Former Biden administration Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will face former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull in New Mexico’s gubernatorial election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Haaland outpaced Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s June 2 Democratic primary to earn the party’s November nod, while Hull nudged two GOP rivals to secure the Republican berth.
Elected to represent New Mexico’s Congressional District 1 in 2018 and reelected in 2020 before being confirmed as Interior Secretary from 2021 to 2025, Haaland defeated Bregman 69,526 votes to 25,895 votes in a race that polls indicated she was projected to win by double-digit percentage points. The Associated Press called the race for Haaland at 9:34 p.m. ET on June 2.
She enters the general election as the favorite in the gubernatorial race in a state The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate as “Likely Democratic.” Both of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators and all three of its U.S. House representatives are Democrats. The party holds near super-majorities in the state Legislature.
Hull, an entrepreneur first elected in 2014 as mayor of Rio Rancho—New Mexico’s third-largest city—where he served three terms, surpassed medical cannabis entrepreneur and former state cabinet secretary Duke Rodriguez and small business owner Doug Turner to win the Republican primary.
The Republican is the underdog in the general election, with $520,250 in campaign cash on hand—as of May 26—to Haaland’s $10.75 million.
Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, would be the first Native American woman to serve as governor of any state if elected in November. Only the populations of Alaska and Oklahoma include a higher percentage of Native Americans than New Mexico’s 12.25 percent.
The New Mexico gubernatorial race is one of 36 governor elections nationwide in 2026. Those 36 seats are now evenly occupied by 18 Democrats and 18 Republicans, with Democrats defending five governorships in states President Donald Trump won in 2024: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Of the six states including New Mexico with June 2 primaries, parties also are selecting November gubernatorial candidates in California, Iowa, and South Dakota.