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A day after a dominating victory in her primary election race, Democrat Deb Haaland let her campaign staffers sleep in 鈥� at least for a few extra hours 鈥� as she began shifting her focus to November.

For his part, Republican Gregg Hull said he only watched one TV segment Wednesday morning about his election night victory before turning the television off and fielding phone calls from GOP governors and potential donors.

With their general election showdown now set in New Mexico's open contest for governor, both Hull and Haaland said they plan to run positive, issue-focused races.

"I want to talk about myself, I don't want to talk about other people," Hull told the Journal, adding he rebuffed repeated outside calls to be more aggressive during the final weeks of the three-way GOP primary race for governor.

Haaland sounded a similar message during a Wednesday news conference at an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 restaurant, saying, "I hope it's the most boring governor's race in the country, where we're just focusing on the issues."

She also said she would be "happy" to debate Hull in the run-up to November, after drawing criticism for debate-dodging from her Democratic primary opponent Sam Bregman.

According to unofficial results, Haaland defeated Bregman in all 33 New Mexico counties 鈥� most of them by decisive margins 鈥� en route to winning 72% of the more than 217,000 votes cast in the contest.

The closest margin was in Rio Arriba County, a traditional Democratic stronghold with a large Hispanic population. Haaland won 53% of the votes cast in that county.

Haaland's big primary win was lauded by several Democratic governors around the nation, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, described Haaland as a "fierce champion" for New Mexico, borrowing a term frequently used by Haaland's campaign.

"She knows the pain New Mexicans are feeling right now, which is why she will never stop fighting to bring down costs and create jobs, strengthen schools, expand affordable healthcare, and create safer communities," Beshear said in a statement.

While Haaland said she had positive dealings with Hull during her tenure in Congress, she said voters would have a clear choice in this fall's election between her policies and those espoused by President Donald Trump.

Haaland also plans to release her memoir this month, but said she didn't believe the book launch 鈥� 鈥� would be a distraction for her campaign.

"I feel I can walk and chew gum at the same time," the former U.S. Interior secretary told reporters.

With the general election cycle now in focus, Haaland enters the race with advantages in terms of both campaign funds and statewide name recognition. In addition, Democrats make up about 40% of all registered voters in New Mexico, while Republicans make up roughly 31% of voters. Independents and voters affiliated with minor political parties .

Given that backdrop, Hull said he would work to try to win the votes of Bregman supporters and independent voters 鈥� along with GOP voters who backed other candidates in the primary election.

He also said he's hopeful national groups like the Republican Governors Association come through with financial backing for his campaign, while chafing at suggestions Haaland is the front-runner in the race.

"I'm not going to say I'm the favorite or the underdog 鈥� I'm the nominee and I'm going to work hard for every vote I can get," Hull said during a Wednesday interview.

While fellow Republican Doug Turner won most counties in southern and eastern New Mexico in this week's primary election, Hull captured the race by running up big margins in the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and Rio Rancho areas 鈥� along with most of northern New Mexico.

He ultimately earned 47% of the votes cast in the race, according to unofficial results, and said he plans to continue touting his record as Rio Rancho's longest-serving mayor.

Hull will run on the general election ticket with state Sen. David Gallegos of Eunice, who won a three-way GOP primary race for lieutenant governor.

As for Haaland, she will be joined on the Democratic ticket by outgoing Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who defeated state Sen. Harold Pope Jr. of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to win her party's nomination.

Haaland said she had called Toulouse Oliver on election night to congratulate her running mate, while also noting the historic nature of the Democratic Party's all-female ticket in this year's race.

"Women are winning in New Mexico," said Haaland, who also cited the state's female-majority Legislature since 2025.

While both candidates said they planned to shift gears quickly after their primary election wins, Hull did acknowledge that his victory still felt somewhat surreal.

"I woke up this morning and thought, 'That actually happened,'" said the Republican nominee.

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.