The results of the special election held by the DPNM State Central Committee are in, and State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard will fill the vacancy on the November ballot created when June 2 primary winner, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, stepped down from the nomination for health reasons.  Although the SCC balloting was done by ranked-choice-voting, Richard won a majority (53%) of first-choice votes, which, according to DPNM rules, makes her the winner. 

Commissioner of Public Lands for two terms, Garcia Richard is the first woman, first Latina, and first educator to serve in the post.  Born in Tucumcari and raised in Silver City, she earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City. She was a State Representative for District 14 (Los Alamos area) from 2013 to 2018 when elected Land Commissioner. She was the Vice Chair of the New Mexico State Investment Council and in 2025 received the Luminaria Award from Conservation Voters New Mexico for her environmental advocacy.  As Land Commissioner, she issued a moratorium on new oil/gas/mineral leases across roughly 72,800 acres near Chaco Canyon and in 2023 extended the moratorium to protect 113 square miles of sacred landscape.

Garcia Richard had declared her candidacy for Lt. Governor in 2025, but in mid-October, suspended her campaign when her husband was diagnosed with cancer.  At the time she withdrew from the race, she was polling first in early pre-primary polling. By the time Maggie Toulouse Oliver suspended her campaign after winning the primary, Garcia Richard’s husband, Eric Vasquez, had completed his treatment and was given a clean bill of health. So she could resume her original quest.

Stephanie Garcia Richard’s campaign website is:  https://stephaniegarciarichard.com/