We could discuss endlessly why a state with the well-deserved nickname the "Land of Enchantment" has undergone one of the greatest periods of population stagnation in its over 400 year history. Instead let's focus on one aspect of that stagnation impacting our politics. That would be how folks here are

UPDATE: The ABQ City Council Monday evening said the panel has "dismissed" the proposed increase in the gross receipts tax. Affordability is the buzzword for the '26 campaign but that falls on deaf ears among some members of the ABQ City Council. Two councilors in particular, Council President Klarissa Peña,

If they're going to move the New Mexico presidential primary to February 15, 2008 instead of holding it late in the nominating cycle in June, how about a favorite son candidate (or is it favorite daughter now)? As the fourth state to go up to bat under a Democratic National

Sen. PopeThe race for lieutenant governor is revealing a much more aggressive left wing in the state Democratic party with important implications for economic policy should Deb Haaland become the next governor. The race for the number two spot features two leading hopefuls--term-limited State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard and

Gregg HullThe Gregg Hull ship has sprung another dangerous leak with DC pundits bailing out amid a developing financial crisis for the Republican gubernatorial nominee. The Cook Political Report has rerated his race with Democratic nominee Deb Haaland, taking it from "Likely Democratic" to "Solid Democratic." That is only going

Hull & HaalandThere will be no early start for Gregg Hull. The '26 GOP gubernatorial nominee is stuck in neutral following the first month of the campaign, lacking the financial muscle to engage Democrat Deb Haaland whose well-oiled money machine has already churned out over $13 million with more to

Haaland & Garcia RichardThere's little doubt that outgoing State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is highly likely to become the Democratic party's lieutenant governor nominee after securing the endorsement of gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland but things could still get messy. (Haaland video here.)Notably, the state Democratic party will not conduct

With Primary '26 in the books, we're taking a blogging break so posts will be occasional. To be notified via email whenever we add a post, subscribe to the blog by using the link on the right or at this link. Thanks for your continued interest. Now a final look

Deb Haaland blew the doors off Tuesday night, crafting a 72 to 28 percent landslide over rival Sam Bregman and securing the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. She now enters the general election campaign as the odds-on favorite against freshly-minted Republican nominee and former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull. All statewide

Our live, continuous Election Night coverage begins at 6:30 PM with complete results and in-depth analysis on KANW 89.1 FM and the live stream on KANW.COM. We look forward to having you with us as we continue this New Mexico public radio tradition.The executive editor of the ABQ Journal is

(Moore, ABQ Journal)Catch the stream of our KANW Election Eve Special today at 5 PM right here. There are the election results, and then there are the expectations that come with them. In the case of Deb Haaland, the outcome is widely expected to be a cause for celebration. However,

Amy BarelaChaos again engulfed the New Mexico Republican Party Wednesday as the GOP chair was removed from office by a state district court order. The ruling was a grim reminder to the party faithful of the steep climb ahead if they hope to rebuild a state GOP that has become

Katharine ClarkHard-hitting trial lawyer attacks on Dem Secretary of State candidate and Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark have been vociferous enough to generate reader questions as well as pushing out a theory behind those hits spearheaded by ABQ state Sen Katy Duhigg and her brother David Duhigg, both prominent

Missi CurrierWhile prominent players in the state's prosperous oil and gas business involve themselves in the Republican gubernatorial primary, the leader of their top industry group is throwing in the towel, declaring that a Republican cannot win in November and that the focus should switch to defeating progressive Deb Haaland

Journal editor & BregmanDeb Haaland's cancellation of a town hall appearance sponsored by the Albuquerque Journal prompted an emotional and harsh reaction from the newspaper's executive editor, who decried Haaland's refusal to answer questions as "terrifying" and warned that "we are going to be investigating her."The paper also ripped into

AG TorrezDemocratic Attorney General Raul Torrez has an easy path to re-election. He faces no primary opponent and no general election threat from Republican injury attorney Sam Kane of Las Cruces.That easy path isn't stopping Torrez, who served as BernCo District Attorney before becoming AG in 2023, from aggressively fund-raising.

Michael Perry (NYT)He's got them worried. That would be Republican state land commission candidate Michael Perry, the retired game warden of Roswell who has been flagged as perhaps the only statewide GOP candidate who may have a shot at upsetting a Democratic rival in November. The worry is spreading fast

Deb Haaland has made history by already raising a staggering $11 million for her gubernatorial bid. The contrast of that achievement with her lack of personal wealth is startling but may finally be changing. Haaland has authored a memoir tiled A Voice Like Mine that will be released following the

Independent voters are making a bit of history this election. We say a "bit" because even though this is the first time they are allowed to vote in the major party primaries, their expected impact and the attention being paid to them by the campaigns is negligible. That's because 10

Hull, Turner & RodriguezSometimes it seems no one really wants the Republican gubernatorial nomination. The campaign has been meek, underfunded and led by political unknowns laboring under the shadow of likely Democratic nominee Deb Haaland whose fund-raising machine could quickly consign the Republican nominee to the showers.The latest money reports

What a little money in the bank will do. Just ask Deb Haaland. In the latest campaign finance report covering April 7 through May 4 Haaland reported raising $869,000 and bringing her total for the campaign to just shy of $12 million. That's only about $1.5 million less than MLG

Hull, Turner and RodriguezGregg Hull is claiming that he now has the momentum in the chase for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and there are plenty of reasons to believe him.Hull scored an easy win (57 percent) at the March GOP preprimary convention, has led his two opponents convincingly in two

`Let’s catch up on more of that very early polling of the statewide races from the ABQ Journal and look for clues for the election outcome as well as future state policy. Most obviously, the race for the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination has essentially become non-competitive. Featuring outgoing Secretary of

Talk about a picture telling a thousand words. But what are the words to describe our fun-loving Governor fully embracing her diminutive stature and showing off a custom made jockey uniform at this past weekend's Kentucky Derby?We haven't had a caption contest in ages but this cries out for one

It's getting personal. For months Sam Bregman and Deb Haaland have approached each other gingerly, delivering soft jabs but with the gloves snugly over their fists. Now the gloves are coming off as Bregman grows increasingly frustrated with the course of the campaign and front-runner Haaland's multi-million dollar machine goes

Hull, Turner and RodriguezThe establishment candidate is establishing himself. So it goes in the muddled race for the '26 GOP gubernatorial nomination as former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull takes 30 percent of the vote in the ABQ Journal poll with Doug Turner at 21 percent and Duke Rodriguez at

Rep. Gail ArmstrongPolitical and academic circles were abuzz with speculation in February that billionaire businesswoman Meg Whitman was interested in becoming the next president of the University of New Mexico. We broke the story of her apparent interest on our February 4 blog but it was left unconfirmed. Now it

The president once boasted of New Mexico "Hispanics love me!" And for a time he did quite well with that critical voting block. Today? Not so much.The respectable six point Trump loss in Blue New Mexico in '24 is starting to seem like a distant memory. Polling today shows that

The least Trumpy of the three GOP governor candidates is not shy about cozying up to the president and his pals as the campaign enters its final frantic weeks and still with no clear front-runner.ABQ businessman Doug Turner, a longtime moderate, raised Republican eyebrows with his response when he was

It was only a brief sugar rush for Sam Bregman. Deb Haaland's weaker than expected performance in the Emerson College-KRQE poll released last week was quickly washed away when the ABQ Journal survey was released Sunday and showed her not only above the 40 percent support of Democratic primary voters