Last updated June 3, 11:21 a.m.
López Askin wins secretary of state nomination - Taylor Velazquez, KUNM News, Albuquerque Journal
Democrat Amanda López Askin has won her party’s nomination for New Mexico Secretary of State, defeating Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark in Tuesday’s Primary election with 53.1% of the vote.
López Askin currently serves as Doña Ana County Clerk and has overseen elections in New Mexico’s second-most populous county since 2021. She spoke out in 2024 about the intimidation from election deniers, including Solomon Peña, who went on to shoot up the homes of Democratic lawmakers.
She has been endorsed by both current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the outgoing Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who is term-limited.
Clark currently serves as Santa Fe County Clerk and has overseen elections in the state’s capital since 2021. Throughout her campaign, she has focused on election security, voter access, and government transparency.
She has argued that through her experience administering elections has prepared her to serve as the state’s top elections official.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that after the pre-primary party convention where Clark outpaced López Askin, Albuquerque attorney David Duhigg sent letters to three elected officials — Attorney General Raúl Torrez, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies — requesting investigations into Clark’s handling of election results as county clerk, a position she’s held since 2019.
He specifically cited four instances — in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 — in which Clark’s office had uploaded election results before 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is the time polls close in New Mexico.
Clark’s campaign said the timing of Duhigg’s complaint raised questions about its intent.
“At a time when confidence in our elections is critical, manufacturing controversy for political purposes is irresponsible and undermines public trust,” Clark’s campaign also said.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver scores Democratic nomination for New Mexico lieutenant governor - Bryce Dix, KUNM News
Maggie Toulouse Oliver is the Democrat’s pick to be New Mexico’s next lieutenant governor.
Toulouse Oliver, who is being termed out of her current seat as Secretary of State, secured a victory over challenger Albuquerque Sen. Harold Pope with 80% of the total vote.
She will join Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland on the ticket to face Republicans Gregg Hull, who is vying for the governorship, and David Gallegos for lieutenant governor in the November general election.
The lieutenant governor is New Mexico’s second highest-ranking position, serving as a stand-in governor when the executive is absent. They are also tasked with presiding over the New Mexico Senate.
Toulouse Oliver was first elected as Secretary of State back in 2016 after Republican Dianna Duran resigned from the post amid a corruption and campaign law investigation.
Under her tenure, New Mexico’s 2022 midterm elections were ranked number one in the nation by the nonpartisan Massachusetts Institute of Technology Elections Performance Index for election administration. Since then, the state has moved down to 7th place.
According to her campaign website, Toulouse Oliver’s big policy priorities range from early childhood wellbeing and diversifying New Mexico’s economy away from fossil fuels, to addressing healthcare worker shortages and gun violence.
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan will face off against Republican write-in candidate Larry Marker in November – Daniel Montaño, KUNM News
Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Ben Ray Lujan will be defending his seat against Republican write-in candidate Larry Marker in the November general election.
Lujan came out on top in the Democratic primary, taking home more than 84% of the vote over the self-described Democratic Socialist candidate Matt Dodson.
Marker jumped into the race in late March when he qualified as a write-in candidate after the Republican Party of New Mexico had failed to get a candidate with enough signatures onto the ballot earlier in the year.
He needed to get at least 2,351 people to write him in during the primary to appear on the ballot in November – something he and other Republican officials were worried might not be confirmed for at least a few days while the counties adjudicated their write-in ballots.
But less than an hour after results started to roll in he already had about 4,000.
“Write-in votes are tough to get, they're absolutely tough to get,” he said. “Nationwide, I think this is going to wake some people up. They're going to take a different look at New Mexico. We're supposed to be this hardcore blue state. We're really not. I've traveled this state for years now, and especially the last few months, New Mexico is definitely swinging in the conservative direction.”
Lujan released a statement late Tuesday night thanking his campaign staff and volunteers for their hard work, thanking New Mexican residents for their votes, and hinting that he sees a much bluer New Mexico than Marker.
‘“The energy traveling across our beautiful state has been incredible,” Lujan said. “In every corner of New Mexico, Democrats are organizing, showing up, and standing together. When New Mexicans come together, we fight hard, and we win.”
Both candidates promised an energetic campaign going forward.
