KOB 4 examines new attack ad

Ryan Laughlin | KOB

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new ad is attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti’s trustworthiness.

While there are not many facts to check in the ad – there is a lot of editing. Some of those edits are problematic, leaving out crucial information on a KOB 4 fact check that aired last week.

The ad concerns the release of a man named Christopher Beltran, who was briefly released under the governor’s health order in 2020. He was jailed again for violating parole and then released by the Department of Corrections in 2021 – days before killing his ex-girlfriend.

Here’s part of our original report:

“Stop, right there. This ad by the Republican Governors Association highlights a horrific case of a repeat offender going in and out of our state’s correctional system, then eventually killing his ex-girlfriend. But this, right here, visually attaching Christopher Beltran’s second release to the governor’s executive order, is inaccurate.”

Here’s how it was edited for the new ad:

“Very ugly accusations. Stop right there. This ad by the Republican Governor’s Association – is inaccurate.”

The ad, paid for by a group tied to the Democratic Governors Association, misrepresents our original reporting by leaving out key details.

The inaccuracy KOB 4 highlighted was connecting the governor’s COVID-19 order to Beltran’s second release. They were not connected.

The political action committee responsible for the attack ad on Ronchetti has a local number on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website. We called this morning, and nobody answered. We also received no response from the Democratic Governors Association.

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