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Democrats are so far the only major party with a ballot-qualified candidate in the U.S. Senate general election in New Mexico

By

Briana Ryan

Voters in New Mexico will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. As of March 31, 2026, Democrats were the only major party with a ballot-qualified candidate. If a Republican candidate does not qualify, it would be the first since 1914 without candidates from both major parties on the ballot.

Larry Marker (R) submitted enough valid signatures to run as a write-in candidate in the June 2 Republican primary.

Since Marker is running as a write-in candidate, his name will not appear on the Republican primary ballot for the U.S. Senate. However, there will be a space under the office where voters can physically write in his name. For Marker's name to appear on the general election ballot, he will need to win 2,351 votes in the Republican primary.

One other candidate — Christopher Vanden Heuvel (R) — submitted signatures to have his name appear on the Republican primary ballot. However, on Feb. 10, 2026, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office determined that Vanden Heuve did not submit enough valid signatures for his name to appear on the Republican primary ballot.

In the Democratic primary, incumbent Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who first assumed office in 2021, is running for re-election against Matt Dodson (D).

According to Smart Politics' Eric Ostermeier, as of March 31, 2026, New Mexico is one of 20 states in which a Democratic and a Republican candidate have run in every U.S. Senate election since 1914 — the year that the first U.S. Senate elections took place following the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Seventeenth Amendment gave voters, rather than state legislatures, the power to elect members of the U.S. Senate.

As of March 31, 2026, the last time a Republican won a U.S. Senate general election in New Mexico was Pete Domenici (R) in 2002.

As of March 31, 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rated the general election as Solid Democratic. Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it as Safe Democratic.