New Mexico House Democrats retain leadership

The Democratic caucus for the New Mexico House of Representatives will keep its leadership in place for next year’s legislative session, according to a news release on Saturday.

The caucus retained state Rep. Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) as speaker, a position he has held since 2022, pending an official vote by the full House on opening day of the 2027 session on Jan. 19.

“As the son of hardworking, blue-collar immigrants, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to continue fighting for New Mexico’s working families from the Speaker’s Chair, alongside the incredible leaders in this caucus,” Martínez said in a statement. “We’re heading into session energized and with an ambitious agenda to continue to deliver real results for New Mexicans, while providing the blueprint for the rest of the nation.”

The caucus also retained Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe), House Majority Whip Dayan Hochman-Vigil and Raymundo “Ray” Lara (D-Chamberino) in their positions.

New Mexico House Democrats have eight newly elected members following the Nov. 3 election, and unseated four incumbent Republicans. As a result, Democrats will hold 47 of 70 House seats when the new legislative session begins on Jan. 19 for a 60-day session. Democrats also kept their 10-seat majority in the state Senate. New Mexico is one of six states whose legislatures have at least 50% women following the midterm elections.

New Mexico House Republicans last week also named their leadership team for the upcoming session, reelecting Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) as minority floor leader.