It wasn’t always bad.
In 2008 the Republican Party in New Mexico boasted the influential Pete Domenici as a U.S. senator plus held two out of three members of Congress, Rep. Heather Wilson and Rep. Steve Pearce. In 2009, Albuquerque elected Republican RJ Berry for mayor and, in 2010, Susanna Martinez as governor.
Then something happened: Democrats got active while the GOP rested. Democrats have always held a major advantage as far as party registration, but the GOP was able to find good candidates and win elections, until the Democrats got serious.
In the state Legislature, even though Democrats have held majorities for many decades, Republicans were able to hold off many progressive policies because of moderate and conservative Democrats in rural districts. This started coming undone when Democratic leadership started to primary moderate Democrats with progressive Democrats. This has led to New Mexico becoming one of the most progressive states in the nation, boasting no restrictions on abortions, gender-affirming care for minors, coddling the criminal over the victim and attempts at progressive gun laws.
The final death knell for the GOP in New Mexico might be happening in 2026, when the party of Lincoln was not able to get a candidate on the ballot for three statewide elections: state auditor, state treasurer and, most humiliating of all, the U.S. Senate race. A seat that Domenici won easily for years now lacks a candidate to challenge progressive leader Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from Nambé. Instead, the GOP will rely on write-in candidates.
Recently, the GOP faced another embarrassment. State Party Chair Amy Barela, I believe, is currently out of compliance with her own party’s rules. She is running against a fellow Republican, Jonathan Emery, in the Otero County Commission District 2 race. That’s a clear violation of state GOP rules even though her camp says it’s OK.
The warning signs have been evident for years that the GOP was in trouble, but influential party leaders refused to address the problems. Instead of embracing winning strategies from the Susanna Martinez campaign and others, GOP leaders went their own way and continued to lose elections.
Uniting on moderate and conservative values that had won gave way to regional factions. The GOP is not finding the right candidates; help from national organizations are nonexistent because they would rather spend their assets in more competitive states, believing New Mexico is a lost cause.
In my view, New Mexico is now being governed by the fringe left, and that is not who New Mexico voters are. The Democratic Party got hijacked. In other states, this doesn’t happen because the opposition party provides checks. Here, the New Mexico GOP is too weak to put up a fight. Many voters know that Democratic leadership in New Mexico does not share their values, but the GOP can’t capitalize on this.
President Donald Trump’s showing statewide in 2024 should have been a building block for Republicans. Instead the party was unable to capitalize. Another lost opportunity.
The GOP in New Mexico is long overdue for an intervention. If not, soon the only two viable parties in New Mexico will be the Democrats and the Democratic-Socialists. New leadership and messaging are needed for the GOP. Republicans should spread the word about our core values that many New Mexicans share, even registered Democrats: values like small government, economic opportunities, victims’ rights, respect for law and freedom.
Blame, infighting, warring factions and people who want to be right instead of moving forward have led this once proud party into the wilderness. New Mexico, along with California, is suffering from outward migration that I believe can be directly tied to progressive policies. This happens when the Republican Party sleeps. In New Mexico, the GOP is in a coma.
