WPMA News / Spring 2026 53 State Report NOTES S two fellow Republicans - Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and Albuquerque small business owner Doug Turner. On the Democratic side, former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman are vying for their party’s nomination and have already sparred over debates, policy plans and plagiarism allegations. Four New Mexico Candidates Disqualified After Failing Ballot Requirements If he rebuffs a primary challenge, US Senator Ben Ray Lujan is set to avoid a Republican opponent in his bid for a second term, after a potential GOP opponent was disqualified for failing to meet ballot requirements. The disqualification of Republican candidate Christopher Vanden Heuvel of Rio Rancho means that for the first time in modern state history, the state’s general elec- tion ballot for a U.S. Senate race will have only one major party candidate. In addition to Vanden Heuvel, other disqualified can- didates include Republican Carlton Pennington of Moriarty in the 1st Congressional District and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Belinda Robertson of Las Cruces. New Mexico Democrats Seek to Move Up Presidential Primary in 2028 New Mexico’s Democratic Party has launched a long shot bid to become one of the early primary states for the 2028 presidential election cycle. In their recent application to the Democratic National Committee, state party leaders touted New Mexico’s diverse electorate and rela- tively inexpensive media market as factors that set the state apart. New Mexico Poised for Short-Term Budget Boost as Oil Prices Surge U.S. Central Command announced it destroyed Iranian navy vessels laying mines near the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil traverses on its journey from Middle Eastern oil fields to international markets. Soaring cost of crude oil will add millions to the state’s coffers through taxes on oil and gas production. Blue Pony Energy Selects New Mexico for $1.6 Billion Facility The Land of Enchantment has enchanted another company to establish roots in the state. Blue Pony Energy, a Houston-based startup chemical manufacturer that turns natural gas into clean- burning fuels and industrial materials, has elected to build a clean fuels manufacturing facility in Lovington. Blue Pony CEO Justin Rencurel said it was Lovington and New Mexico’s “world class” energy resources and infrastructure, sustainability policies and goals, and engaging business and community environment that helped the state beat out other sites in Texas, the Appalachian Basin and Canada. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Signs Universal Child Care Bill into Law Concerns about the program’s long term price tag may still linger, but backers of New Mexico’s first of its kind in the nation univer- sal childcare program were all smiles during signing. Senate Bill 241 removes income limits for receiving state-subsidized child- care. Senate Bill 241 allows up to $700 million to be taken from an early childhood trust fund over the next 5 years to help with universal childcare. The trust fund created in 2020 has $11 billion due to oil production in New Mexico.
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