NEWS
As New Mexico readies for primary election, more than 180,000 voters have already cast ballots
Early vote turnout among registered Democrats, Republicans has surpassed recent primary levels
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SANTA FE 鈥� New Mexico's primary election has finally arrived, after more than a year of campaigning and record-setting spending levels in the state's open race for governor.
With Election Day set for Tuesday, a total of 181,934 voters across the state cast ballots via early or absentee voting before the end of early voting on Saturday, according to Secretary of State's Office data.
Early vote turnout was higher among both registered Democrats and Republicans than it was in the state's 2022 and 2024 primaries. And that's before factoring in the 18,402 independent voters who have already cast a ballot in the state's first semi-open primary under a law approved last year.
Unlike in past years, those voters can request a Democratic or Republican ballot without having to change their party affiliation. Nearly 77% of such voters have chosen a Democratic ballot so far this year.
While independent voters only made up 10.1% of the total votes cast through Monday, longtime New Mexico political observer Brian Sanderoff said that figure could increase on Election Day.
He also said growing awareness of the state's semi-open primary system could lead to higher independent turnout in future years, saying, "I think over time more independents will be participating in primaries."
Several groups have worked to raise awareness of the new system, as candidates have said many independent voters still don't know they are eligible to vote in the primary election.
"For too many years, hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans were locked out of primary elections," said Alissa Barnes, the executive director of ProgressNow NM, which is among the groups seeking to educate voters. "This historic change means democracy works better when everyone has a seat at the table."
However, while the new system could lead to a record-high number of voters casting a ballot in this year's primary election, it could also mean a lower turnout percentage since the overall pool of eligible voters is now larger.
Entering Election Day, voter turnout in New Mexico for Tuesday's primary election was slightly higher than 13%, according to a data analysis by Sanderoff's sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based firm, Research & Polling Inc.
Even without independents, Democrats have voted at an especially elevated rate in this year's primary election, with a hotly contested gubernatorial primary race between Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman likely motivating many voters.
A total of 106,891 registered Democrats cast ballots via early or absentee voting as of Monday 鈥� significantly higher than in either of the two most recent state primary elections. In 2022, about 70,000 Democrats cast ballots via early and absentee voting, while roughly 73,800 registered Democrats did so in the 2024 primary election.
"Democrats are turning out at a much higher rate than Republicans or independents," Sanderoff said.
In addition to the gubernatorial race, Sanderoff said a number of contested Democratic state House primary races and county-level races could also be contributing to the higher turnout.
Overall, Democrats have cast about 58.8% of the total votes in early and absentee voting, while they represent roughly 40.3% of the state's total 1.4 million voters, according to .
Republicans have cast about 31% of the votes cast so far, with independent voters making up the rest.
While this year is a non-presidential election year, all statewide offices are up for election in New Mexico 鈥� as are the state's three U.S. House seats and the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Ben Ray Luj谩n.
But much of the political attention has been focused on the open race for governor, as current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at year's end.
Lujan Grisham has not picked sides in the Democratic primary, which has become the most expensive primary contest in state history as Haaland and Bregman have combined to spend more than $13 million on TV ads, mailers and political staffers.
On the Republican side, three candidates are vying for their party's nomination for governor 鈥� former Rio Rancho mayor Gregg Hull, small business owner Doug Turner and cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez.
But the state's Republican Party has also dealt with messy infighting in the run-up to Election Day, with a state judge recently ordering state GOP chairwoman Amy Barela to leave her post after a lawsuit filed by several Republican candidates alleged she had violated party rules on fairness.
The Republican Party of New Mexico has appealed the judge's decision to the state Supreme Court, arguing that forcing Barela to step down would essentially "decapitate" the party with the November general election looming.
Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.
