Reeb to Return to State House Seat in January

Former state Rep. Andrea Reeb announced Thursday that she will return to the New Mexico House of Representatives in January. The decision reverses her abrupt resignation from the body, which occurred less than a month ago.

Reeb, a Republican and former district attorney, stated she acted quickly to resign after a federal judge ruled she was violating state law. The judge determined that Reeb was simultaneously working as a special prosecutor and serving as a legislator.

Reeb said she needed to step aside to protect victims in criminal cases she was handling. “I just don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong,” she said in an interview. She added that she is still considering an appeal of the judge’s ruling.

The former lawmaker said she plans to resolve her legal conflict by joining a private law firm based in Lubbock, Texas. She will hand off her pending special prosecutor cases to other attorneys. This move allows her to serve in the Legislature without violating the rules that triggered her initial departure.

Reeb cited public support as a major factor in her decision to return. “I have been humbled by how many people called, wrote, and stopped me in town to ask me to come back,” she said in a written statement. She noted that voters re-elected her knowing the details of the legal dispute. “They made their wishes clear, and I couldn’t ignore that,” Reeb said.

The timing of her resignation also played a role in the outcome. When Reeb announced her departure, the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the ballot had already passed. Consequently, she appeared unopposed on the general election ballot for House District 64. The district includes Chaves, Curry, and Roosevelt counties.

Democrats won a 47-23 majority in the House on Election Night. They ousted four Republican incumbents to secure this supermajority. The new majority makes it easier for the party to advance its agenda in the 60-day session beginning in January.

Reeb said the election results did not drive her decision to return. She had largely made up her mind by the time polls closed on Tuesday. She is one of few Republican lawyers in the Legislature, serving alongside Rep. Cathrynn Brown of Carlsbad.

Her return makes it unlikely that county commissioners in the three counties within District 64 will submit names to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for a replacement. The governor would have had to pick a successor to serve for the remaining seven weeks of the term.

Reeb was first elected to the House in 2022. She also served on a bipartisan truth-finding commission established earlier this year. That commission is investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s past ties to New Mexico. House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, has reportedly said the commission will continue its work with just three members since Reeb’s initial resignation. The group is tasked with issuing a final report to the full House by the end of the year.