Men have long dominated politics in New Mexico.
Over the last two decades, however, women have not only made inroads in the political sphere but have seized control.
More than half of all lawmakers elected to the Legislature are female, and women — first Republican Susana Martinez and then Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham — have called the shots in the Governor’s Office since 2011.
The trend could continue.
For the first time in New Mexico history, two women are at the top of the Democratic ticket in November following Tuesday’s primary election, which saw Deb Haaland and Maggie Toulouse Oliver both clinching the nominations for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Both faced male opponents. Both crushed them at the polls.
During a news conference Wednesday, Haaland, a former congresswoman and U.S. interior secretary who is making a historic bid to become the nation’s first female Native American governor, said she was “very excited” about having Toulouse Oliver as a running mate and the all-female Democratic ticket.
“Look, women are winning in New Mexico,” she said. “We have a majority female Legislature, and … we’ll absolutely work as hard as we can, but I’m excited to have her on the campaign trail with me and just feel like we can activate a lot of voters, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Toulouse Oliver, a former Bernalillo County clerk currently serving as New Mexico’s secretary of state, expressed similar enthusiasm.
“I look forward to winning alongside Deb Haaland in November on this historic all-women ticket, and electing the first Indigenous woman as governor in U.S. history,” she said in a statement. “Together, we will deliver a more affordable and vibrant New Mexico.”
‘Representation matters’
The November general election will be a battle of the sexes.
Haaland and Toulouse Oliver will square off against Gregg Hull, a former three-term mayor of Rio Rancho, and state Sen. David Gallegos of Eunice, both of whom won the Republican nomination for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Hull said he doesn’t think gender will be a factor.
“Ultimately, this particular race is going to come down to messaging and who we believe is going to lead the state forward and really work hard on fixing the education system, really work hard on helping fix the crime,” he said during Friday’s episode of The New Mexican‘s Around the Roundhouse podcast.
Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, one of 11 female Republican House members, echoed the sentiment, saying candidate qualifications are more important to the electorate.
“I’d like to think that the voters of New Mexico make their choices based on individual candidates and not gender,” she said.
Estela Hernandez, executive director of Emerge New Mexico, which works to increase the number of Democratic women and nonbinary people in public office, said the historic nature of having women at the top of the ticket will certainly be part of the conversation leading up to the election.
“I understand why many people see significance in that. Representation matters. It sends a powerful message about who can lead and whose voices belong at decision-making tables,” she said in a statement.
Still, she said most voters will ultimately make their decisions based on the candidates themselves, including their values, qualifications and vision for New Mexico’s future.
“The significance of this moment is not simply that the candidates are women,” she said. “It’s that women have earned their place in these races through years of leadership, public service, and hard work. The goal has never been electing women because they are women. The goal is ensuring talented, qualified women have a fair opportunity to compete, lead, and serve. New Mexico is increasingly demonstrating that when those opportunities exist, voters are willing to support them.”
‘A national example’
Whether two women at the top of the Democratic ticket will be a factor remains to be seen, but a gender breakdown by party in the primary election found roughly twice as many women voted for Democrats than Republicans in the primary, which the Democratic Party of New Mexico said shows Democrats maintain a strong level of support and trust with women.
“New Mexico Democrats have set a national example for women in leadership for years, and we continue to build on that progress,” party Chair Sara Attleson said Friday.
“Our state Legislature already holds the largest majority of women lawmakers in U.S. history, and as we head into the general election, we’re campaigning to ensure our state’s executive branch remains majority-women for the next four years. But this year, we’re especially proud to be supporting women candidates to hold all three of the top offices in gubernatorial succession for the very first time in state history,” she said, referring to Haaland, Toulouse Oliver and Amanda López Askin, who won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state.
“From Congress to the state Legislature to statewide office, Democratic women have earned voters’ trust election after election because we deliver policies that improve lives, especially for New Mexican women and families,” Attleson said, asserting Republicans have only made life more expensive and “continually attack women’s healthcare and rights.”
House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, a Santa Fe Democrat who previously served as executive director of Emerge, predicts Democrats will keep the state’s highest office in November.
“New Mexico is a place where women’s leadership isn’t the exception — it’s the expectation,” she said.
“Today in our Roundhouse, we are fortunate to have men and women who truly reflect our great state — in all its incredible diversity — working alongside each other to put our people first,” she said. “With Deb and Maggie at the top of the ticket, I am confident we can fight and win in the general election.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart, an Albuquerque Democrat who is one of the most powerful women in the Legislature, said New Mexico has been a leader in electing women to public office.
“This November, voters will have the opportunity to make history by sending an all-woman ticket to the state’s highest offices,” she said in a statement. “Our current governor and the amazing women now serving in the Legislature prove that when we are at the table and in leading roles, we produce better outcomes for every New Mexican. This ticket reflects the strength, talent, and leadership that New Mexico women bring to public service, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
‘Depth of leadership’
Hernandez said 39 Emerge New Mexico alumni will be on the ballot in November, including 10 who won contested primary races.
“Seeing an Emerge NM alum at the top of the Democratic ticket is something we’re incredibly proud of,” she said, referring to Haaland, who was part of the organization’s class of 2007.
“But what excites me even more is the depth of leadership behind that moment,” she said. “We have built a strong and growing bench of women leaders across the state, and voters are responding to candidates who are deeply connected to their communities and focused on solving real problems.”
Former state Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill, D-Silver City, wrote in a Facebook post “something deeper is stirring beneath” Haaland’s historic nomination for governor.
“For generations our world has been shaped by systems that reward domination, extraction, and control,” she wrote. “We are all living with the consequences of that in our communities, in our families, and in our relationship with the Earth itself.”
The answer, she wrote, is not about replacing one gender with another but restoring balance.
“The future will belong to those who know how to heal what others only know how to rule,” she wrote. “Maybe this is what the elders meant when they said there would come a time when the world would need the wisdom of women again.”
