Election
Mayor Keller wins third consecutive term in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 runoff election
Defeats challenger Darren White with nearly 58% of vote
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Incumbent Tim Keller scored a historic third consecutive term in sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 mayoral runoff election Tuesday, after a bruising contest fought over homelessness, crime and federal immigration enforcement.
Keller, 48, captured nearly 58% of the vote, compared to 42% for challenger Darren White, according to unofficial election results as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.
鈥淰oters granted us something very, very special,鈥� Keller said to a raucous crowd of supporters at The Clyde Hotel in Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a mandate to push forward and it鈥檚 also a challenge to rise to the occasion. That is what our next four years is going to be all about.鈥�
Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller won the runoff election and will lead sa国际传媒官网网页入口 for another four years. #albuquerque #abqjournal #politics
White conceded the mayoral race around 7:45 p.m. to a crowd of roughly 60 people gathered at the Courtyard by Marriott. The 62-year-old told supporters he had called Keller to congratulate him.
White said as a Republican he was fighting an uphill battle 鈥� as New Mexico remains a Democratic-leaning state 鈥� and lacked the public financing to win. He urged fellow Republicans to continue to speak their minds and fight for their beliefs, and encouraged supporters to back City Council candidates who share the same mindset.
鈥淒on鈥檛 you think for a minute that your voice can鈥檛 be heard,鈥� White said.
He added, 鈥淢aybe, just maybe, what we went through in those debates and all those forums, maybe the mayor will understand that we want him to fight for our families and we want him to fight for our businesses.鈥�
Keller, whose campaign was publicly financed, collected more than $1.14 million in contributions for both the regular local and runoff elections, compared to White鈥檚 reported total of $642,429 in private contributions. White didn鈥檛 qualify for the public financing.
The two men entered the runoff election after neither candidate received 50% of the vote in the city鈥檚 Nov. 4 regular local election amidst a crowded field of six candidates.
Keller fended off weeks of White attack ads and, more recently, an anonymous campaign to induce homeless individuals living along Central Avenue to don bright yellow 鈥淚 飩� Tim Keller鈥� sweatshirts. The tactic 鈥� which White said he had nothing to do with 鈥� led to Keller鈥檚 campaign filing an ethics complaint with the city.
An sa国际传媒官网网页入口 native first elected mayor in 2017, Keller campaigned on his eight-year record of fighting crime and expanding housing for the 5,000 or more unhoused people in the city. That included opening a multifaceted Gateway system of care and creating a city community safety department to respond to behavioral health and crisis situations in the city.
Keller touted a decrease in both violent and property crime in 2025 over the prior year and promised to continue efforts to equip the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department with advanced technology and civilian support to back up the 950 or so sworn officers.
The campaign marked White鈥檚 return to the political arena after a 14-year absence. He said he entered the race after lamenting about the 鈥渟tate鈥� of the city, and finding no other Republican was running. White promised he would only serve for four years.
A former New Mexico public safety director, Bernalillo County sheriff, and city public safety officer, White campaigned on his law enforcement background, promising a change of direction, emphasizing aggressive encampment sweeps of homeless individuals, and full cooperation with federal immigration agents seeking access to data on suspects arrested by APD.
Keller called that approach to addressing homelessness 鈥渄angerous鈥� and 鈥渋neffective.鈥� And last summer, he issued an executive order reaffirming that city resources may not be used to assist in federal civil immigration enforcement, except where legally required.
Keller has said he will continue to add affordable housing units in the city, and work on a new 7-mile urban Rail Trail among his administration鈥檚 transportation priorities. The trail will link the Downtown area to Old Town and the Sawmill District.
Keller, in an energetic speech, told a room filled with supporters that he will continue to defend sa国际传媒官网网页入口 from both President Donald Trump and any other adversaries.
鈥淭onight, we stood up for sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淥ur families are the most important things in our lives and we will defend our families.鈥�
