The Democratic and Republican primaries occurred today in New Mexico to select candidates for the November 2026 general election. This post covers the races for county positions in the state’s two most-populous counties - Bernalillo and Doña Ana. Separate posts will be covering the primaries for federal races, statewide executive offices, and all 70 seats in the State House of Representatives.
The general election for these county positions in New Mexico’s main population centers will be held on November 3, 2026.
Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners:
District 1:
Incumbent Barbara Christine Baca won the Democratic primary.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
District 5:
Incumbent Eric Olivas won the Democratic primary with 55.6% (8,639) against business owner Byron Powdrell with 44.4% (6,907). 15,546 votes counted.
Financial advisor Thomas Wayne Riley won the Republican primary with 70.5% (5,688) against engineer Wayne Yevoli with 29.5% (2,380). 8,068 votes counted.
Bernalillo County Officials:
Assessor:
Former County Clerk Linda Stover won the Democratic primary with 51.9% (38,965) against incumbent Damian Lara with 48.1% (36,048). 75,013 votes counted.
Michael Maine won the Republican primary.
Sheriff:
Incumbent John Allen won the Democratic primary with 70.2% (49,199) against district court services administrator Philip Snedeker with 29.8% (20,895). 70,094 votes counted.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners:
District 1:
Organizer Daisy Ann Maldonado won the Democratic primary with 53.7% (2,017) against entrepreneur Angela Rowe Garcia with 46.3% (1,738). 3,755 votes counted.
Attorney Samantha Barncastle Salopek won the Republican primary.
District 3:
Former State Representative Willie Madrid won the Democratic primary.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
Doña Ana County Officials:
Assessor:
Incumbent Eugenia Montoya Ortega won the Democratic primary with 44.5% (7,008) against sales administration supervisor Ruben Ramon Reyes with 28.9% (4,545) and County Commissioner Shannon Dale Reynolds with 26.6% (4,182). 15,735 votes counted.
No candidate qualified for the Republican primary.
Sheriff:
Former Anthony police chief Vanessa Ordonez won the Democratic primary with 36.7% (6,034) against retired state police instructor James Frietze with 33.2% (5,464), former law enforcement officer Jon Day with 9.4% (1,542), intelligence analyst Gabriela Lozano with 8.3% (1,367), former Border Patrol agent Rafael Reyes Jr. with 6.4% (1,052), retired U.S. customs agent Ricardo Segovia with 3.5% (572), and retired police officer Eugene Charles Alvarez with 2.5% (406). 16,437 votes counted.
Former Sheriff Todd Garrison won the Republican primary with 56.7% (4,181) against insurance agent Jaime Marquez Quezada with 16.5% (1,220), 2022 nominee Byron Hollister with 15.7% (1,160), and Army Green Beret Gabriel Lee Baisas with 11.0% (814). 7,375 votes counted.