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2026 United States Senate election in New Mexico

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For related races, see 2026 United States Senate elections.

2026 United States Senate election in New Mexico
← 2020
November 3, 2026
2032 →
 
Party Democratic
Incumbent U.S. senator

Ben Ray Luján
Democratic



The 2026 United States Senate election in New Mexico will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of New Mexico, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Primary elections will be held on June 2, 2026. Incumbent Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján is seeking election to a second full term.[1] Luján was elected to his first full term with 51.73% of the vote in 2020 to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Tom Udall.[2]

Background

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New Mexico is considered to be a moderately blue state at the federal and state levels. Kamala Harris won the state by six percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, while the last time a statewide race was won by a Republican was in 2016, when Judith Nakamura won re-election to the state's Supreme Court. The most recent election for this seat, held in 2020, saw Democrat Ben Ray Luján win his first term in the Senate by six points over Republican Mark Ronchetti.[3]

Democrats currently control all statewide executive offices, the entire congressional delegation, and majorities in both state legislative chambers.[4] New Mexico has not voted for the Republican presidential nominee since 2004, and last voted for a Republican senator, Pete Domenici, in 2002.[5]

Democratic primary

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Ben Ray Luján, a member of the Luján political family, was elected in 2020 after serving as the representative for the 3rd congressional district from 2009 until 2021.[6][7] During his tenure in the Senate, Luján has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump,[8][9][10] having voted in line with Trump's stated position only 5% of the time.[11] Luján is widely considered the favorite in the primary election.[12][13]

Luján's sole opponent in the primary is Matt Dodson, a U.S. Air Force veteran from Farmington.[14][15] A self-described democratic socialist, Dodson had previously ran unsuccesfully for local and state offices.[15] Originally failing to achieve the 20% threshold of votes in the Democratic Party convention, he qualified for the ballot through signature collection.[16]

Dodson is currently suspended from the state Democratic Party, and had previously accused San Juan County party chair Mary Schildmeyer of embezzling funds. She denied the allegations, and charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.[17][18] On April 8, 2026, Dodson was arrested in Otero County after blocking the entrance road to Holloman Air Force Base during an anti-drone warfare protest.[19] He was released two days later.[20]

Candidates

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Declared

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Endorsements

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Ben Ray Luján
Organizations

Fundraising

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Campaign finance reports as of March 31, 2026
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Ben Ray Luján (D) $7,309,462 $3,212,864 $4,175,921
Matt Dodson (D) $11,843 $8,069 $3,774
Source: Federal Election Commission[29]

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Matt
Dodson 		Ben Ray
Luján 		Undecided
Research & Polling Inc.[13][A] April 17–24, 2026 534 (LV) ± 4.2% 9% 69% 22%

Republican primary

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Christopher Heuvel, the only Republican to file for the race, was disqualified for failing to meet the requirements to appear on the ballot.[30] The Republican Party had an opportunity to field a prospective candidate until March 17 to collect the signatures needed to qualify for the nomination as a write-in, which was successfully done by former oil and gas operator Larry Marker. Marker must receive 2,351 write-in votes in the primary to advance to the general election.[31]

Candidates

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Declared

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  • Larry Marker, former oil and gas operator (write-in)[32][33]

Disqualified

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  • Christopher Heuvel[34]

Declined

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Third parties

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Candidates

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Filed paperwork

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  • Cameron Chick (Independent)[36]
  • Mira O'Connell (Independent), law enforcement veteran[37]
  • Rhett Trappman (Libertarian)[38]

Disqualified

  • Toby Smith (Jewish/Christian National Party) (used fake address on forms)[39][40]

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Inside Elections[41] Safe D January 12, 2026
The Cook Political Report[42] Solid D January 12, 2026
Sabato's Crystal Ball[43] Safe D January 29, 2026
Race to the WH[44] Safe D February 25, 2026

Notes

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  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan and media clients

