2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
2 candidates · ballot order · Ben Ray Luján currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Expanding broadband access to rural and tribal communities.
Rural health care access, including a New Mexico Rural Veteran Health Care Access Act introduced in July 2026.
Lowering costs, protecting food assistance and defending affordable health care.
Protecting public lands and New Mexico's natural resources.
Supporting workers and unions, and opposing the current administration's tariffs.
Investment in rural and tribal communities.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Senator from New Mexico since January 2021; first Hispanic senator from New Mexico in more than 40 years.
U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 3rd district, 2009–2021.
Chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018, when Democrats regained the House majority.
Ranking member on the Senate Commerce subcommittee covering telecommunications and media; also serves on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Agriculture, Finance, and Indian Affairs.
Publicly demanded the administration release $675 million in BEAD broadband funding for New Mexico's rural and tribal communities.
Won the June 2 2026 Democratic primary with about 84%.
Reported roughly $4.17 million cash on hand, with contributions from labour unions, telecommunications companies and health care PACs.
Voted to confirm Alex Uballez as U.S. Attorney.
Arguments in favor
He has delivered billions of dollars in federal investment across all 33 New Mexico counties, with a focus on broadband, rural health care and tribal communities.
— Ben Ray Luján for U.S. Senate campaign
His seat on the Commerce telecommunications subcommittee has made him the state's most effective advocate on broadband, including pressing the administration to release $675 million in withheld BEAD funding.
— Ben Ray Luján for U.S. Senate campaign, and Senate Commerce Committee records
He is the first Head Start graduate elected to the Senate and the first Hispanic to represent New Mexico there in over 40 years, raised on a family farm by a union ironworker and a public school employee.
— Ben Ray Luján for U.S. Senate campaign
Arguments against
He voted to confirm U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez, and bears responsibility for that appointment in light of the DEA fentanyl scandal that broke in June 2026.
— Larry Marker, his Republican opponent
He and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez have failed victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire, whose FEMA claims remain unpaid years later.
— Larry Marker and Republican congressional nominee Martin Zamora
He is 'no heavyweight' — a senator who has benefited from an unusually smooth political path and a party machine rather than from distinction in office.
— Milan Simonich, columnist, Santa Fe New Mexican
What we couldn’t verify
His position on federal immigration enforcement in this cycle.
Whether he has responded substantively to the FEMA claims criticism.
Loosening regulations he says are hurting small businesses.
A housing affordability agenda targeting Wall Street corporate homebuyers.
Restricting illegal immigration; he says he agrees with many of President Trump's immigration policies.
Expanded gun rights and what he describes as the right to defend yourself.
Opposition to state Democratic control of land and energy policy.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Former oil and gas operator; later a building contractor, with work in farming, ranching and manufacturing.
Has not held elected office.
Won the Republican Senate nomination as a write-in candidate on June 2 2026, after Christopher Vanden Heuvel was disqualified from the primary ballot.
Unveiled a housing affordability agenda in July 2026.
Had no significant FEC campaign committee filings on record as of this research.
Was not included in the NMSU Domenici policy conference, a decision the university publicly defended.
Arguments in favor
His working life in oil and gas, farming, ranching and construction gives him direct knowledge of the regulations he says are strangling New Mexico small businesses.
— Larry Marker for Senate campaign
His housing plan targets Wall Street corporate homebuyers rather than only calling for deregulation, and he has pressed the incumbent on the DEA fentanyl scandal and unpaid Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon FEMA claims.
— Larry Marker for Senate campaign, as reported by the Roswell Daily Record
New Mexico Democrats, from the Land Office to the Governor's desk, will not say 'socialist' but govern like one, seizing control of land, energy and the right to self-defence.
— Republican Party of New Mexico
Arguments against
He is largely unknown to most New Mexico voters, which has hampered the campaign.
— Albuquerque Journal reporting on the race
His campaign has no significant FEC filings, no money and no infrastructure — the state Republican Party fielded no comparable recruit this cycle.
— Legis1 analysis of the race
He is on the ballot only because his party failed to qualify anyone through the normal route: the sole Republican filer was disqualified for not submitting enough valid signatures, and Republicans then scrambled to mount a write-in.
— New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver's disqualification ruling, as reported by the New Mexico Political Report
What we couldn’t verify
His positions on abortion, health care and foreign policy could not be established.
Whether he has an independent campaign website; the only reliable source of his statements located was the state Republican Party and local press coverage.
His campaign finances, since no significant FEC filings were found.
Whether the National Republican Senatorial Committee is supporting him in any form.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Roster established from the New Mexico Political Report, Roswell Daily Record, Santa Fe New Mexican, Albuquerque Journal and Washington Examiner coverage, cross-checked. Democratic incumbent Ben Ray Luján won the June 2 2026 primary with about 84% over Matt Dodson. The Republican side was unusual: the only Republican to file, Christopher Vanden Heuvel, was disqualified in February 2026 by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver for failing to submit enough valid signatures from registered Republicans, leaving no Republican on the primary ballot. Larry Marker then won the nomination through a write-in campaign, clearing the write-in threshold on June 2. Sources give conflicting write-in vote counts (4,470, 4,770 and 31,220 all appear), so no figure is stated below.
UNRESOLVED — worth a reviewer's check: Wikipedia's race page also lists four minor candidates as being on the November ballot — Rhett Trappman (Libertarian), Bob Perls (Forward Party, a former state representative), and independents Cameron Chick and Mira O'Connell. Cameron Chick appears in a second listing; Trappman and Perls could not be confirmed by any second source, and no substantive material on any of the four could be found. They are deliberately not listed as candidates below rather than being asserted on one unconfirmed extraction. If the reviewer can confirm them against the Secretary of State's certified list, they should be added.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
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