SANTA FE, N.M. — The growing ranks of New Mexico voters with no party affiliation will be allowed to vote in primary elections without changing their nonpartisan status, under a bill signed into law Monday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The change runs counter recent outcomes of election reform efforts in many other states. Last year, voters in a mixture of politically red, blue and purple states rejected state ballot initiatives to ditch traditional partisan primaries or adopt ranked choice voting.
New Mexico’s shift to partially open primaries takes effect in time for the 2026 cycle, when parties nominate candidates for three congressional seats, one U.S. Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, including governor as Lujan Grisham terms out of office. Seats in Democrat-led state House also will be up for election.
Statewide, about 23% of registered voters forgo partisan affiliation and previously were locked out the primary nomination process if unwilling to join a major party. The changes still prohibits crossover voting by members of opposing parties.
Advertisement
Last year, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and South Dakota all rejected either ranked choice voting, open primaries or a combination of both.
Lujan Grisham voiced support for the shift toward open primaries at the close of a 60-day legislative session that left her openly frustrated with public safety initiatives and efforts to improve public education.
“I think the work to have open primaries is a step in the right direction for New Mexico, where we seem to not be able to govern, in a way,” she said.
Santa Fe County, N.M., residents fill out general election ballots during the first day of general election voting, Oct. 11, 2022, in a hallway outside the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office in Santa Fe, N.M. Credit: AP/Morgan Lee
The bill from Democratic sponsors, including state Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe, was opposed by the state Republican Party as a potential “stepping stone” to fully open primaries or ranked choice voting.
Advertisement
The share of unaffiliated voters in New Mexico has swelled from 15% of registrations in 2004 to 23% this year.
Among New Mexico’s 33 counties, unaffiliated voters outnumber registered Democrats in Otero and Curry counties and outnumber Republicans in Los Alamos and Doña Ana counties.
Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature, control every statewide elected office and all three of New Mexico’s congressional seats. Trump lost the state three times, while narrowing his margin of defeat in 2024.
ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) – A dramatic crash left one teenager dead in southern New Mexico. New video shows the moments Roswell police responded to that crash, calling it the result of reckless driving. It was a chaotic scene involving six people in the collision, and almost all of them are minors. Roswell police said no teenager is facing charges.
On March 10 at 6 p.m., Roswell police responded to a crash involving a Honda Accord and a GMC Yukon SUV. In the Honda were four Roswell teenagers: two girls, ages 15 and 16, and two 17-year-old boys. One of the girls died from the injuries in the crash.
A bystander says she pulled some of the teens out of the Honda, but was unable to get that girl. In the SUV was a 56-year-old woman with her 11-year-old daughter. She told police she tried to avoid the crash. Detectives later interviewed one of the teens, who said the boy driving was going way above the speed limit, and the driver spun out.
Two other teens in the car suffered severe injuries but survived. The passengers in the SUV suffered minor injuries. The 17-year-old driver is Clarence Cheadle Jr. He’s facing six charges, including homicide by vehicle, reckless driving, and causing bodily harm.
NM FAST (New Mexico Federal and State Technology) is now accepting applications for a free space-sector accelerator cohort designed to help New Mexico-based technology companies compete for federal funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The cohort targets founders and researchers pursuing grants from NASA, Space Force and related federal agencies, with programming set to launch July 21.
The cohort will admit six to 10 New Mexico companies and run for 10 to 12 weeks, meeting in weekly sessions of approximately one and a half to two hours. Programming covers the full arc of federal commercialization strategy, including space-sector SBIR/STTR opportunities and federal funding pathways, proposal development for technical narratives and commercialization components, federal procurement positioning and agency discovery, capital strategy and follow-on funding options, and transition planning from Phase I to Phase II awards. Participants also receive targeted one-on-one advisory support throughout the program. The cohort is offered at no cost to accepted companies.
The program is open to companies at both the pre-award and early-award stages. The majority of cohort seats are designed for Phase 0 companies preparing to submit Phase I SBIR/STTR applications to NASA or Space Force. A limited number of seats are available for Phase I awardees working toward Phase II readiness and Phase III transition planning.
Advertisement
“New Mexico has a deep base of research and a growing pipeline of founders ready to translate that work into companies that can compete for federal R&D dollars,” said Carlos Murguia, director of the Technology and Innovation Gateway at Arrowhead Center. “This cohort focuses specifically on the space sector, pairing New Mexico companies with Larta’s expertise in SBIR and STTR commercialization to give founders a clear, structured path from early-stage research to federal award.”
Larta Institute, NM FAST’s commercialization partner for this program, will lead the full design and delivery of the accelerator curriculum. Larta has supported startups that have collectively raised more than $23.7 billion since 1993 and brings that track record to founders working in New Mexico’s growing aerospace and space technology sector.
The cohort aligns with the aerospace priority sector named in the New Mexico Entrepreneurship Programmatic Support Grant and is relevant to companies working at the intersection of advanced computing, bioscience and advanced energy applications in space-related contexts.
NM FAST is administered by Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University and operates statewide, serving founders in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Los Alamos and rural communities across New Mexico. Over more than a decade of programming, NM FAST has supported more than 470 New Mexico startups and helped companies secure nearly $28 million in federal SBIR awards. Targeted outreach is directed to rural, women, veteran and minority entrepreneurs.
The program is sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Technology and Innovation Office through the New Mexico Entrepreneurship Programmatic Support Grant, which supports continued statewide programming for SBIR/STTR-eligible companies in the four priority sectors.
Advertisement
Applications are open now and will be accepted through July 14, 2026. Interested companies can apply at forms.gle/CqSwEL7LahqB5pGu9. Space is limited, and selected companies will be notified before the program launch.
