Gallegos fails to make ballot in HD-62 assembly upset

GallegosIn a surprising upset, state Rep. Rafael Gallegos (D-Antonio) fell three votes short of making the August primary ballot during the HD-62 Democratic assembly Friday in Colorado Springs.

Rocky White walloped both Gallegos and Ed Vigil in the assembly vote, capturing 32 of the 58 assembly votes. Gallegos won 14 votes; Vigil received 12.

Gallegos, in his second term as a state House member, can still petition onto the ballot. Vigil is a Costilla County commissioner.

White said Friday's assembly vote was "kind of a surprise."

" I certainly did not expect that to happen," White said. "But we've been working very, very hard. I mean, we kicked our campaign off in August. ...And we were going to run a campaign with boots on the ground. That meant we were going to be on the street talking to people visiting with the businessmen, and just making our presence known and out there."

House District 62 covers parts of eight counties in southern Colorado.