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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham isn鈥檛 planning to endorse either of the two candidates in the increasingly pugnacious Democratic primary race for the office she currently holds 鈥� at least not for now.

The outgoing governor said in an interview this week she鈥檚 closely following the contest between Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman and has areas of agreement 鈥� and disagreement 鈥� with both candidates.

鈥淚 feel like putting my foot on the scale isn鈥檛 really fair to a democratic process,鈥� Lujan Grisham told the Journal.

She also pointed out she has connections to both candidates, including to be Bernalillo County district attorney in 2023 and working with Haaland鈥檚 transition team after Haaland was elected in 2018 to the congressional seat Lujan Grisham had previously held.

鈥淚鈥檓 close to both of them in a number of ways,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淚 disagree with both of them on some things, and they disagree with me on some things.鈥�

With early voting underway, Bregman and Haaland are locked in an expensive and increasingly contentious primary race. The victor of the June 2 primary will face the winner of a three-way GOP primary, and independent candidate Ken Miyagishima, in the November general election. Lujan Grisham is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at the end of this year.

Trailing in the polls, Bregman has criticized Haaland for turning down invitations to participate in several televised debates.

He also recently said he would not support Haaland if she ends up being the Democratic nominee, after her campaign posted information to her website about several properties owned by Bregman鈥檚 family.

鈥淭hat is such an epic failure of judgement on her part that I don't believe she has the judgement to lead this great state in the future,鈥� Bregman said during with KOAT-TV.

For her part, Haaland鈥檚 campaign has accused Bregman of leveling 鈥渇alse attacks鈥� in a TV ad he aired linking her to the Epstein files. The former U.S. Interior secretary鈥檚 campaign has also said Bregman has received campaign contributions from individuals who also financially supported President Donald Trump. 

It鈥檚 unclear how big an impact an endorsement from Lujan Grisham might carry in the Democratic primary race, as political experts have said such endorsements typically have limited sway on voters鈥� decisions.

But some endorsements carry more weight than others, as shown by the victory of five in Indiana state Senate primary races this week.

Meanwhile, Lujan Grisham has issued an endorsement in at least one contested Democratic primary race in this year鈥檚 election cycle, as she announced her backing this week of Do帽a Ana County Clerk Amanda L贸pez Askin鈥檚 bid to be New Mexico鈥檚 next secretary of state.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.