In 2006, Wilson Beffort was the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor of New Mexico. She ran as the running mate of John Dendahl after the elected gubernatorial candidate for governor was replaced by the state party. On June 17, 2006, Dr. J.R. Damron, who won the primary election to become the Republican nominee for the gubernatorial election, was pressured into resigning as the Republican candidate for Governor of New Mexico by Republican Party chairmanAllen Weh and former chairman John Dendahl. Weh engaged in the effort against Damron because of supposed decreased name recognition. John Dendahl was appointed as Republican candidate for Governor by Weh and the Republican party's Central Committee. Dendahl kept Wilson Beffort as his running mate. Dendahl and Wilson Beffort lost the election to Democrats Bill Richardson and Diane Denish.
Breed specific legislation
In the January 2012 New Mexico Legislative session, Wilson Beffort angered dog lovers as well as the local Animal Humane society by proposing breed specific legislation. She advocated tightening the dangerous dog act by designating all pit bulls as dangerous dogs. The result of such legislation, if passed, would be that a dog could be killed as a suspect in a dog-attack rather than requiring law enforcement to investigate whether or not the animal committed the attack, as the law currently read. Protests by concerned citizens, and ultimately by the Republican Governor took the proposed legislation out of the realm of consideration. In response to Wilfort Beffort's 2012 bill, during the 2013 Legislature, Representative Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo proposed House Bill 63 that sought to prohibit municipalities and counties from enacting breed-specific regulations. The bill passed the state House, but later died in the Senate when the bill ran out of time.
Removal from ballot and 2012 re-election
In March 2012, the New Mexico Secretary of StateDianna Duran considered cutting Wilson Beffort's name from the election ballot, because Wilson Beffort's nominating forms were completed incorrectly. By March 26, 2012, Duran allowed Wilson Beffort to remain on the ballot, along with seven others who had errors on their applications to run for office. A subsequent lawsuit by Rep. Thomas Garcia was lost, so Wilson Beffort was allowed to remain on the ballot. She ran unopposed in the June 5, 2012 Republican primary. No Democratic candidates filed to run in the general election of November 6, 2012.
