Alamogordo NM
6-07-2026 7:40pm

Republicans Set Their 2026 Slate — and Make History with Three Write-In Campaigns

SANTA FE — New Mexico Republicans walked out of the June 2 primary with a complete statewide ticket and an unexpected dose of momentum, as all three of the party’s write-in candidates cleared the bar to advance to November — and did it faster than anyone in party leadership expected.

Republican Party of New Mexico First Vice Chair Mike Nelson called the write-in performance a milestone for a party that, just weeks earlier, had no names printed on the ballot for three statewide offices.

Some Republican SCC leaders have argued this was the failure of ousted party chair Amy Barela and led to the disenfranchisement by northern Republican Party leaders with her leadership.  The party spin is write ins were at record levels. That is true but the reason for the need for write in needs further party discussions. 

“Not only did all three of our write-in candidates meet the required number of write-in votes, they did so in near-record time. Each candidate had more than 4,000 write-in votes reported out of Bernalillo county alone less than 2 hours after the polls closed,” Nelson said.

“Based on historical precedent, the expectation was that several days would be needed to count every write-in vote in order for a determination to be made whether the candidate met the required votes or not. As of this morning, each write-in candidate now has more than 12,000 votes as reports continue to trickle in from counties around the state.”

Nelson thanked county clerks and poll workers statewide “for their diligent work to account for every write in ballot per the statute,” and framed the night as a launching pad: “New Mexico voters are ready for change and are eager to elect Republicans up and down the ballot in November. Larry Marker, James Ellison, & Joshua Lawrence are quality candidates who are popular with Republican voters in our state.”

The top of the ticket: Hull wins a three-way fight

In the marquee Republican contest, former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull captured the gubernatorial nomination with roughly 47 percent of the vote (about 56,400 ballots), holding off communications professional Doug Turner at 37 percent (about 44,300) and cannabis entrepreneur and former state cabinet secretary Duke Rodriguez at 16 percent (about 19,300).

Hull, who built a profile running the state’s third-largest city, now faces Democrat Deb Haaland — the former U.S. Interior secretary who routed Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman on the Democratic side — in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Lieutenant governor and the rest of the statewide slate

State Sen. David Gallegos secured the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor with about 50 percent of the vote (roughly 56,400), beating former Land Commissioner Aubrey Blair Dunn (38 percent) and Manuel “Manny” Lardizabal (12 percent). Under New Mexico law, the governor and lieutenant governor nominees run together as a ticket in the fall.

Two other statewide Republican nominees advanced unopposed and will give the GOP a printed-ballot presence in November:

• Attorney General: Las Cruces attorney Samuel Isaiah Kane Sr. (about 95,600 votes) will challenge incumbent Democrat Raúl Torrez.

• Secretary of State: Ramona Goolsby (about 96,100 votes) advances to face the Democratic nominee, Amanda López Askin, who narrowly won her primary over Katharine Clark. The seat is open because incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver ran for lieutenant governor.

• Commissioner of Public Lands: Chaves County Commissioner Michael Perry ran unopposed and will face Democrat Juan de Jesus Sanchez III.

Why the write-in campaigns were necessary

The three write-in races exist because no Republican qualified on the printed primary ballot for U.S. Senate, State Treasurer, or State Auditor — a recurring challenge for the minority party in a state where Democrats hold every statewide office.

For the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Ben Ray Luján, the only Republican who filed was disqualified, leaving businessman Larry Marker of Chaves County to mount a certified write-in bid. For State Treasurer, the party turned to former Public Regulation Commission member James (Jim) F. Ellison of Cedar Crest, and for State Auditor to Albuquerque’s Joshua James Ryan Lawrence.

Write-in candidates can’t simply collect votes in the fall; in the primary they must first hit a qualifying threshold tied to the office to earn a spot on the November ballot. Marker, for instance, needed at least 2,351 votes to advance for U.S. Senate. By the morning after the election, each of the three had reportedly surpassed 12,000 — clearing their thresholds many times over and far ahead of the multi-day count party officials had braced for.

Marker will challenge Luján, who also fended off self-described democratic socialist Matt Dodson in the Democratic primary. Ellison takes on incumbent Treasurer Laura Montoya, and Lawrence faces incumbent Auditor Joseph Maestas. Until the write-ins are formally certified — a process that can take a few weeks — the two Democratic incumbents are the only printed names in those races.

Federal and legislative races

In the congressional contests, Democratic incumbents Melanie Stansbury (CD-1), Gabe Vasquez (CD-2) and Teresa Leger Fernández (CD-3) will face Republican challengers in the fall, with the southern 2nd District widely viewed as the state’s only competitive U.S. House seat. All 70 seats in the state House are also on the ballot in November, where Democrats currently hold a 44-26 edge.

For now, party leaders are leaning into the write-in story. As Nelson put it, the three candidates “will continue to build on the incredible momentum we saw on election night.”

Note: Vote totals are based on unofficial, near-complete results and may shift slightly as counties finish canvassing and the Secretary of State certifies the outcome - NewMexicoConservativeNews.com


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