Juan de Jesus Sanchez III wins hotly contested New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands primary race - Bryce Dix, KUNM News
Juan de Jesus Sanchez III has won the closely watched Democratic primary to be New Mexico’s next commissioner of public lands.
Sanchez beat primary challengers State Rep. and attorney Matthew McQueen (D-Santa Fe) and Tucumcari rancher and former State Director for the Farm Service Agency Jonas Moya with 55% of the vote.
A self-described conservationist and outdoorsman, Sanchez is an heir to the Tomé Land Grant and was previously Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, a ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and political director for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
The state land office oversees 9 million surface acres of land and 13 million acres of mineral rights in trust to generate revenue for public institutions, particularly public schools.
A majority of that money – about 95% – comes from oil and natural gas fracking royalties on leased state trust land.
All Democratic candidates expressed interest in exploring renewable energy options within New Mexico, including geothermal.
In terms of financing, Sanchez was neck-in-neck when compared to challenger Matthew McQueen. McQueen is among the top 10 primary earners across all candidates, raking in over $277,000 in donations. Sanchez scraped just behind, with above $250,000 in contributions.
Among Sanchez’ biggest donors are Florida-based electrical utility Next Era Energy, prominent landowners and ranchers Tanya and Zane Kiehne, and Sen. Martin Heinrich’s principal campaign committee, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website.
Notably, McQueen at a recent forum said he would not accept contributions from fossil fuel companies.
In November’s general election, Sanchez will go head-to-head with Republican Michael Jack Perry, who ran unopposed in the June primary.
David Gallegos wins Republican primary race for lieutenant governor - Megan Kamerick, KUNM News
State Sen. David Gallegos beat out two competitors to take the Republican slot in the lieutenant governor race.
Gallegos, who raised far more money than the other candidates, defeated Aubrey Blair Dunn and Manuel Lardizabal with 50% of the vote.
He will face Maggie Toulouse Oliver in the November general election.
Gallegos has served in the Senate since 2021 and was also in the House for seven years. He’s a longtime member of the Eunice Public School District Board and spent 30 years in the natural gas industry.
Gallegos told Source New Mexico he understands the process of state government and that will serve him well. He says his top priority is to bring business back to New Mexico that left. He also wants to move the Oil Conservation Division out of Santa Fe to the southeast part of the state.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen wins Democratic primary - Nakayla McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
Incumbent John Allen is poised for a second consecutive term as Bernalillo County sheriff, declaring victory Tuesday over former Quay County Sheriff Philip Snedeker, whom Allen also defeated in a previous race.
Allen, 51, led Snedeker by more than 45 percentage points, according to unofficial election results as of 9 p.m. Tuesday. He does not face a Republican challenger in November’s general election.
“Thank you to the voters for choosing me again,” Allen told the Journal. “We’re going to continue to fight crime. BCSO is proactive, and we’ll be even more proactive as we move forward in my second term.”
Allen previously defeated Snedeker and five other challengers in the 2022 Democratic primary, winning 41% of the vote before becoming the first Black sheriff of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
He will continue overseeing a department of approximately 300 deputies in New Mexico’s largest sheriff's office. Allen said he hopes to keep the agency staffed at 96% or higher.
During his campaign, Allen emphasized expanding the use of technology to improve response times and data collection. He said the goal is to provide deputies with more tools to address higher-priority calls, making response times his top priority.
Allen also said he is working to expand behavioral health and addiction services to better serve both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county.
“I’m the first sheriff in the state who’s hired a behavioral health coordinator and manager,” Allen said in a previous Journal interview. “I’ve always said we can respond to a call for service involving someone in crisis, but we never had the proper follow-up.”
Allen said he also plans to become more involved in addressing homelessness while maintaining a balance between compassion and accountability. He said homelessness has expanded into unincorporated areas of the county.
“I’m pretty proud of our deputies, the compassion they’re showing and what we’re dealing with,” he said.
As Allen begins another four-year term leading BCSO, he said his overarching goal is to make the department even more proactive, both internally and in its efforts to combat crime throughout Bernalillo County.
“I want that to become even stronger, which we’ll be doing pretty quickly here after the primaries,” he said.
One way Allen hopes to increase proactive policing is by assigning more deputies to crime hotspots. He identified areas on Albuquerque’s West Side near Gibson Boulevard and 98th Street, as well as the International District, as locations where crime occurs more frequently.
