Louie Sanchez, a Republican businessman, has become the sixth Republican candidate to enter the race for governor, where the winner will receive the party's nomination and take on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) during the general election.

Sanchez recently announced his candidacy with a news release where he stressed his desire to see the state's economy and businesses flourish.

"I'm not a person who believes we gotta go oil, oil, oil. But you don't bite the hand that feeds you," Sanchez said, according to the Pinon Post. "And you transition. You don't just stop (the oil and gas industries) when you don't have anything to replace it with. ... We can't make oil and gas the evil step child and kick them out."

Sanchez, 56, is a medical sales representative and owner of an indoor shooting range, the Albuquerque Journal reported. 

Sanchez told the Albuquerque Journal that some of his focuses would be on restructuring gross receipt taxes and supporting the oil and gas industries by cutting regulations. 

Sanchez previously sought the Republican nomination for a seat in the U.S. Senate, but now must face five other opponents seeking the Republican nomination as their pick in the race for governor, according to the Pinion Post. The Albuquerque Journal reports that Lujan Grisham, seeking her second term, is the only Democrat in the running.