Democrats and Republicans both met this past weekend to pick their nominees for U.S. Senate and all three Congressional districts up for election in 2026.
Candidates vying for a spot on the ballot were first required to collect thousands of signatures from qualified party voters (2,351 for Republicans, 2,531 for Democrats). They are then required to earn at least 20% of support from delegates to a pre-primary convention hosted by the parties.
U.S. Senate
Ben Ray Luján will face Democratic Socialist Matt Dodson in the June primary.
For now, he does not have a Republican opponent, either, though Republican Party officials are backing the write-in candidacy of Larry Marker, a former 2022 write-in candidate for land commissioner, for the June primary.
If Marker does not qualify and win as a write-in, Republicans Party officials can name an opponent in August once the primary results without a GOP nominee are finalized.
Luján was first elected to the Senate in 2021 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2009.
First Congressional District
Roberto E. Rosales
Melanie Stansbury, the incumbent Democrat, is unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will be challenged in November by Ndidiamaka “Didi” Okpareke, a pharmacist from Rio Rancho we have previously reported on, who earned 85% of support from NMGOP delegates this past weekend. Steve Jones, a Republican who previously ran against Stansbury, failed to qualify through the pre-primary convention.
This district covers most of Albuquerque east of the Rio Grande, Torrance County and parts of Sandoval County and eastern New Mexico to Roswell.
Second Congressional District
The most contested Congressional seat in New Mexico is likely to be CD2 where incumbent Democrat Gabe Vasquez, running unopposed in the primary, will face Greg Cunningham, a former police officer, who bested Jose Orozco at the NMGOP convention to earn an unopposed spot on the Republican primary ballot.
Cunningham has faced questions about whether he improperly used his status as a veteran to obtain more favorable mortgate rates and property tax exemptions on homes in Arizona and New Mexico at the same time.
Third Congressional District
Third District Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández from Santa Fe will face no opposition on the Democratic primary ballot. Martin Zamora, a former state legislator from Clovis, also avoided having any opponent in June. NM Political Report was the first to report that Zamora would run and later that Zamora had exceeded Fernandéz in early fundraising for the race.
The two will face-off in the November general elections.
Additional candidate names could still appear if they submit additional signatures to qualify outside of the pre-primary convention process.