Despite a boost of energy in the Democratic Party nationally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the ticket, far more New Mexicans registered as Republicans than Democrats last month.
Voter registration surged across the country after Biden stepped aside on July 21, according to Vote.org. New Mexico saw a spike too, but not an unprecedented one for the season. About 2,000 people registered to vote in the days following Biden’s announcement, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, more than doubling registrations for the month. However, nearly twice as many New Mexicans registered in June than in July, ahead of the state’s primary election.
Democrats continue to outnumber Republicans in New Mexico, a state where Democrats hold every statewide elected office, with about 43% of the electorate to the GOP’s 31%. And spokesperson for the state Democratic Party Daniel Garcia said the Harris campaign, now with the addition of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, will perform well in New Mexico.
“Gov. Walz has been a champion for rural Minnesota families, which is a quality that adds relatable life experience and perspective to the Harris ticket in New Mexico,” he said.
The New Mexico Republican Party has outpaced the state Democratic Party in registrations all year long. Despite Harris’s bid for the White House turning around an enthusiasm slump for the Democrats nationally, the state GOP still added more voters to their rolls in July, according to state voter registration data. More than 1,200 New Mexicans registered as Republicans last month, compared to about half as many registering as Democrats. State GOP Executive Director Leticia Muñoz said people are joining the party for various reasons.
“Whether it’s the excitement for Trump, and once he had his VP pick, JD Vance. Or it could be the change from Biden to Kamala,” she said. “We did see a lot of upset voters because they believed their vote was taken away from them in the primary.”
She said the party is also boosting registrations by simply explaining the difference between the parties to those who have never voted. She said her party is connecting with New Mexicans directly through door-knocking, phone banking and setting up tables “in a church or a gun shop or out in the community at the park.”
Garcia called the assertion that New Mexico Democratic primary voters had their votes “taken away” when Harris took over the ticket “spin,” since she was on the ticket they voted for.
“Very quickly all 45 of our delegates chose to pledge and endorse Harris’ campaign as President Biden’s running mate and the other half of the Biden/Harris administration,” he said. “So, I think that they’re really just looking for any way to attack the Vice President right now.”
Despite Republicans seeing the highest registration rates among New Mexico’s political parties last month, an even larger influx of more than 1,800 voters registered as Independent or otherwise without a party affiliation. That can likely be attributed to many changing their registration in May and June to participate in the state’s closed primary election, then changing it back. The category now boasts only about 100 more voters than it did in April of this year.
A Republican presidential candidate has not won New Mexico since George W. Bush in 2004, which was a first since the 1980’s.
