The race to succeed New Mexico's outgoing secretary of state is underway
Apr. 16—SANTA FE — The contest to determine New Mexico's next top elections official is starting to come into focus.
Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin this week announced her 2026 campaign for secretary of state, becoming the first candidate in the race.
But the Democrat might face primary election competition, as Santa Fe County Clerk Katherine Clark said she's also considering running for the office.
Next year's secretary of state race will not feature an incumbent, as current officeholder Maggie Toulouse Oliver is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office.
Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, has served as secretary of state for eight-plus years. She was first elected to the office in 2016, following former Secretary of State Dianna Duran's resignation after being charged with using campaign funds to fuel a gambling habit.
López Askin, a Las Cruces native, presented herself in an interview as a "battle-tested" candidate for the state's top elections officer, citing her experience overseeing contentious elections as well as voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, confronting misinformation about how votes are processed and defending election workers from intimidation and threats.
"I have been on the front lines of literally defending our elections," she said. "It has never been more important to have somebody in the secretary of state's role that is willing to fight for the right to vote, for access to the ballot box."
She was new to elections in 2018 when Doña Ana County's Board of Commissioners appointed her to complete the term of her predecessor, Democrat Scott Krahling, after he resigned.
She took office five days before early voting began in an election cycle that included a widely scrutinized contest in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, where an unprecedented volume of absentee ballots upset what had appeared to be an election night victory for Republican Yvette Herrell, only for Democrat Xochitl Torres Small to win the seat. The unusual circumstances gave rise to rumors, conspiracy theories and threats. Herrell impounded and audited the ballots, claiming that fraud had cost her the election, although she never contested the outcome in court.
López Askin said the experience, two years before the 2020 presidential election brought similar pressures to election workers nationwide, taught her the value of transparency, engaging with news media and the public to confront false information and encourage participation.
"I fell in love with elections," she said, as she cited New Mexico's recent top ranking in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's state-by-state assessment of elections administration. "I continue to be amazed and impressed by how we run elections in New Mexico. I want to continue with that and I want to continue the top ranking we have."
López Askin was elected to her own term as county clerk in 2020 and re-elected last November. She is barred from seeking a third term in 2028 and has said she would continue to serve in office while running for secretary of state.
All New Mexico statewide offices will be on the ballot next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state.
Duran is the only Republican who has been elected secretary of state in New Mexico going back to 1929, though Republican Brad Winter was secretary of state for one year after being appointed to the post by then-Gov. Susana Martinez following Duran's resignation.
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