Allen said another priority is “Operation Schlatty,” a project dedicated to BCSO Sgt. Michael Schlattman, who died in the line of duty.
“I see people changing their tires on the side of the road, along with tow truck drivers and construction personnel,” Allen said. “We’re seeing a lot of that, and I want those people to be able to go home to their families. That won’t just be an operation. It’ll continue as long as I’m here.”
CD2 Republican set to challenge Vasquez in general election - KUNM News
While there were two names on the Republican primary for Congressional District 2, there was actually only one candidate – Greg Cunningham.
Jose Orozco had qualified to run against Cunningham, but Source New Mexico reported he dropped out of the race in early April and endorsed Cunningham. He said on social media consolidating support for Cunningham would give Republicans a better chance to flip the seat.
But Orozco did not provide a statement of withdrawal to the Secretary of State’s office by the required deadline, so he was still on the ballot last night.
Democrat Gabe Vasquez narrowly won the seat in 2022. He ran unopposed in the primary. President Trump endorsed Cunningham in the primary.
Incumbent Dems dominate Albuquerque metro House races - Mark Haslett, KUNM News
A handful of Albuquerque-area incumbent Democratic state representatives won their party’s nomination to return to the Roundhouse in Tuesday’s primary elections.
District 13 incumbent Patricia Roybal Caballero defeated Matthew Archuleta with 68% of the vote. The Republicans will not field a candidate in that district. Similarly, District 16 incumbent Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela will likely run unopposed in November after receiving 64% of ballots cast in her race against Marsella Duarte Serna.
Democrat Miguel Garcia will defend his District 14 seat against GOP challenger Richard Zubia in the general election. Garcia took 65% of the vote to defeat fellow Democrat Joseph Romero. Another contested race will feature Republican challenger Jerry Trujillo against District 30 incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Torres-Velasquez, who collected 65% of votes in her race against Veronica Mireles.
Showdowns set for western House districts - Mark Haslett, KUNM News
Voters in three House districts in the western part of the state now know what their ballots will look like in November, while another hangs in the balance.
In District 6, Democrat incumbent Martha Garcia finished first with 44% of the vote, enough to finish first in a crowded field that included Johnny Valdez, Priscilla Benally, and David Alcon. Garcia will face Republican Paul Spencer in the general election.
District 60 Republican incumbent Joshua Hernandez earned 65% of the vote to defeat Zach Anaya. Hernandez will defend his seat against Democrat Luke Jungman in November.
Democratic incumbent Michelle Abeyta of District 69 topped Harry Garcia with 67% of votes. Abeyta will not face a Republican opponent in November. Garcia, who held the seat previously, lost to Abeyta in the 2024 primary.
In District 4 the Democratic primary remained too close to call Tuesday night.
Northern results include incumbent victories - Mark Haslett, KUNM News
Two Democrats from the northern part of the state are one step closer to returning to the Roundhouse, though one of them will have to get past a Republican opponent to do so.
Incumbent Democrat Joseph Sanchez is set to face Republican Landon Dooley in the contest to represent District 40. Sanchez bested challenger Nancy Wright with 73% of the vote. In District 70, Anita Gonzalez defeated Ambrose Castellano by getting 61% of votes cast. Gonzalez is expected to run unopposed in November.
In solidly Democratic District 41, Yolanda Jaramillo received 55% of the vote to defeat Debbie Rodella. Incumbent Democrat Susan Herrera, who did not run for re-election, endorsed Jaramillo. Rodella held the seat from 1993 through 2018. The Republican Party is not running a candidate in District 41.
Las Cruces incumbent Dems romp past challengers - Mark Haslett, KUNM News
In two Las Cruces-area contests, incumbent Democratic state representatives topped their intra-party challengers to retain their party’s nominations.
District 33’s Micaela Lara Cadena defeated Ramona Martinez with 70% of ballots cast. Lara Cadena will face Republican Enrique Vigil in the general election. In District 34, incumbent Raymundo Lara seems set to return to the Roundhouse after taking 77% of the vote to defeat Juan Fuentes. The Republican Party is not contesting the District 34 seat.
In District 37, incumbent Joanne Ferrarydid not run for re-election. Lori Martinez earned 60% of the vote to win her party’s nomination over Matilda McCarthy Villalobos. The GOP is not contesting that district.