By Alex Ross — Three months after filing the paperwork to run for Congress, new campaign finance reports show that State Rep. Martin Zamora (R-Clovis) edged out Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03) in campaign contributions in the recent fundraising quarter.
Reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that between July 1 and September 30, Zamora’s campaign took in $247,065, compared to the $236,834 that Leger Fernadez received in that same period. However, the three-term congresswoman outspent Zamora $169,887 to $21,388. She also began October with more cash on hand $550,648, to Zamora’s $225,676. The latest round of contributions brings Leger Fernandez’s total fundraising haul since January to $610,848.
A farmer and rancher who has represented parts of Curry, DeBaca, Guadalupe, Roosevelt and San Miguel counties in the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2019, Zamora filed paperwork for a possible run for Congress in July. He confirmed to New Mexico Political Report in September that he had decided to run for the seat. The 3rd Congressional District spans most of the state north of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, taking in counties along the state’s border with Texas and reaching as far south as Hobbs.
Some 121 contributions were made to Zamora’s campaign since July, ranging from $500 to $3,500. They include $3500 from individuals such as energy executive Peyton Yates, of Santo Petroleum LLC in Artesia, Darci Pareo, the owner of a farm in Portales, and former Lt. Gov Walter Bradley. Former New Mexico Public Lands Commissioner Patrick Lyons gave $500.
State Reps. Andrea Reeb of Clovis, Jimmy Mason of Artesia, Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences, Jack Chatfield of Mosquero and state Sen. Pat Boone (R-Elida) each contributed $1,000 to Zamora from their respective campaigns.
Leger Fernandez’s campaign has received considerable support from Indian tribes. According to campaign filings, these include $3,500 contributions from the Apache Mescalero Tribe in New Mexico, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in California, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in California, the Suquamish Tribe of Washington and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota.
Advocacy groups also made up a large share of Leger Fernandez’s cash haul, including $2,500 from the American Federation of Teachers, $2,500 from the LOBO PAC, affiliated with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and $5,000 from the Resistance PAC.
2nd Congressional District
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) received more than half a million dollars in his high-stakes reelection bid.
The data showed that donors poured $583,997 into Vasquez’s campaign during the 3-month reporting period. With a significant balance already in the bank and after spending $220,955 during the reporting period, he has $989,061 remaining in cash on hand. The latest round of fundraising brings his fundraising total this cycle to $1.46 million.
According to the campaign filings, contributions to Vasquez include $5,000 each from CHC Bold PAC, the political action committee of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and PAC to the Future, a leadership PAC with ties to former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11). House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05) and the Democratic Majority Fund, helmed by Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), each contributed $2,000.
Vasquez is seeking a third term in the competitive 2nd congressional district, which encompasses west Albuquerque and extends south into the oil patch communities and border towns of southern New Mexico.
Eddy Aragon, a radio station owner and talk show host, and Gregory Cunningham, a retired police officer who ran twice unsuccessfully for the state legislature, are the Republicans vying for their party’s nomination to go up against Vasquez next year.
Aragon brought in $1,307 last quarter, including three contributions of $260.25 from former Republican Party of Bernalillo County Chair Greg Zannetti. Aragon spent $51.52 and ended the period with $4,344. The latest numbers brought Aaragon’s total this election cycle to $4,522.
Cunningham, who formally began his campaign earlier this month, did not submit any reports.
1st Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01) added $181,071 to her campaign account since July, bringing her fundraising total this cycle so far to $599,970. Stansbury’s campaign blew through $127,402 and now has $321,913 remaining in cash on hand.
Stansbury, who has been in Congress since 2021, is seeking another term in the district that includes east Rio Rancho and East Albuquerque and stretches down into the northern part of the Apache Mesclaro reservation and Roswell.
Campaign filings show that contributions to Stansbury’s campaign included $2,000 from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina and $3,500 from the Pachango Band of Luriso Indians in California.
Other groups contributing to Stansbury’s campaign included the 314 Action Fund in Washington, D.C, which donated $1,000, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which contributed $2,500 and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, which gave Stansbury’s campaign $1,000.
Steve Jones, an investor from Ruidoso who was the Republican nominee who unsuccessfully challenged Stansbury last year, and Nididiamaka Okpareke, a Rio Rancho pharmacist, are each facing off for the Republican nomination.
The reports show that Okpareke, who this summer began her campaign with $200, has seen that initial investment grow by $15,282 in recent months. She has gone on to spend $8,717, leaving her with $6,764 remaining in her war chest.
According to the data, about half of Okpareke’s contributions came from individuals in the healthcare field. The largest individual donation she received was $3,500 from Robert Nickell, a California pharmacist.
Jones largely self-financed his attempt last year to oust Stansbury, a strategy that he is continuing, according to campaign reports. Records show that all $4,955 that rolled into Jones’coffers in the last three months was from loans the candidate made to his own campaign. He spent $997 and entered the last reporting period with $30,038 in cash on hand.
U.S. Senate
Despite having no opponent so far heading into next year’s primary or general election, the latest campaign filings show that Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) continues to rake in money to his reelection fund.
The first-term senator has so far raised $2.92 million in the last nine months, which includes $802,386 pumped into the campaign since July. In that same time frame, Lujan’s campaign has expended $326,645 and entered October with $3.15 million remaining in the bank.
New Mexico’s other Senator, Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, is not up for reelection in 2026. Nonetheless, Heinrich did submit reports to the FEC showing that $209,871 flowed into his campaign account during that period, bringing his total cash on hand to $228,538.