The 2020 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to represent the

State of New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, concurrently with the

2020 U.S. presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, and various state and local elections. On March 25, 2019, incumbent Democratic Senator

Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from ...

announced that he would retire. Udall was the only Democratic senator who did not run for reelection in 2020. Democratic U.S. Representative

Ben Ray Luján Ben Ray Luján ( ; born June 7, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2021 and the assistant House Democratic leade ...

defeated Mark Ronchetti by a 6.1% margin. Luján underperformed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 4.6%, who won the concurrent presidential election in the state against President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

by 10.8%.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Representative for

New Mexico's 3rd congressional district New Mexico's 3rd congressional district serves the northern half of New Mexico, including the state's Capital, Santa Fe. The district has a significant Native American presence, encompassing most of the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation, ...

Withdrew

*Giovanni Haqani, businessman, television host, and candidate for state representative in 2016 *Andrew Perkins, accountant and former Española finance director *

Maggie Toulouse Oliver Maggie Toulouse Oliver (born ) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secr ...

, incumbent Secretary of State of New Mexico ''(endorsed Ben Ray Luján)''

Declined

* Jeff Apodaca, businessman and candidate for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

* Hector Balderas,

Attorney General of New Mexico The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...

*Terry Brunner, former

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

regional director * Pete Campos, state senator *

Jacob Candelaria Jacob Rodney Candelaria (born 1987) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate for the 26th district from 2013 to 2022. First elected in 2012 as a Democrat, he later left the party in 2021 to become an ...

, state senator * Joe Cervantes, state senator and candidate for governor in

* Brian Egolf, speaker of the

New Mexico House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , ...

Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017 and a ...

, U.S. Representative ''(endorsed Ben Ray Luján)''; (running for re-election) * Tim Keller, mayor of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of governors of New Mexico, 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , inc ...

''(endorsed Ben Ray Luján)'' *

Howie Morales Henry C. "Howie" Morales (born January 5, 1973) is an American politician and educator serving as the 30th lieutenant governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the New Mexico State Senator from the 28th ...

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico The lieutenant governor of New Mexico ( es, Lista de Vicegobernadores de Nuevo México) is an elected official in the state of New Mexico that ranks just below the governor of New Mexico. The lieutenant governor is the first person in the order of ...

Valerie Plame Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer ...

, former CIA operations officer * Jeff Steinborn, state senator *

Xochitl Torres Small Xochitl Liana Torres Small (first name pronounced ; born November 15, 1984) is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2021. Since 2021, she has served as Under Secretary of Agric ...

, U.S. Representative * Raúl Torrez,

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo ...

district attorney (running for re-election) *

, incumbent U.S. Senator ''(endorsed Ben Ray Luján)'' * Alan Webber,

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Santa Fe

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

*Mark Ronchetti, former

KRQE KRQE (channel 13) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to Santa Fe–licensed ''de facto'' CW owned-and-operated station KWBQ (channel 19) a ...

chief meteorologist

Eliminated in primary

*Gavin Clarkson, former professor at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

and nominee for

New Mexico Secretary of State The secretary of state of New Mexico is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Twenty-six individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. Since 1923, every elected N ...

*Elisa Martinez, member of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

and executive director of the New Mexico Alliance for Life

Withdrawn

*Rick Montoya, businessman *Mick Rich, businessman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

*Louie Sanchez, indoor shooting range owner

Declined

*Rod Adair, former state senator * Richard J. Berry, former mayor of

*Kevin DuPriest, businessman, data scientist * Kelly Fajardo, state representative * Nate Gentry, minority leader of the

*Michael Hendricks, attorney and nominee for Attorney General in

Yvette Herrell Stella Yvette Herrell ( ; born March 16, 1964) is an American politician and realtor serving as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, she served four terms as a member of the New M ...

, former state representative and nominee for

New Mexico's 2nd congressional district New Mexico's 2nd congressional district serves the southern half of New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Roswell, and the southern fourth of Albuquerque. Geographically, it is the fifth-largest district in the nation and the largest to not co ...

(Herrell is running for U.S. House of Representatives CD2) *David Hyder, Valencia County Commissioner * Sarah Maestas Barnes, former state representative *Steve Maestas, real estate developer *

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

, former

* Mark Moores, state senator * Judith Nakamura, New Mexico Supreme Court justice * Steve Pearce, chair of the

New Mexico Republican Party The Republican Party of New Mexico is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Mexico. It is headquartered in Albuquerque and led by Chair Steve Pearce, Vice Chair Frank Trambley, Secretary Mari Trujillo Spinelli, and Treasure ...

, former U.S. Representative, nominee for the U.S. Senate in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and nominee for governor in

* John Sanchez, former

Polling

Results

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominee

*Bob Walsh, nuclear safety scientist

Declined

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

, former

and nominee for U.S. Senate in

Results

General election

Debate

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;Ben Ray Luján vs. Gavin Clarkson ;Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican * Colfax (largest municipality: Raton) * Harding (largest municipality:

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

) *

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

(largest municipality:

Lordsburg Lordsburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. Hidalgo County includes the southern "bootheel" of New Mexico, along the Arizona border. The population was 2,797 at the 2010 census, down from 3,379 in 20 ...

) *

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

(largest municipality: Deming) *

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

(largest municipality:

Los Lunas Los Lunas is a village in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population is 14,835 inside the village limits due to the new housing developments at El Cerro de Los Lunas (Huning Ranch). It is the county ...

)

Notes

;Partisan clients ;Voter samples

References

External links

* * * (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters) * ;Official campaign websites
Ben Ray Luján (D) for Senate

Mark Ronchetti (R) for Senate

Bob Walsh (L) for Senate
{{2020 United States elections

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Open seats in the 2020 United States Senate elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Polling

Results

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominee

Declined

Results

General election

Debate

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links