NM Democrats pick teachers union official as new state party chairwoman

SANTA FE — With a key election cycle on the horizon, New Mexico Democrats on Saturday picked Sara Attleson to lead the party for the next two years.

Attleson, a school librarian and teachers union fundraising official, received 38.8% of the ranked choice vote points to win election as party chairwoman, edging three other candidates.

The votes were cast by more than 460 party insiders via online balloting, with results tallied Saturday at a state central committee meeting in Albuquerque.

She takes over the party reins from Jessica Velasquez of Sandia Park, who did not seek reelection after serving as state Democratic Party chairwoman since 2021.

Attleson said in an interview after the meeting that she would seek to unite Democrats across New Mexico.

“New Mexico is a blue state, but in order to keep it blue, we need to stay united on a county level,” Attleson told the Journal.

She also said she would strive to bring the state Democratic Party back to its working-class roots, saying, “I think we’ve gotten a little far away from that.”

New Mexico has largely shed its swing state label over the last decade, as Democrats hold all statewide offices and sizable majorities in both legislative chambers. The last Republican presidential candidate to win New Mexico’s five electoral votes was George W. Bush in 2004.

But the Democratic Party’s national approval rating has sagged in recent months, and New Mexico’s all-Democratic congressional delegation has found itself in the minority in the Republican-controlled Congress.

Given that backdrop, Attleson said the Democratic Party needs to reconnect with many younger voters and Hispanic men who have drifted away from the party in recent election cycles.

Attleson and newly elected Democratic Party Vice Chairman Cam Crawford of Santa Fe also raised the alarm about the impacts President Donald Trump’s policies could have on New Mexico.

In addition to possible changes to public schools and Medicaid, Crawford, a full-time firefighter, also expressed concern about the Trump administration’s response to natural disasters as the state prepares for a potentially dangerous wildfire season.

Along with a new party chairwoman and vice chairman, New Mexico Democrats also elected Brenda Hoskie of McKinley County as party secretary and Julie Rochman of Bernalillo County as treasurer during their Saturday meeting.

The terms the new party officers were elected to will run through the 2026 election cycle, in which all statewide offices will be up for election.

The election cycle could feature several competitive Democratic primary contests, including a race for governor that has already seen Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman announce campaigns. Other Democrats could also enter the race to succeed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term next year.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., is seeking reelection next year, and Democrats will also be defending the three U.S. House seats in New Mexico they currently hold, including the hotly contested 2nd Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez.

Democrats currently make up about 43% of New Mexico’s more than 1.3 million voters, though the percentage of registered Democrats has been decreasing in recent years.