A Misspelling Ends a Congressional Bid

Angel Peña jumped in the race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in December but, despite having received enough signatures to officially run for the office, his short-lived attempt has hit a roadblock. The 29-year-old, first-generation Democrat’s bid has likely come to an end -- all because of a tilde. A state District Judge on Monday upheld NM Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s disqualification of the New Mexico State University grad after she nixed eight pages of signatures on Peña’s nominating petition. “Angel Peña” appeared as “Angel PeÓa” and “Doña Ana County” appeared as “DoÓa Ana County,” and volunteers and staff corrected the errors in pen. NM law says that altering the candidate’s name on any page of a nominating petition invalidates that particular page. Peña has five days to appeal the decision. More here.