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SANTA FE 鈥� In New Mexico鈥檚 first primary election of its kind, more than three-quarters of independent voters who cast a ballot during the first two weeks of early voting opted to vote in the Democratic primary.

Data released Friday by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver鈥檚 office shows that 75.6% of the more than 2,400 independent voters who have cast a ballot so far selected a Democratic ballot.

The remaining 24.4% of independents who have voted asked for a Republican ballot.

Longtime New Mexico political observer Brian Sanderoff said the trend could be driven in large part by the high-profile 鈥� and increasingly combative 鈥� Democratic primary race for governor between Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman.

鈥淚 think the governor鈥檚 race in the Democratic primary has captured the attention of many independent voters,鈥� said Sanderoff, who is the president of sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based Research & Polling Inc.

He also pointed out that while independent voters in largely Democratic strongholds like sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Santa Fe and Las Cruces are so far tending to select Democratic ballots at a high rate, independent voters in more conservative parts of the state are largely split.

In Otero County, for instance, 52 independent voters had requested a Democratic ballot while 42 had requested a Republican ballot, according to Secretary of State鈥檚 Office data.

Meanwhile, about 86% of independents who have voted in Bernalillo County picked a Democratic ballot while casting their votes at the County Clerk鈥檚 Annex 鈥� or via absentee voting.

Overall, New Mexico independents, or voters who decline to state a party affiliation, continue to lag behind both Democrats and Republicans when it comes to turnout rates.

Democrats cast roughly 62% of the 27,351 total votes, as of Friday, in this year鈥檚 primary election. Republicans cast about 29% of the ballots, with independents having cast the remaining 8.9% of the total amount, according to analysis done by Research & Polling.

For perspective, independents made up about 26% of the state鈥檚 total voting population as of the end of April, according to Secretary of State鈥檚 Office data.

The low voting clip could reduce the political impact of independent voters 鈥� at least in this year鈥檚 election. However, if most independents chose Democratic Party ballots, they could have a significant voice in the outcome of the Democratic primary election, Sanderoff said.

In addition, Sanderoff said it鈥檚 likely the independent turnout rate will increase as New Mexico nears Election Day, as unaffiliated voters tend to be less partisan and often wait longer to decide which candidates to vote for. 

A spike in independent voting could be good news for Bregman, as a recent Journal Poll found the Bernalillo County district attorney faring better among independent voters than among registered Democrats in his bid to defeat Haaland and win the party鈥檚 nomination.

The June 2 primary election is the first in state history in which independent voters are able to cast a ballot without having to select a major party affiliation.

Specifically, such voters can request either a Republican or Democratic ballot and will not be bound by their decision in future elections.

The semi-open primary system, which was signed into law last year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, could eventually boost turnout rates in a state in which only 25.2% of registered voters cast a ballot in New Mexico鈥檚 2022 primary election. The turnout rate was even lower two years ago.

Statewide, the number of independent voters has steadily increased since 1990, but their ranks have grown at an even faster rate since the state implemented automatic voter registration last summer.

Yet some candidates have said many independent voters are still unaware of the change in law, despite the efforts of advocacy groups to raise awareness.

During a recent Journal town hall event, Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull said reaching out to independent voters has proven difficult on the campaign trail.

鈥淭he problem is that you don鈥檛 have groups of them that come together like Republican Party meetings and Democratic Party meetings,鈥� Hull said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little hard to get them into a room where you can talk with them on an individual basis.鈥�

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.