Governor candidates rake in hefty campaign finance hauls as 2026 approaches

SANTA FE — With the race to determine New Mexico’s next governor starting to heat up, several candidates are amassing formidable campaign accounts.

Democrat Deb Haaland, the former U.S. interior secretary, was poised Tuesday to report having raised more than $4 million over the last six months, bringing her total fundraising haul to nearly $7 million since announcing her campaign in February.

She has spent roughly $4.1 million to date, leaving about $2.8 million in her campaign account.

“I look forward to continuing to travel the state, hearing directly from New Mexicans about their struggles, and what they want to see in plans for affordability, healthcare, education, and public safety,” Haaland said in a statement.

Sam Bregman, the Bernalillo County district attorney who is also seeking the Democratic nomination in next year’s race, reported taking in nearly $2.5 million during the same time period. He launched his campaign in April, about two months after Haaland, and has about $1.5 million in his campaign war chest.

“As the outsider in this race, nobody expected us to raise this kind of money,” Bregman said. “But I’ve never been one to shy away from hard work. This incredible show of support proves folks are ready for something new.”

Bregman’s donations include maximum $12,400 contributions from Alex Bregman and his wife, Reegan. Alex Bregman, who plays third base for the Boston Red Sox, is Sam Bregman’s son but has not been previously been actively involved in his father’s political campaign.

Both Haaland and Bregman are former Democratic Party chairs who have also held elected office, as Haaland was elected to two terms representing an Albuquerque-based congressional seat, while Bregman was an Albuquerque city councilor in the 1990s, in addition to his current job as district attorney.

As the two highest-profile candidates in the race, they have sparred in recent weeks about policy plans, debate challenges and plagiarism allegations.

However, while they have raised the most money and generated most of the attention so far, Bregman and Haaland are not the only candidates in the governor’s race.

Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, the third Democrat in the race, said he has not accepted donations from political committees, special interest groups or businesses with state contracts.

Miyagishima, who works in the insurance industry, did report loaning $50,000 to his own campaign. That loan made up more than half of his $69,152 in total contributions.

“It is all too common to see significant donations from businesses that later become vendors for candidates who win office,” he said in a statement. “I am determined to break this cycle.”

On the Republican side, Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull reported raising about $123,000 for his campaign, including contributions from Clovis Mayor Mike Morris. He has a balance of roughly $200,000 in his campaign account.

Hull confirmed his plans to run for governor earlier this year but did not officially launch his campaign until Tuesday, after postponing a planned June campaign launch.

Several other Republicans have also acknowledged interest in the race, including cannabis industry entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez, but have not yet announced their candidacies.

Next year’s race for governor is an open contest, since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term in office.

It’s also expected to be an expensive one, as the 2022 race between Lujan Grisham and Republican Mark Ronchetti was one of the most expensive in state history. Lujan Grisham spent roughly $13 million during that year’s race, while Ronchetti ended up spending more than $9 million. Those figures do not include hefty spending on the race by outside groups.

While next year’s race will not feature an incumbent, the winner of the Democratic primary contest in June 2026 will likely enter the general election cycle as the odds-on favorite. That’s because no Republican has won election to a statewide office in New Mexico since former Gov. Susana Martinez left office at the end of 2018.

The reports filed Tuesday with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office cover money raised and spent from April 8 through Oct. 6. The next round of mandatory reports will not have to be filed by candidates until next year.