Chair Sara Attleson
Democratic Party of New Mexico 

DPNM News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The Democratic Party of New Mexico recently applied to the Democratic National Committee to move up the state’s presidential primary election to become one of the first voting states in 2028.

New Mexico’s presidential primary is currently held in June, long after the nomination contest is effectively decided. However, New Mexico’s electorate, with its plurality of Hispanic/Latino, rural, and largely working-class population, is one of the best reflections of the kinds of voters the Democratic Party must appeal to in order to win, not just today, but in the future.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Sara Attleson released the following statement explaining why New Mexico deserves to be an early state in the Democratic presidential primary: 

“We submitted a bid to hold an early presidential primary because the Democratic Party is facing real national challenges — and New Mexico shows the path forward. Across the country, Democrats have struggled to earn support from rural, working-class, Native American, and Hispanic and Latino voters. In just a decade, Democrats in New Mexico have turned our state into a bright blue beacon along the Southern Border by advancing bold policies and delivering real results for the voters who reside in these communities.

“Unlike states where candidates can win by focusing on a single population center, New Mexico requires campaigns to build broad coalitions in every corner of the state — including Tribal sovereign nations, traditional Hispanic rural communities, small towns, and working-class urban and suburban neighborhoods.

“These are the voters who will decide the next presidential election. An early presidential primary in New Mexico would put candidates to the test, requiring them to build the coalition Democrats need to win nationwide and reclaim the White House.”

Key Points in the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s Application to the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee

• The New Mexico media market is incredibly accessible in terms of paid and earned media. New Mexico is predominately covered by one media market, the Albuquerque-Santa Fe DMA.
• In the 2024 presidential election, the Trump campaign and the national Republican Party increased their focus on Hispanic/Latino voter outreach. The consequences of losing support with Hispanic/Latino voters could play a pivotal role determining the outcomes in swing-states. New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino voters in the country. 
• Native American voters are a critical yet persistently underrepresented constituency in the presidential nominating process, and New Mexico is uniquely positioned to address this gap. More than 10% of New Mexico’s population is Native American. Despite the decisive role Native voters play in close general elections, no current early or pre-window nominating contest meaningfully reflects a large Native electorate or requires sustained, government-to-government engagement with Tribal nations.
• No pre-window state during the 2024 primary cycle shared the United States-Mexico border. According to data released by the Pew Research Center in February of 2024, 78% of Americans said that the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border was either a crisis or a major problem, underscoring the issue’s centrality in modern presidential elections. Including New Mexico as an early nominating state would ensure that presidential candidates confront one of the nation’s most continuously consequential policy challenges early and substantively.
• While New Mexico is geographically large, its population is concentrated along the I-25 and I-40 corridors, making in-person campaigning highly feasible. The state’s major population centers—Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Las Cruces—cover all three congressional districts, with most rural and Tribal communities reachable within two hours by car from Albuquerque.
• During the 2024 election cycle, statisticians, pollsters, and political pundits saw two factors largely driving vote choice: educational attainment and rural/urban divide. New Mexico is one of the strongest outliers on this national trend. Although New Mexico has a low percentage of voters with a Bachelor’s degree and is a less urban state, it has remained blue despite these national trends.

Background on the Early State Selection Process

The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will conduct an initial review of the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s application next week. Following a thorough evaluation of all submissions, the DNC will invite selected states seeking to hold primaries before Super Tuesday to participate in formal interviews. A statute change within state law would be necessary should the DNC move up New Mexico’s presidential primary date. This would also mean that the Republican Party and any other potential minor parties to hold a presidential primary in New Mexico would also move up their primaries. As New Mexico now holds semi-open primaries, declined-to-state voters would be able to vote in the Democratic presidential primary.