{"id":2569228,"date":"2026-02-12T09:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-republicans-to-appear-on-ballot-in-2026-new-mexico-senate-election\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:03:56","slug":"no-republicans-to-appear-on-ballot-in-2026-new-mexico-senate-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-republicans-to-appear-on-ballot-in-2026-new-mexico-senate-election\/","title":{"rendered":"No Republicans to appear on ballot in 2026 New Mexico Senate election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-republicans-to-appear-on-ballot-in-2026-new-mexico-senate-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569228&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>New Mexico\u2019s 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >qualified voter signatures<\/a> to appear on the June primary ballot. this would mark the first time in the state&#8217;s modern history that a GOP candidate dose not appear on the Senate ballot. Incumbent Democrat Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n is expected to win a second term barring a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-top-10-house-races-to-watch-on-election-night\/\" title=\"The Top 10 ... Races to Watch on Election Night\">primary upset<\/a>. 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.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">No Republicans to appear on ballot in 2026 New Mexico Senate election<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2196995\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-mexico\/\">New Mexico<\/a>&lsquo;s November <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">2026 election ballot<\/a> will feature no Republicans after the state disqualified several Republican candidates for failing to meet ballot requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Christopher Vanden Heuvel was disqualified by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who ruled that the 2026 Senate candidate didn&rsquo;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&rsquo;s modern history that a Republican won&rsquo;t appear on the Senate ballot, the <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/news\/four-new-mexico-candidates-disqualified-after-failing-to-meet-ballot-requirements\/2978003?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-ABQJournal&amp;mrfcid=20260211698cbbd4871dae073950f595\">Albuquerque Journal reported<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4455055\/texas-senate-primary-cornyn-ken-paxton-gop-fears\/\">GOP leaders want Trump to endorse Cornyn in Texas Senate primary amid fears of costly fight<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4455007\/house-passes-voter-id-bill-one-democrat-supporting\/\">House passes voter ID bill with only one Democrat supporting GOP measure<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4454931\/neal-dunn-retirement-rumors-precarious-house-gop-majority\/\">Neal Dunn retirement rumors lay bare how precarious Johnson majority really is<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Incumbent Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) will now cruise to a second term, barring an unlikely defeat in a Democratic primary.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll continue earning their support on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/central-african-republic-votes-under-threat-of-violence\/\" title=\"Central African Republic votes under threat of violence\">campaign trail<\/a> while doing the job they elected him to do by lowering costs and delivering results for New Mexico,&rdquo; campaign spokesman Adan&nbsp;Serna told the outlet in a statement. &ldquo;That commitment does not change based on who else is the ballot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lujan won his first Senate election in 2020 with 51.72% of the vote, compared to his Republican rival&rsquo;s 45.62%.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4455606\/pentagon-cbp-anti-drone-laser-faa-el-paso-airspace\/\">PENTAGON ALLOWED CBP TO USE ANTI-DRONE LASER BEFORE FAA CLOSED EL PASO AIRSPACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Two other Republicans and one Democrat were also disqualified from the ballot &mdash; 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).<\/p>\n<p>A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/news\/four-new-mexico-candidates-disqualified-after-failing-to-meet-ballot-requirements\/2978003?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-ABQJournal&amp;mrfcid=20260211698cbbd4871dae073950f595\">guide from the New Mexico secretary of state<\/a> holds that to be valid, candidates must submit a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kennedy-to-appeal-ruling-keeping-him-off-new-york-ballot-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Kennedy to appeal ruling keeping him off New York ... - Washington Examiner\">nominating petition &#038;ldquo<\/a>;signed by a number of voters equal to at least two percent (2%) of the total vote of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-debate-win-means-nothing-if-the-gop-doesnt-chase-ballots\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s Debate Win Means Nothing If The GOP Doesn&#039;t Chase ...s\">candidate&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s party in the state or congressional district (based on the total votes cast for all of the party&rsquo;s candidates for governor, at the last preceding primary election in which the party&rsquo;s candidate for governor was nominated).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No Republicans on NM&#8217;s 2026 Senate ballot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2569229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/iStock-92024996-new-mexico-flag-e1770903467733.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[73662,7386,73660,73663,73661],"class_list":["post-2569228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-2026election","tag-ballot","tag-newmexico","tag-norepublicansonballot","tag-senateelection"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/iStock-92024996-new-mexico-flag-e1770903467733.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569228"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569236,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569228\/revisions\/2569236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}