Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
A voting kiosk
It’s primary Election Day in New Mexico for Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you haven’t yet voted, you can figure out where and how to vote by clicking here.
There are primaries across the state in contests up and down the ballot, from races for U.S. House seats in the Albuquerque area and Southern New Mexico to state House seats across New Mexico and, in Doña Ana County, sheriff and county commissioner.
The winners will move on to general election contests that will be held in November.
The election will “transform” the political landscape in New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal proclaimed over the weekend. “It’s the kind of shake-up that could launch new political careers, or interrupt others,” the Journal wrote.
Two members of the U.S. House are abandoning those seats to run for governor, and that creates a domino effect down the ballot as people battle to win new jobs. Those two members of Congress — Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce — are considered the frontrunners to be the state’s next governor.
With so many contested races, especially for Democrats, early voting turnout in the primaries was impressive. Statewide, it was higher than in 2014 — the last time the same races were on the ballot. Doña Ana County Clerk Scott Krahling tweeted that primary election turnout among all major parties was up 57 percent in that county over 2014.
“The data makes it clear that New Mexico voters want their voices to be heard,” said Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
The Albuquerque Journal has a pretty good voter guide you can find by clicking here. And you can find the election coverage NMPolitics.net has published, including several Q&As, by clicking here.
Races to watch
Heading into Tuesday, races for seats in the U.S. House, state land commissioner and the state’s Public Regulation Commission are hot.
In the Albuquerque-area First Congressional District Democratic primary, Pat Davis complicated an already complex, three-way race for first when he dropped out last week and endorsed opponent Deb Haaland. Before that, Haaland was polling at 19 percent to Damon Martinez’s 22 percent and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez’s 17 percent, according to the Albuquerque Journal (Davis was at 5 percent in that poll). Martinez appeared to be gaining momentum in the poll. Whether Davis will give Haaland the boost she needs is unclear.
We’ve seen no recent polling in the Democratic or Republican primaries for the 2nd Congressional District seat in Southern New Mexico, the U.S. House seat Pearce is vacating to run for governor. But the race to replace Pearce is gaining lots of attention, largely because Democrats think they might have a shot at snagging the seat, long a GOP stronghold, if Xochitl Torres Small emerges as their candidate. Look for Yvette Herrell and Monty Newman to rise to to the top in the GOP primary, but which one wins that race is anyone’s guess.
I’ve opined that the 2nd District seat is likely to stay red this year. Some Democrats have challenged my analysis. Stay tuned.
In the Democratic land commissioner primary, Garrett VeneKlasen recently polled at 25 percent, according to the Journal, to Stephanie Garcia Richard’s 22 percent and 20 percent for George Muñoz. This is another unpredictable race.
And the amount of money being spent on two Democratic primaries for PRC seats is probably unprecedented. Steve Fischmann is challenging incumbent Sandy Jones. Two Democrats — Janene Yazzie and Theresa Becenti-Aguilar — are challenging incumbent Lynda Lovejoy. These races are awash in dark money and mudslinging. The incumbents are vulnerable, and it will be interesting to see what happens Tuesday.
Open primaries coming to NM?
Finally, maybe someday soon in New Mexico the 283,481 registered voters who aren’t Democrats, Republicans or Libertarians will have greater reason to care about those parties’ primary elections. The Santa Fe New Mexican published an op-ed Friday in which Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, called for the Legislature to approve a form of open primaries in which those registered to vote, but not with one of the major parties, could pick which major party primary they want to vote in, instead of being excluded entirely.
“It’s difficult to say that we have a fair and equal voting process when a large segment of the voting population isn’t allowed to have a say in who the general election candidates will be,” Toulouse Oliver wrote. She said she will be working to find “enough lawmakers to champion the cause and get the job done.”