2026 United States Senate election in New Mexico
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| Elections in New Mexico |
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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. 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
New Mexico is considered to be a moderately to strongly blue state at the federal and state levels. Kamala Harris won the state by 6 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, while the last time a statewide race was won by a Republican was in 2016, when Republican Judith Nakamura defeated Democratic candidate Michael Vigil. 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 offices, both U.S. Senate seats, all three seats in the U.S. House delegation and the New Mexico House of Representatives and New Mexico Senate.[4]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Ben Ray Luján, incumbent U.S. Senator (2021-present)[5]
Republican primary
Candidates
Declined
- Nella Domenici, former CFO of Bridgewater Associates, daughter of former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024[6]
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Elections[7] | Safe D | April 17, 2025 |
| The Cook Political Report[8] | Safe D | February 13, 2025 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[9] | Safe D | March 12, 2025 |
| Race To The WH[10] | Likely D | May 5, 2025 |
Notes
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Democrat Ben Ray Luján wins New Mexico's Senate race". PBS. November 4, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Election Results 2022". sos.nm.gov. New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "Lujan will mount reelection bid for U.S. Senate". Roswell Daily Record. April 23, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Boyd, Dan (April 14, 2025). "Nella Domenici rules out run for NM statewide office in 2026". abqjournal. Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
External links
- Official campaign websites