WASHINGTON (AP) — New Mexico voters will head to the polls Tuesday to select party nominees for governor and other major state and federal positions in the state’s primary election.
The voting occurs while ongoing conflict in Iran drives up gasoline costs, generating unexpected revenue for the country’s second-largest oil-producing state that the next governor will help oversee. Current Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cannot seek reelection due to term limits.
Competing for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to succeed Lujan Grisham are former congresswoman and former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman. Haaland previously served as the first Native American cabinet secretary and would make history as the first Native American woman governor in any state if successful.
Three Republicans are vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination: former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, medical cannabis entrepreneur and former state cabinet secretary Duke Rodriguez, and small business owner Doug Turner.
In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Ben Ray Luján is seeking his second term while facing opposition from business owner and community organizer Matt Dodson.
The Republican U.S. Senate primary ballot contains no printed names, though 2024 state Senate candidate Larry Marker is pursuing the nomination through a certified write-in campaign. Marker previously mounted a write-in bid for land commissioner in 2022.
New Mexico’s election rules require certified write-in candidates running unopposed in primaries to meet specific vote minimums to secure nominations. This threshold matches the signature requirement for write-in qualification. Republican statewide candidates need 2,351 votes. Should Marker fall short of this requirement, no Republican Senate nominee will advance to November’s general election.
Several other races feature only write-in candidates competing for Republican nominations in state auditor, treasurer and state House Districts 14 and 44. A Democratic write-in candidate is the sole contender for the nomination in state House District 38. All must meet their respective vote thresholds to proceed to the general election.
Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, contains the state’s largest population and significantly influences both primary and general election outcomes. Additional counties worth monitoring include Doña Ana, Santa Fe, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia.
Key election details and data points the AP Decision Team will track during vote counting:
Voting concludes at 7 p.m. MT, equivalent to 9 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press will report vote totals and announce winners in competitive primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, land commissioner and state House. The AP will also assess whether write-in candidates for U.S. Senate, auditor, treasurer and three state House seats will proceed to the general election.
Only registered party members can participate in their respective party’s primary. Democrats cannot vote in Republican contests and vice versa. Unaffiliated or independent voters may choose either primary.
Registration data from April 30 showed approximately 1.4 million New Mexico voters, comprising roughly 573,000 Democrats, 443,000 Republicans and 378,000 unaffiliated voters.
The 2022 gubernatorial primaries saw approximately 125,000 Democratic votes and 118,000 Republican votes cast.
Early voting accounted for about 55% of Democratic primary ballots and 48% of Republican primary ballots in 2024, slightly exceeding 2022 levels.
Through Friday, roughly 94,000 Democratic primary ballots and 46,000 Republican primary ballots had been submitted for Tuesday’s election.
New Mexico’s 33 counties follow different schedules for releasing vote results. More than half typically report most mail and early in-person voting results in their initial update. Some counties include Election Day in-person results in the first report, while others release them throughout the evening.
During the 2022 gubernatorial primary, the AP began reporting results at 9:11 p.m. ET, just 11 minutes after polls closed. The final update came at 2:50 a.m. ET with over 99% of votes tallied.
The AP avoids projections and only declares winners when no possible scenario exists for trailing candidates to overcome deficits. For uncalled races, the AP continues covering significant developments like candidate concessions or victory claims while clarifying that no winner has been declared and explaining the reasoning.
New Mexico mandates automatic recounts when margins fall below 0.25% of total votes for federal or statewide offices, below 0.5% for public education commissioner, district attorney and certain county positions, and below 1% for remaining offices including state legislators. The AP may call races subject to recounts if leads appear too substantial for recounts or legal challenges to alter outcomes.
Tuesday marks 154 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
