No Republicans to appear on ballot in 2026 New Mexico Senate election
New Mexico’s 2026 U.S. Senate ballot will feature no Republican candidates after Republican Christopher Vanden Heuvel was disqualified by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse oliver for submitting insufficient qualified voter signatures to appear on the June primary ballot. this would mark the first time in the state’s modern history that a GOP candidate dose not appear on the Senate ballot. Incumbent Democrat Ben Ray Luján is expected to win a second term barring a primary upset. Along with Vanden Heuvel, three other candidates were disqualified: Republican Carlton Pennington (House), Republican Belinda Robertson (governor), and Democrat Thomas Wakely (challenger to Rep. Gave Vasquez). The disqualifications arise from a state rule requiring nominating petitions to be signed by at least 2% of the total party votes in the state or district.
No Republicans to appear on ballot in 2026 New Mexico Senate election
New Mexico‘s November 2026 election ballot will feature no Republicans after the state disqualified several Republican candidates for failing to meet ballot requirements.
Republican Christopher Vanden Heuvel was disqualified by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who ruled that the 2026 Senate candidate didn’t turn in enough qualified voter signatures to appear on the June primary ballot, wiping the Republican field. Though the state is solidly blue, the disqualification will mark the first time in the state’s modern history that a Republican won’t appear on the Senate ballot, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Incumbent Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) will now cruise to a second term, barring an unlikely defeat in a Democratic primary.
“He’ll continue earning their support on the campaign trail while doing the job they elected him to do by lowering costs and delivering results for New Mexico,” campaign spokesman Adan Serna told the outlet in a statement. “That commitment does not change based on who else is the ballot.”
Lujan won his first Senate election in 2020 with 51.72% of the vote, compared to his Republican rival’s 45.62%.
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Two other Republicans and one Democrat were also disqualified from the ballot — Republican House candidate Carlton Pennington, Republican gubernatorial candidate Belinda Robertson, and Democratic House candidate Thomas Wakely, who was mounting a primary challenge to Rep. Gave Vasquez (D-NM).
A guide from the New Mexico secretary of state holds that to be valid, candidates must submit a nominating petition “signed by a number of voters equal to at least two percent (2%) of the total vote of the candidate’s party in the state or congressional district (based on the total votes cast for all of the party’s candidates for governor, at the last preceding primary election in which the party’s candidate for governor was nominated).”
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