Rule 21-402. Political and campaign activities of judicial candidates in public elections.

A. Candidates for election to judicial office. A judicial candidate in a partisan, non-partisan, or retention election, (1) shall (a) act at all times in a manner consistent with the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary; (b) comply with all applicable election, election campaign, and election campaign fundraising laws and regulations; (c) review and approve the content of all non-financial campaign statements and materials produced by the candidate or his or her campaign committee, as authorized by Rule 21-404 NMRA, before their dissemination; (d) take reasonable measures to ensure that other persons do not undertake on behalf of the candidate activities, other than those described in Rule 21-404 NMRA, that the candidate is prohibited from doing under these rules; and (e) if intending to accept funds from others or expend funds in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), establish a campaign committee pursuant to the provisions of Rule 21-404 NMRA; (2) shall not (a) seek to discover who has contributed to the campaign of either the judge or the judge’s opponent; (b) engage in behaviors or activities prohibited by Rule 21-401(C)(1), (C)(2), (C)(3), (C)(5), (C)(6), and (C)(7) NMRA; (c) solicit funds for a candidate or a political organization, or make a contribution to a candidate, except as permitted by Subparagraphs (A)(3)(b) and (c) below; or (d) misrepresent the candidate's or the candidate's opponent's identity, qualifications, present position or other material fact; (3) may (a) speak on behalf of his or her candidacy through any medium, including, but not limited to, advertisements, websites, or other campaign literature; (b) attend or purchase tickets for dinners or other events sponsored by a political organization or a candidate for public office; (c) contribute to a political organization; (d) use advertising that does not contain any misleading contents, and does not, in nonpartisan elections, contain any reference to the candidate's affiliation with a political party; and (e) respond to personal attacks or attacks on the candidate's record as long as the response does not violate Rule 21-401(C)(6) NMRA. B. Contributions creating appearance of impropriety. Candidates for judicial office in partisan, non-partisan, and retention elections shall refrain from campaign fundraising activity which has the appearance of impropriety, and shall not accept any contribution that creates an appearance of impropriety. C. Solicitation for other campaigns and candidates. Candidates in partisan, non- partisan, and retention elections for judicial office shall not solicit funds for any other political campaign, or for any other candidate for any other office. Judicial candidates may, however, run for election as part of a slate of judicial candidates and may participate in joint fundraising events with other judicial candidates. D. Unopposed candidates in partisan and non-partisan elections. Candidates in partisan and non-partisan elections for judicial office who have a campaign fund, but who are unopposed or become unopposed in the campaign, shall return all unused and uncommitted campaign funds pro rata to the contributors of the funds, or donate the funds to a charitable organization, or to the State of New Mexico, as the candidate may choose, with disbursement of such funds to occur within thirty (30) days after the absence of opposition becomes known. This paragraph does not apply to retention elections. E. Contributions by attorneys and litigants. If a case is pending before any candidate for the judicial office being contested, restrictions of this paragraph apply to all candidates for that office. Contributions from attorneys and litigants shall be made only to a campaign committee, and are subject to all the requirements of this rule. Campaign committees may solicit contributions from attorneys. Campaign committees shall not knowingly solicit a contribution from a litigant whose case is then pending before the candidate. Campaign committees shall not disclose to the judge or candidate the identity or source of any funds raised by the committee. F. A judicial candidate in a partisan public election. A judicial candidate in a partisan election may (1) identify himself or herself as a candidate of a partisan political organization; and (2) seek, accept, and use endorsements from a partisan political organization. G. A judicial candidate in a retention or non-partisan election. A judicial candidate in a retention or non-partisan election may (1) identify himself or herself as a candidate but shall not identify himself or herself with any specific partisan political organization; and (2) seek, accept, and use endorsements from a partisan political organization.