Duke Rodriguez, a longtime New Mexico entrepreneur and former cabinet secretary, has announced his candidacy for governor of New Mexico.
Running as a Republican, Rodriguez will compete in the 2026 primary. He launches his campaign with a focus on experienced leadership and “practical solutions,” stating that the state needs better management.
“New Mexico is not a poor state. It’s a poorly run state and we can do better,” Rodriguez said in a press release. “New Mexico doesn’t need more slogans. It needs leadership that knows how systems actually work.”
Rodriguez previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Lovelace Health System and as Secretary of the Human Services Department under former Gov. Gary Johnson. More recently, he built Ultra Health into the state’s largest medical cannabis company.
“I’ve led healthcare systems, reformed Medicaid, and managed large, complex budgets,” he says.
Rodriguez says his platform includes strengthening healthcare access, improving educational outcomes, addressing public safety and homelessness, and confronting fiscal challenges such as underfunded pension systems.
“This race shouldn’t be about labels or symbolism,” Rodriguez says. “It should be about who has actually run large systems, fixed real problems and delivered results.”
The Democratic Governors Association responded critically to Rodriguez’s entry into the race.
“With Duke Rodriguez’s entrance into the Republican primary for governor, he joins a field of candidates who will have to own Donald Trump’s destructive and deeply unpopular agenda that jacks up costs for working families, puts health care in jeopardy for 90,000 New Mexicans, and threatens rural hospitals, all to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy in a statement Sunday.
Rodriguez joins two other Republicans in the race: state Sen. Steve Lanier of Aztec and Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull. Three Democrats are also running: Sam Bregman, the 2nd Judicial District attorney; Deb Haaland, former U.S. Interior Secretary; and Ken Miyagashima, former Las Cruces mayor.
State law prohibits Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, from seeking a third consecutive term. The gubernatorial election is scheduled for November.