  1. ^ Poll conducted for the Albuquerque Journal

References

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  1. ^ Neukam, Stephen; Nichols, Hans (February 14, 2025). "Schumer's private plea to Senate Dems who are weighing retirement". Axios. Retrieved April 22, 2025. ...Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are sending strong signals they plan to run for reelection.
  2. ^ "Democrat Ben Ray Luján wins New Mexico's Senate race". PBS. November 4, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  3. ^ "New Mexico U.S. Senate Election Results". New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2025. Ben Ray Luján, Democrat, wins the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico.
  4. ^ "Election Results 2022". sos.nm.gov. New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  5. ^ "How New Mexico has voted for presidents in past elections". KOAT News. November 5, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  6. ^ Yachnin, Jennifer (June 26, 2015). "In New Mexico, it's good to be a Luján". E&E News by POLITICO. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  7. ^ "LUJÁN, Ben Ray | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  8. ^ "New Mexico congressional delegation lambasts Trump's threats against Iran • Source New Mexico". Source New Mexico. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  9. ^ Davis, Pat (January 26, 2026). "New Mexico's Heinrich, Luján pledge 'NO' votes on ICE funding, risking partial shutdown". New Mexico Political Report. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  10. ^ Davis, Patrick (February 25, 2026). "NM Democrat says President Trump was "lying to the American people" in State of the Union". KSFR. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  11. ^ "How often do New Mexico's Senators and Reps vote with Trump? A new report tallies the results". New Mexico Political Report. March 7, 2026. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  12. ^ Coleman, J. Miles (February 20, 2026). "Come On and Take a Free Ride: Looking Back at "Uncontested" Senate Races". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  13. ^ a b Boyd, Dan (April 27, 2026). "Journal Poll: Ben Ray Luján holds commanding lead over Democratic challenger in U.S. Senate race". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
  14. ^ Towne, Robert (February 17, 2026). "No Republican will challenge US Sen. Ben Ray Luján for reelection". KOB.com. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  15. ^ a b c Simonich, Milan (January 25, 2026). "Democratic socialist challenging Ben Ray Luján". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  16. ^ Bowling, Joshua (March 25, 2026). "NM election officials qualify most statewide candidates for June 2 primary ballot • Source New Mexico". Source New Mexico. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  17. ^ Bowling, Joshua; Lohmann, Patrick; Prokop, Danielle (April 3, 2026). "New Mexico Election 2026: trail notes • Source New Mexico". Source New Mexico. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  18. ^ Mayeux, Debra. "Embezzlement charge against former Democratic chairwoman in Farmington is dismissed". The Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  19. ^ Edwards, Chris (April 9, 2026). "US Senate Candidate Matt Dodson Detained at Holloman AFB Anti-Drone Protest Sparks Local Backlash in Deeply Conservative Otero County". 2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  20. ^ Brown, Nathan (April 11, 2026). "Democratic Senate candidate arrested, jailed at Alamogordo anti-drone protest". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  21. ^ "Lujan will mount reelection bid for U.S. Senate". Roswell Daily Record. April 23, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  22. ^ "Ben Ray Luján". JStreetPAC. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  23. ^ "Jewish Dems Endorsed Candidates". Jewish Democratic Council of America. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  24. ^ "Candidates". Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs.
  25. ^ "2025-2026 Endorsements". League of Conservation Voters. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  26. ^ "Endorsement: Ben-Ray Lujan". Latino Victory. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  27. ^ "2026 Planned Parenthood Action Fund Endorsed Candidates". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  28. ^ "2026 Endorsements". Population Connection Action Fund. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  29. ^ "2026 Election United States Senate - New Mexico". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  30. ^ "Four New Mexico candidates disqualified after failing to meet ballot requirements". Albuquerque Journal. February 10, 2026. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  31. ^ Simonich, Milan (March 24, 2026). "GOP offers write-in hopeful for U.S. Senate". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  32. ^ "2026 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List". New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  33. ^ Wyland, Scott (October 20, 2022). "Two seek to unseat state land commissioner". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  34. ^ "Four New Mexico candidates disqualified after failing to meet ballot requirements". Albuquerque Journal. February 10, 2026. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  35. ^ Boyd, Dan (April 14, 2025). "Nella Domenici rules out run for NM statewide office in 2026". abqjournal. Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  36. ^ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1950220". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  37. ^ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1953957". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  38. ^ "New Mexico Election 2026: trail notes". Source NM. April 17, 2026. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  39. ^ Simonich, Milan (December 9, 2025). "Candidate 'Toby Smith' breaks bad in federal filing". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  40. ^ "SMITH, TOBY MR. - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  41. ^ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  42. ^ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  43. ^ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  44. ^ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
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Official campaign websites
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