Haaland projected to keep New Mexico Democratic
The former U.S. representative leads Gregg Hull by a 14-point margin as polls close.
By Rosa Wojcik ·
Voters in New Mexico will hand the governor's office to a new leader tonight. KOB 4 projects Democrat Deb Haaland to win the 2026 gubernatorial race. She faces Republican challenger Gregg Hull.
At 8:46 p.m., the network reported Haaland holding 57% of the vote against Hull's 43%. The gap puts her ahead by 14 percentage points. This lead secures the state's top executive post for the Democratic Party.
New Mexico has seen a shift in its executive leadership over the past decade. In 2014, Republican Susana Martinez won the office. She was re-elected in 2018 with 321,219 votes, or just over 53% of the total. Democrats took back the governor's mansion in 2018 when Michelle Lujan Grisham won with 398,368 votes, capturing just over 57% of the ballot. Lujan Grisham retained her seat in 2022 with 370,168 votes, or just shy of 52%.
Haaland's projected victory extends a recent pattern of Democratic control. She becomes the first Native American woman to serve as a state governor in the United States. She also marks the first time since 1982 that a major party has retained power in the governor's mansion with consecutive governors. The last back-to-back wins for a party occurred after Democrat Toney Anaya succeeded Bruce King in 1982.
The state has had three consecutive female governors, starting with Susana Martinez. Haaland is the third consecutive Democratic governor to have previously served in Congress. She directly succeeds Lujan Grisham, a role she also held before Lujan Grisham won her first term. Since June 16, 2015, Democrats have won every statewide race in New Mexico. The only exception was the re-election of Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura in 2016.
Haaland is scheduled to address supporters at the Route 66 Casino Hotel later tonight. Her victory comes despite some attrition among Democratic-leaning voters. Her total vote count lagged behind Democrats running in other statewide races. This suggests a narrower base of support compared to other candidates on the ticket.
The 2026 result places Haaland in a distinct historical position. She is the first major party candidate to keep the governor's office in her party's hands after a previous governor served two back-to-back terms. New Mexico only allowed governors to serve consecutive terms after 1986. Her win follows a period where no governor won with a landslide since Democrat Bill Richardson captured nearly 69% of the vote in 2006.
