New Mexicans will choose Democratic and Republican nominees for governor Tuesday as the state grapples with high rates of violent crime, chronically underperforming schools and cuts to federal programs that are key safety nets for residents.
Despite New Mexico’s persistent challenges, the primary election comes at a time of promise for the next governor, who is all but likely to be a Democrat. Oil prices had surged globally from the Iran war, translating into an influx of tax revenue to state coffers. New Mexico is the nation’s second largest oil-producing state behind Texas, and the industry’s revenue funds an array of progressive social programs that include universal childcare.
For the first time, the primary will be open to voters who are independent. The state’s semi-open primary system, which was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last year, allows the roughly 23% of New Mexico voters who are not affiliated with a political party to request either a Democratic or Republican ballot.
While voters will decide primaries in three congressional seats, a U.S. Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, the governor’s race is the main attraction.
Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who also served a term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Albuquerque-based district attorney Sam Bregman are seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Lujan Grisham, who reached her term limit.
Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, could become the first Native American woman elected governor in the U.S. Her campaign has focused on reducing costs for families, emphasizing her ancestral roots in the state and touting her experience working in the nation’s capital.
She leads Bregman in fundraising by a wide margin in a campaign that became increasingly contentious. Haaland’s campaign has highlighted Bregman’s personal wealth and cast him as out of touch with everyday New Mexicans. Haaland declined several opportunities to debate Bregman, who has argued his experience as a prosecutor puts him in the best position for Democrats to chart a new course in a state that has been bedeviled for years by high crime rates.