State Rep. Matthew McQueen touts experience in launching land commissioner bid

SANTA FE — Six-term state representative Matthew McQueen is entering the race for New Mexico land commissioner, setting up an increasingly crowded 2026 contest for the statewide office.

McQueen, a Galisteo Democrat, will have to give up the House District 50 seat he’s held since 2015 in order to run in the open race, though he plans to serve out the remainder of the two-year term he was elected to last year.

But he said Monday he believes he would be a “really good fit” for the State Land Office, citing his work as both a legislator and attorney who specializes in conservation easements.

“I have this whole career I can draw from,” McQueen told the Journal.

The chairman of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, McQueen said he would seek to build on the work done by current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard.

Garcia Richard, who is also a former state legislator, is barred by the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term next year and announced in March her plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2026.

As a legislator, McQueen helped secure passage of a 2019 law banning coyote-killing contests in New Mexico and was a key architect of a bill passed this year to overhaul the state Department of Game and Fish.

He has also split with fellow Democrats on some bills, including opposing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s push to incentivize hydrogen production in New Mexico.

If elected land commissioner, McQueen said he would be against selling state trust land to developers but said he would be open to potential land swaps and consider best land use on a parcel-by-parcel basis.

The State Land Office oversees more than 9 million acres of state trust land, plus 13 million subsurface acres, for the benefit of public schools and other beneficiaries.

The annual earnings recorded by the office jumped from roughly $1.1 billion during the 2019 budget year to nearly $2.6 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with more than 90% of that amount coming from oil and natural gas royalties.

While acknowledging renewable energy projects and other activities are not currently positioned to come close to the revenue production of the oil and gas industries, McQueen said he believes it’s vital to pursue such options when practical.

“It’s really important we diversify our income from state trust land,” he said.

Two other Democrats have already launched campaigns for land commissioner, former state Democratic Party official Juan Sanchez and former Biden appointee Jonas Moya.

Whoever wins the Democratic Party nomination in next year’s primary election will face off against the Republican Party nominee in the November general election. No GOP candidates have publicly announced plans to run in the race as of yet.

The June 2026 primary election will be the first such election in which independent voters are allowed to vote without changing their party affiliation, under a law signed this year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.