Election Day for New Mexico’s primary elections is on June 2, when voters will have the opportunity to vote at 74 voting center locations across Bernalillo County from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Bernalillo County.
The University of New Mexico’s Student Union Building will also serve as a voting center on Tuesday, with same-day voter registration available.
Here are some of the major races in which Democratic and Republican candidates are running to be on the ballot during the general election in November.
U.S Senate Candidates
Matt Dodson (D): Dodson is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist running as the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and his main issues include universal healthcare, increased campaign funding regulations, “Tax(ing) the Rich” and free college education, according to his campaign website.
Ben Ray Lujan (D): Originally from Nambé, NM, incumbent Lujan has represented New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. Senate since 2021, focusing on job creation, affordable health care and natural resources protection, according to his campaign website. Lujan’s site states that he has fought against “costly tariffs that drive up prices for families,” and “stood up for workers and unions.”
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates
Sam Bregman (D): Bregman has been the Bernalillo County District Attorney since 2023, was an Albuquerque city councilor from 1995-1999 and is on the New Mexico Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council. Bregman is a graduate of the UNM Law School and has spent much of his career practicing criminal and civil law. He described himself as “centrist and moderate,” according to Source NM. Bregman told Source NM that he would not endorse Deb Haaland if she became the democratic nominee, and his top priority is community policing and “holding violent criminals accountable,” according to his campaign website, which also states that he would prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that break state laws.
Deb Haaland (D): Haaland served as the U.S Secretary of the Interior during the Biden administration, and was previously elected to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in 2018. According to Haaland’s campaign website, her top priorities include education, including teaching kids to read earlier, affordability and increasing the minimum wage, housing and landlord accountability, “addressing the root causes of crime,” including substance use and addiction, addressing the healthcare worker shortage and expanding accessible rural healthcare. Halaand told the Daily Lobo on April 27 that she aims to enable free tuition for New Mexico’s graduate and professional students.
Republican Gubernatorial Candidates
Greg Hull (R): Hull served as mayor of Rio Rancho for three terms beginning in 2014, before announcing late last year that he would not seek reelection in order to run for govenor. Hull’s main issues include education, public safety, healthcare, infrastructure and energy, with education being his first order of business should he be elected, according to Source NM. Hull told Source NM he would help the state’s school districts develop a career and technical education program and bring back jobs that are “AI-proof.”
Duke Rodriguez (R): Previously working as the chief operating officer at Lovelace Health System, one of Rodriguez’ main priorities is addressing New Mexico’s healthcare worker shortage. On his campaign website, Rodriguez states that he fought for medical cannabis, and that his other priorities include crime, education, homelessness and infrastructure.
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Doug Turner (R): Turner grew up in Old Town Albuquerque and helped with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson’s gubernatorial campaign, according to his campaign website. He is a small business owner and states on his campaign website that he is “not a career politician.” Some of Turner’s priorities are job creation and retaining entrepreneurs, education, public safety and expanding careers in “energy, technology, defense, and innovation.”
Democratic Candidates for Lieutenant Governor
Harold Pope (D): Pope is currently a senator for State Senate District 23, serving Bernalillo County since 2021. Pope served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years before getting involved with politics in 2020, becoming the first African American to be elected in the New Mexico State Senate, according to his campaign website. Pope has been seen at multiple Albuquerque protests, including those against ICE and Blackstone Infrastructure’s acquisition of PNM this year. His priorities include affordability, culturally-relevant education, sustainable jobs, healthcare, public safety and environment and water.
Maggie Tolouse Oliver (D): Oliver is the current Secretary of State for New Mexico, having served in the role since 2016. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Political Science from UNM. Oliver has helped draft and pass legislation like same-day voter registration, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State website. Her campaign priorities include childhood well-being, economic diversification, addressing the healthcare worker shortage, accessible health insurance and reproductive rights, preventing gun violence and “keeping ICE out of New Mexico.”
Republican Candidates for Lieutenant Governor
Aubrey Blair Dunn (R): Dunn is an Attorney from Albuquerque. Dunn told the Albuquerque Journal that he is in favor of abolishing gross receipts tax and personal income tax structures, and that private property rights need to be respected, including by data centers who should “not be allowed to unlawfully use water outside of the systems in place.” He would oppose a ban on selling certain types of firearms, including semiautomatic firearms and machine guns, support the use of New Mexico’s National Guard to assist in public safety and oppose a paid family and medical leave program that would require most employees and employers to pay into a state-run fund, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
David Gallegos (R): Gallegos served for 26 years on the Eunice School Board and 30 years in the natural gas industry prior to becoming a state senator representing District 41. Gallegos’ priorities include securing the U.S.-Mexico border, “defending energy jobs,” public safety, ensuring parents have the biggest say in their child’s education and supporting agriculture including, land, water and grazing rights, according to his campaign website.
Manny Lardizabal (R): On his campaign website, Lardizabal describes himself as a “devoted Christian leader,” private investor and entrepreneur. His previous career involved caring for youth in treatment foster care and for seniors with disabilities, teaching and coaching at faith-based private schools and serving as the Administrative Officer and Community Service Officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, according to his campaign website. His priorities include job and business growth, funding law enforcement and border security and benefits and care for veteran families.
Other primary election races include Secretary of State, Commissioner of Public Lands and the New Mexico House of Representatives for multiple districts.
Leila Chapa contributed reporting on this article.
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
