See which legislative races are close, which are lopsided based on fundraising data

Patrick Lohmann
·2 min read

The House Chambers inside the Roundhouse on Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM)

Two long-time Gallup lawmakers and one from Elephant Butte have the most money to spend in the New Mexico Legislature as they and their opponents gear up for upcoming primaries.

Sen. George Muñoz and Rep. Patti Lundstrom, both Democrats, and Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, a Republican, have the top three biggest campaign fund balances, according to filings candidates provided earlier this month to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.

Lundstrom’s filings show she has more than $280,000 on hand, while Muñoz and Brantley each reported more than $300,000. 

Muñoz and Lundstrom have at least one primary challenger, and their campaign war chests greatly dwarf what their opponents raised. Brantley is unopposed. 

Progressives going after incumbents in hot Democratic primaries

Lundstrom, a longtime incumbent and former chair of the powerful House budget committee, faces two primary opponents: Chris Hudson, who had less than $3,000 as of April 8, and Arval McCabe, who had a single dollar after donating himself $52 and spending $51 of that on voter registration fees, according to Secretary of State records. 

Muñoz’s opponent, Keith Edward Hillock, has $130 on hand. 

While the three senators have the most cash on hand, Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) raised the most, by far. Filings show raised more than $1.2 million and then spent more than $1 million of it, leaving him with about $200,000. He also has no opponents for his district. 

Elsewhere in the state, eight primary races are much more competitive, at least as far as fundraising is concerned, according to a Source New Mexico review. 

Those districts include a four-person Democratic primary in Albuquerque’s House District 18, where three of the four candidates have between $30,000 and $60,000, and a show-off between two Libertarians in Los Alamos in which one candidate has $100 and the other zero. 

See below for to look at the state of the fundraising race ahead of the June 4 primary, including interactive maps of competitive races:

The post See which legislative races are close, which are lopsided based on fundraising data appeared first on Source New Mexico.