New Mexico has 42 contested state legislative primaries this year, the highest number since Ballotpedia started tracking that figure in 2014.

There are 213 total candidates running in New Mexico’s state legislative primaries this year, 26 fewer than in 2020. New Mexico’s 42 Senate seats are up for election every four years, while the 70 House seats are up for election every two years.

Nineteen incumbents are not running for re-election in 2024. In elections from 2012 to 2024 when all 112 seats were up for election, the average number of retirements was 15. The highest number across those years was 22 retirements in 2012.

Twenty-two incumbents, or about 23.7% of all incumbents, face primary challengers this year. That is the highest number this decade. The only election since 2010 with a higher rate of incumbents facing challenges was 2012 (26.4%).

New Mexico has had a Democratic trifecta since 2019, when Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham assumed office. Since 1992, New Mexico has had 17 years of Democratic trifectas and no Republican trifectas.

Republicans controlled the House from 1995 to 2002 and from 2011 to 2018. The state also had a Republican governor in 2015 and 2016. 

As of May 2024, Democrats held a 27-15 majority in the Senate and a 45-25 majority in the House. 

New Mexico’s primary election will be June 4, 2024.