this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2026
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Political Optimism

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No Republicans to appear on ballot in 2026 New Mexico Senate election (www.alternet.org)
submitted 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) by bibbasa@piefed.social to c/politicaloptimism@piefed.social
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The conservative Washington Examiner reported Thursday that no GOP candidate will appear on the ballot for the U.S. Senate race because they failed to meet all requirements.

Of the three republicans who ran, NONE qualified to appear on the ballot for the New Mexico senate.

The Albuquerque Journal reported it is the first time in modern history that a Republican won't even appear on the ballot

and for a candidate to qualify:

Candidates must submit a nominating petition signed by a number of voters equal to at least two percent (2%) of the total vote of the candidate’s party in the state or congressional district

...and for context:

Lujan won his first Senate election in 2020 with 51.72% of the vote, compared to his Republican rival’s 45.62%.

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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Are we living in the national version of Brownback-istan? The time when Kansas went full on GOP mindset and bankrupted the state while simultaneously providing far fewer state benefits to its citizens only to hand the Governor's office to the Democrats to this day?

[–] Einskjaldi@lemmy.world 9 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe, but you often have candidates strategically wait out terrible years, and this midterm is it.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 2 points 11 hours ago

Yeah, if I was thinking of running for Congress as a Republican (heaven forbid), I'd probably wait 2026 out. Incumbents will surely shoot their shot, but if you're running for the first time, why waste the time, effort, and campaign funding when you're obviously facing such an uphill battle?