Haaland & MLGWe learned from her first joint news conference with outgoing Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham that Governor-elect Deb Haaland will continue to speak softly—and certainly not as loudly or as often as previous occupants of the Fourth Floor. But will she carry a big stick?It was clear at their

Gov-elect Deb HaalandThe Blue Wave crashed into the high desert of New Mexico Tuesday night, sweeping aside Republican challengers who were already on the ropes. The victory gave the nation and state its first female Native American governor, pushed other statewide candidates past the rarely seen 60 percent mark, and

It's all over but the counting, and we'll take care of that piece of business starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight on KANW 89.1 FM so join us on the air and on the stream for the latest breaking news and the in-depth election analysis you've come to expect from public

Student protestWelcome back. Be sure to join us today for our 2026 Election Eve Special at 5 p.m on KANW 89.1 FM where you can also catch the stream.Today is indeed Election Eve 2026, but a revolt against Sen. Martin Heinrich could also make it the start of a 2030

Balconies at RoundhouseThis one's been a sleeper, so we are going to stick with our turnout prediction of about 715,000, similar to what we saw in the '22 gubernatorial race. While on the national scene the talk is of a possible Blue Wave, New Mexico has seen enough of those

The geographic split in New Mexico’s politics is on display in the early vote. The Hispanic North, predictably, is leading the way for the Dems in terms of their early voting percentages over the Republicans.San Miguel County leads the partisan divide with Dems casting 79 percent of the early ballots

The constant barrage of TV ads tells the story—the race for the 2nd Congressional District is once again attracting a flood of national dollars from political action committees and individual donors. Total spending by the PACs and the individual campaigns of Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Republican challenger Greg

The early vote is coming in at a rapid clip with an estimated 35 percent of the expected total vote already cast via absentee and in-person voting. Our projected turnout is 715,000—the same number that cast ballots in the '22 mid-term election. So far over 250,000 early votes have been

That controversial proposal to provide the state's 112 lawmakers a salary for the first time since statehood could be the nail-biter of Election Night '26. The Kalshi betting market calls the battle over Constitutional Amendment 4 a true toss-up, with 49 percent of the site's bettors saying it will win

With only days remaining until the November 3 election, the Senior Alligators of La Politica, the wall-leaners at the Roundhouse, and the sometimes-employed political consultants scattered across the state are reaching a consensus. As the keeper of their flame, here are their predictions:The Headliner: Deb Haaland is headed for a

Sanchez & Perry (Moore, Journal)New Mexico's political class continues to break with vehement grassroots opposition to Project Jupiter, and that could mean a major break for the controversial data center development near Santa Teresa following the Nov. 3 election.In a recent KKOB radio debate (audio here) Democratic land commissioner candidate

Cunningham and VasquezDid Republican Greg Cunningham even once mention the name of President Trump during the one and only TV debate for the southern-based congressional seat? Not that we heard. (Full KRQE debate here starting at 1:09.)Like a hurricane suddenly growing from a Category 1 to a Category 5, inflation,

Didi Okpareke set Republican hearts fluttering as she took on ABQ progressive icon and Dem US Rep. Melanie Stansbury in a thirty-minute TV debate that also saw the first-time candidate stun Republicans by splitting with President Trump on the war in Iran.There was more. Okpareke, 42, titillated the audience by

There are no early surprises in the first week of early voting for the 2026 election. About 30,000 votes were cast statewide through Monday, according to the Secretary of State. Democrats dominate the early turnout with 59% of the total, while Republicans sit at 27% and independents account for 14%.The

Vasquez & CunninghamA look through the sole ABQ Journal poll of New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District paints a grim picture for Republican challenger Greg Cunningham, virtually shutting down his pathways to victory.To stay competitive, the retired APD detective needed to hold off Democratic incumbent Rep. Gabe Vasquez in the populous

More voters in the populous ABQ metro are withholding judgment on the gubernatorial race than most other regions, appearing to prevent Democrat Deb Haaland from reaching the key 50 percent mark in her race against Republican Gregg Hull.The second and final poll on the contest from the ABQ Journal—taken October

Sen. StewartMimi's mess is getting messier.It's revealed in newly released police video from the Santa Fe PD that at her 2024 auto accident, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart phoned the Governor's office and asked them to send the state police to the scene to handle the investigation. The request

Gregg Hull (Journal)Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull faced off with the cost-of-living crisis and scored, but to win the argument his messaging may need to be sharpened.While Santa Fe is tied in knots over what to do with billions of oil revenue flowing into state coffers—and as voters suffer exceptionally

She’s a political superstar on the national stage, but Deb Haaland has yet to close the deal with New Mexico voters in her race to become the next governor, despite raising over $17 million and holding a massive name ID advantage over Republican Gregg Hull.The SurveyUSA poll taken for KOB-TV

President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart pushed back a challenge from Sen. Liz Stefanics at Sunday's caucus of Senate Democrats to keep the top leadership post in the Senate. Meanwhile, Sen. Linda Trujillo beat out two challengers to become the new Majority Leader; Sen. Cindy Nava took over as Majority Whip

Deb Haaland has taken some hard hits over Project Jupiter. She was especially scorched by anti-Jupiter activists for taking over $85,000 in campaign contributions from developers of the giant data center in Doña Ana County and then refusing to return those contributions.Now she is being flayed on social media for

Opponents of a constitutional amendment that would provide some of the highest legislative salaries in the nation to New Mexico lawmakers are confident they can defeat it, but they could easily lose if they don't get a quick cash infusion to spread their message. National and local progressive groups have

In a break with tradition, Senate Democrats will caucus this Sunday to choose their leaders for the next two years. Usually, the meeting is held following the November general election, but not this time. The date switch, which we learned of after first blogging that the meeting would be in

Campaign '26 may have reached an inflection point with Deb Haaland’s decision to forego all debates with Republican opponent Gregg Hull. By stepping away from the "debate over debates"—a distraction her team characterized as a sideshow—she neutralized the issue.Haaland turned a potential vulnerability—her perceived hesitation around formal debates—into a display

The Haaland campaign ended debate discussions with the Hull campaign late Thursday after both sides failed to reach an agreeable date. There will be no debate between the two governor candidates before the Nov. 3 election.Here are the emails each sent regarding their final clash over debating: Haaland’s campaign: “Deb

Is the Deb Haaland camp terrified that permitting her to debate Republican gubernatorial opponent Gregg Hull could cost her the election or something close to it? Haaland has so far refused to debate Hull, making her only the second major-party candidate to skip a general election TV debate in the

Gregg Hull Struggling to recover from her first major campaign blunder, Deb Haaland insisted she can "chew gum and walk at the same time." But the line only prompted critics to pile on, demanding she prove her multitasking prowess by finally agreeing to a live TV debate with her Republican

Deb HaalandNew Mexican politics are not about to make a dramatic shift to the left if Democrat Deb Haaland wins the governorship November 3. The progressive wing of her party may be ignoring what she says—as they often have with Gov. Lujan Grisham—but facts speak for themselves. Haaland is planting

Haaland and HullHow can the Republican candidate for governor run an effective campaign if the industry most critical to their fundraising is not going all-in? That’s the dilemma confronting GOP standard-bearer Gregg Hull.In his latest financial report covering June 28 through Sept. 7, we count about $300,000 in direct and

Vasquez and CunninghamWhat’s with Greg Cunningham’s obsession with border security and crime? Doesn’t he know those issues have fallen down the list of voter concerns as an economic tidal wave heads towards the state in the form of inflation? Won’t the economy (and Trump) be the deciding factors in his