26-04-2025
With key election cycle on horizon, four candidates vying to lead NM Democratic Party
Apr. 25—SANTA FE — It's been a golden age for New Mexico Democrats since winning all statewide elected offices in 2018.
The state currently has an all-Democratic congressional delegation, hefty majorities in both legislative chambers and has not seen a GOP candidate win a statewide race in nearly a decade.
But some trouble spots have emerged, including Democrats' sagging national approval ratings, infighting among party officials and Republicans cutting into Democrats' statewide voter registration advantage.
In addition, while New Mexico cast its five electoral votes for Democrat Kamala Harris after last year's election, President Donald Trump made inroads in most of the state's 33 counties compared to his 2020 performance.
Given that backdrop, four candidates are vying to be the next leader of the state Democratic Party. The chairman election will take place during a state central committee meeting on Saturday in Albuquerque that will be attended by an estimated 500 delegates from around the state.
Outgoing Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Velasquez of Sandia Park, who is not seeking reelection to the post she's held since 2021, insisted the party is in strong shape.
"We managed to transform the Democratic Party of New Mexico into quite the formidable election-winning machine," Velasquez said in a Friday interview.
But she acknowledged challenges facing the party on a national level, amid recent polling that shows a paltry approval rating among frustrated supporters.
She said Democrats must redouble their efforts to show the American people they stand with working families.
In order to do that, she cited a recent string of town hall meetings that members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have held around the state.
"I think that Democrats across the country absolutely have to stay in touch with those core values and make sure we're showing up in communities across the country ... to really reengage with the electorate," Velasquez said.
Four candidates in the mix to lead state party
Several of the four candidates running to lead state Democrats through the 2026 election cycle already hold party roles.
The candidates include Sara Attleson, a school librarian and teachers union leader who chairs the DPNM labor caucus, and Marisol Enriquez, who has been Bernalillo County Democratic Party's chairwoman since April 2023.
The other two candidates are interim Mora County Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Weathers and Letitia Montoya of Santa Fe, who has run unsuccessfully in the past for county clerk and secretary of state.
In addition to picking a new state party chairperson, Democratic delegates to the state central committee meeting will also choose other party officials, including vice chair, secretary and treasurer.
Voting for the positions is being conducted by online absentee ballot using a ranked-choice style format, a party spokesman said. Voting began last weekend and will wrap up Saturday afternoon before results are announced.
New leadership in both major parties
The election of new officers in the New Mexico Democratic Party means both of the state's primary political parties will enter the 2026 election cycle with new leaders.
New Mexico Republicans also recently held leadership elections, with GOP insiders picking Otero County Commissioner Amy Barela as the new state party chairwoman in December.
All state offices will be up for election next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state. All 70 state House seats will also be up for election, along with New Mexico's three seats in the U.S. House.
With the key election cycle on the horizon, Velasquez said she's making good on her pledge to step aside after serving two terms as state Democratic Party chairwoman, adding it's healthy for new leaders to step up.
"These offices in our party are not meant to be lifetime positions," she said, adding she has not endorsed any of the candidates in the race to succeed her.
Velasquez also said she believes there is room for disagreement on policy issues within the Democratic Party.
"The Democratic Party has always prided itself on being the big tent party, and that means that folks will disagree," she said. "I think it's healthy for any organization to be able to rumble with tougher conversations, because it's through that kind of discussion and discourse that we find workable solutions that can be put into action."
But some of those "tougher conversations" have taken place internally, as DPNM Vice Chairman Manny Crespin last month accused Velasquez and the state party's executive director Sean Ward of blocking access to his official email account, according to an email obtained by the Journal.
Crespin, who is the only current state Democratic Party official seeking reelection on Saturday, described the act as retaliation to past criticisms he had levied.
