AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the New Mexico presidential and state primaries

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Mexico voters will be among the last to cast ballots for presidential nominees when the state holds its presidential and state primaries on Tuesday.

That day includes the final four contests on the Republican side and is the penultimate presidential primary day on the Democratic side. Both parties have had their presumptive nominees — former President Donald Trump on the Republican side and President Joe Biden on the Democratic side — since mid-March.

New Mexico has voted reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections, but its downballot contests have been more competitive.

In 2022, Democrats won all three of New Mexico’s congressional districts, aided by a new map that shifted a Republican-leaning district to the left. In the fall, the most closely watched district will be the 2nd, a swing seat along the Mexican border where first-term Rep. Gabe Vasquez will face a rematch with the incumbent he defeated, former Rep. Yvette Herrell. Herrell is uncontested in the Republican primary.

The sole contested U.S. House primary is on the Republican side in the 1st District. Businessman Louie Sanchez and accountant Steve Jones are running in the Albuquerque-based district, the most Democratic-leaning in the state. The winner will face incumbent Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who has represented the district since winning a special election in 2021 to succeed current Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

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