Candidates file for 2026 election

SANDOVAL COUNTY — Candidates have filed in Sandoval County for the 2026 general election, with primaries closing in.

Early voting for the 2026 primary will take place from May 16-30. Primary voting day is June 2, with the general election set for Nov. 3.

Filing day — which also happened to be Sandoval County’s founding day — was steady with filers March 10, according to Sandoval County Clerk Ann Brady Romero and Deputy Clerk Joey Dominguez.  

“It was a little bit busy here in the morning, but we try to make it as best as we can because this is an important day,” Brady-Romero said.

The county got 30 filers, with some familiar faces and numerous new faces.

Of all the seats up for election, House of Representatives District 65 and the Magistrate Judges are unopposed. A few will get a primary, but most have one candidate from each party. The incumbents for Districts 1 and 3 on the Sandoval County Commission have termed out.

Additionally, five new people have declared candidacy for the Sandoval County Sheriff position. Sheriff  Jesse James Casaus did not declare candidacy due to term limits on sheriffs in New Mexico.

The current probate judge also did not seek re-election.

Dominguez noted that the mix of people filing will keep the election balanced when it comes to voting. Additionally, all filers had an understanding of qualifications and required documents, according to the deputy county clerk.

Brady-Romero added that candidates were complimentary of the staff working filing day.

“They are just so good. We've gotten a lot of compliments on our staff. How in the election process they just go above and beyond at all times. There's not a day that we cannot depend on our staff to do what they do,” she said.

Compliments were also directed toward the efficiency of the day, according to the clerk.

“As a courtesy, we don't want to turn people away who want to run for office. It's already stressful, so if we can make it a little easier, that's our goal,” Dominguez added.

To make the process smooth for candidates, the clerks added courtesy stations and allowed necessary documents to be handled on-site. But Brady-Romero attributed the efficiency to the current staff, which includes new or recently filled positions they didn’t have in previous years.

“And while we, in my opinion, are understaffed, they just take the ball and run,” she said.

By the clerk’s numbers, there are not enough staff for the population of voters in the county. According to Dominguez, the county has about 117,000 registered voters, of which 3,000 just registered this election cycle.

As always, Brady-Romero and Dominguez are working hard to encourage people to get out and vote.

“People, please come and vote. Because if you don't vote, you don't have a say — you just don't have a say. There's no reason for you to complain about anything or compliment anything if you're not part of that process,” Brady-Romero said.

Dominguez noted that they are expecting a record vote count for the primary this year.

“We have primary elections open right now,” he said.

Voters registered as “decline to select” can choose a primary ballot without declaring a party. Rather, they will be able to vote openly in either party’s primary, according to Dominguez. By the clerk’s numbers, about 30,000 voters have declined to select status.

“So it's basically like we're adding another political party in to participate in a primary election,” Dominguez said.