Richard Barish, for the Political Committee
Let me just say before we get to NM election results that we should be clear on what the 2026 election means nationally, and celebrate it again. It wasn’t a simple electoral win. It means that the American people have resoundingly rejected and defeated an attempted authoritarian takeover of our government. As Sarah Longwell might say, we have burned MAGA to the ground, and all that is left is to salt the earth with its ashes through investigations.
Given the overwhelming vote in the election, it would be surprising to me if there is any effort to challenge the results or even delay seating the new congress. Fascism may not be completely dead – JD Vance and Marco Rubio are still presidential contenders for 2028 – but it is surely on life support for now. You should all take satisfaction in whatever part you played, large or small – attending protests, giving money, talking to your associates – in getting to where we are now. This took everyone.
We’re already a solidly blue state here in NM, but even so, we were not immune to the impact of the blue tsunami. At the top-of-the-ticket, we’ll now have the opportunity to do great things with Deb Haaland leading our state. Gov-elect Haaland will be the first female native governor in the country.
Juan Sanchez will continue Stephanie Garcia Richard’s legacy as a truly environmental land commissioner. And if Trump dares to continue his shenanigans after the election-night drubbing, we can be confident that Raúl Torrez will be there to defend us in court and Amanda López Askin will protect our vote.
It was in state House races where the tsunami hit New Mexico. We knocked off four — four! — anti-environmental incumbents, for a net pickup of three seats, to add to our already significant majority in the House of Representatives. Leading that group was Dave Mooney, an anti-Project Jupiter activist who beat Rebecca Dow, the Republican gubernatorial candidate just four years ago. Chriselle Martinez gave us a Rio Rancho seat for the first time in recent memory, and Rickie Gonzales did the same in Valencia County. Raul Turrieta took back a Silver City seat for the first time since 2018.
There were also three great candidates who won in races for open House seats. Lori Martinez will succeed Joanne Ferrary in a Las Cruces district; Sarah Boses will succeed Matthew McQueen for a Santa Fe County seat; and Abby Foster won handily in an Albuquerque Northeast Heights race. Finally, I shouldn’t ignore all of the great incumbents who won reelection last night. They are too numerous to list here, but you can see them below.
All of the constitutional amendments passed, too, including Amendment 4, which will give legislators a salary and allow folks who aren’t rich, self-employed, and/or retired to serve and add to the diversity of our legislature.
I need to acknowledge some candidates who took on the challenge of running in very red districts, but fell short. Lisa Curtis, Katherine Gauer, Laura Parra, Grace Nagamine, and Luke Jungmann all took on a campaign against the odds and ran great races, but couldn’t quite overcome the structural advantage the incumbents had in their districts. It is a lot of work to run for office, and we thank these great candidates for stepping up and making the effort. We hope we haven’t seen the last of them.
Here are the full results for our endorsed candidates and ballot measures:
Statewide races
Governor/Lt. Governor: Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard Won
Attorney General: Raúl Torrez Won
Secretary of State: Amanda López Askin Won
Commissioner of Public Lands: Juan de Jesus Sanchez Won
Legislative candidates
House District 7: Rickie Gonzales Won
HD 8: Katherine Gauer Lost
HD 10: Andres Romero Won
HD 12: Art De La Cruz Won
HD 14: Miguel Garcia Won
HD 21: Debra M. Sariñana Won
HD 24: Elizabeth Thomson Won
HD 25: Cristina Parajón Won
HD 26: Eleanor Chávez Won
HD 27: Abby Foster Won
HD 28: Pamelya Herndon Won
HD 29: Joy Garratt Won
HD 30: E. Diane Torres-Velásquez Won
HD 31: Lisa Curtis Lost
HD 32: Laura Parra Lost
HD 33: Micaela Lara Cadena Won
HD 35: Angelica Rubio Won
HD 36: Nathan Small Won
HD 37: Lori Martinez Won
HD 38: Dave Mooney Won
HD 39: Raul Turrieta Won
HD 44: Kathleen Cates Won
HD 48: Tara Lujan Won
HD 50: Sarah Boses Won
HD 51: Grace Nagamine Lost
HD 53: Sarah Silva Won
HD 57: Chriselle Martinez Won
HD 60: Luke Jungmann Lost
HD 68: Charlotte Little Won
Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Amendment No. 1: Yes Passed
Constitutional Amendment No. 2: Yes Passed
Constitutional Amendment No. 4: Yes Passed
County Commissions
Bernalillo County Commission Dt. 5: Eric Olivas Won
Doña County Commission Dt. 1: Daisy Maldonado Won