is invalid.
Volpato, active in local politics and the southeastern New Mexico business community, supported the Holtec facility as a member of the Eddy-Lea County Energy Alliance.
A pharmacist by trade, Volpato served two terms on the Eddy County Commission from 2006 to 2014. He has run unsuccessfully for higher office, including for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
In the 2018 race, Volpato withdrew from a Republican primary eventually won by Yvette Herrell (R). Herrell narrowly lost her race in the general election for New Mexico’s U.S. Second District House seat to Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D), who has since left Congress.
