On April 10, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced his 2026 campaign for Governor at Plaza Park in Las Vegas New Mexico In front of a crowd of several hundred supporters and onlookers. Bregman said next year’s race for Governor will come down to a simple question: “Who’s best equipped to push back against the policies of President Donald Trump?”
“I’m running to take on the chaos in Washington and protect the people of New Mexico. … Not only do we need to protect our freedoms and democratic values in our state, we still have more work to do to address issues affecting everyday New Mexicans. … New Mexico is under attack by Elon Musk, his puppet Donald Trump and the Republicans in Washington. … They’re attacking our public schools, our healthcare, veterans, workers — all of us. I’m running to take on the chaos in Washington and protect the people of New Mexico.”
Bregman in his news release touts what he says are some of his top accomplishments in the District Attorney’s Office. The news release says in part:
“In his two years as D.A., Bregman has increased homicide prosecutions by 76.5% going from 162 convictions from 2019–2022 to 286 convictions since he took office. Bregman also worked to establish a zero-tolerance policy for guns in schools and implemented new technology to deal with the backlog of sexual assault cases in the D.A.’s office
Bregman, in an interview with New Mexico Political Report published on April 10, said this:
“In the last two-plus years, I’ve hired over 80 attorneys here in this office alone. We can do the same thing when it comes to police. … I truly believe New Mexico is a great place and we can do a lot better when it comes to recruiting police officers. It’s not a matter of money or resources; we can afford to pay more police officers. Let’s just get the job done. That’s the number one priority because the more police officers on the street, the safer we’re all going to be. And everybody deserves, not, just wants, but they deserve a safe neighborhood in a safe community.”
The Bregman campaign also released an official campaign launch video featuring Bregman riding a horse and decrying the toxic national political environment, including the “radical left” that he accused of dividing Democrats. “To be blunt, people are tired of this garbage,” Bregman says in the video.
ABOUT SAM BREGMAN
On January 4, Sam Bregman, 61, was appointed Bernalillo County District Attorney by Governor Mitchell Lujan Grisham to serve out the remaining two years of the 4-year term of Raul Torrez who was elected Attorney General in 2022. Bregman won reelection to a new term last year.
Sam Bregman has a 30-year career as an attorney and is considered a highly successful and respected trial attorney in both civil and criminal defense. He is a 1989 graduate of the University of New Mexico Law School. He is a former Democratic Party State Chairman. Bregman served as an Assistant Bernalillo County District Attorney from 1994 through 1997. Bregman was an elected Albuquerque City Council from 1995 until 1999. While on the Albuquerque City Council, Bregman championed the implementation of SANE – the Sexual Assault Nursing Examiner program as well as the first hate crime ordinance. Bregman has a served as Deputy State Auditor for the State of New Mexico. Bregman unsuccessfully ran for Commissioner of Public Lands and also for Mayor of Albuquerque. Bregman currently serves as the Chairman of the Governor’s Organize Crime Prevention Commission.
Sam Bregman has represented defendants in several high-profile cases over the years. The most notable was when Bregman was the defense attorney for Keith Sandy, one of the two APD Officers who faced charges for the shooting and killing of homeless camper James Boyd in 2014. James Boyd was a homeless individual with a history of mental illness who had camped in the Sandia foothills and had a 5 hour stand off with APD police who were trying to arrest him for illegal camping. Both APD SWAT officers were charged with murder for the killing Boyd and were ultimately not convicted because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. However, the Boyd family filed suite against the city alleging use of deadly force by police and wrongful death and the city settled the case for $5 million.
Sam Bregman represented defendants Keith Brandon and Jonathan Sandoval, the two Metropolitan Detention Center officers charged in the 2019 death of inmate Vincente Villela. He was the lead defense attorney for former New Mexico State Treasurer Robert Vigil in a public corruption case that ended with Vigil being sentenced to prison time for receiving kickbacks. He also represented the family of Amelia Baca, who was shot and killed by a Las Cruces Police Officer in April of 2022.
Links to relied upon or quoted news sources are here:
https://www.koat.com/article/sam-bregman-governor-candidate-2026-election/64435375
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/sam-bregman-announces-campaign-for-governor-of-new-mexico/
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/sam-bregman-enters-race-for-governor-of-new-mexico/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/10/bregman-haaland-new-mexico-governor-democratic/
https://www.koat.com/article/former-las-cruces-mayor-ken-miyagashima-eyes-gubernatorial-run/64345104
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
New Mexico’s primary election for governor is set for June 2026, with the general election to take place in November, 2026.The race for governor will be an open contest, since Lujan Grisham is term-limited and barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor.
LONG CONTENTIOUS RACE
DA Sam Bregman’s announcement over a year before the primary sets up what will be a long and very contentious Democratic Party primary election against fellow Democrat former Biden Interior Secretary Deb Haaland who is also a former U.S. Representative for the Albuquerque area congressional seat and replaced Bregman as chair of the state’s Democratic Party in 2015. Haaland’s campaign is focused on a theme of being “fierce,” with promises to work to lower the cost of living, strengthen schools and fight crime, which is the identical platform Haaland relied upon when she successfully ran for congress.
Notwithstanding, other Democrats will likely run. Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima has not formally declared his candidacy, but he has formed an exploratory committee to evaluate the feasibility of a gubernatorial bid and to begin building statewide support. Gregg Hull, the mayor of Rio Rancho, is expected to run for the Republican nomination for governor of New Mexico but has yet to make an announcement.
BROADSIDE TO PROGRESSIVES
Bregman released an official campaign launch video featuring Bregman riding a horse and decrying the toxic national political environment, including the “radical left” that he accused of dividing Democrats. Bregman says in the video “To be blunt, people are tired of this garbage.”
The Bregman announcement video raised more than a few eyebrows within the Democratic Party. It is a clear broadside to the progressive supporters of Deb Haaland who they presume is the front runner and that she will win. There is no doubt that Bregman is taking direct aim at the “progressive” wing of the Democratic party which has dominated the party for so many years in state and local elections.
Ostensibly, what Bregman is saying with his comment “people are tired of this garbage” is “moderate to conservative democrats are sick of the garbage of progressives excluding them from the party and targeting them.” Progressive democrats during the last 10 years have “targeted” and successfully primaried and removed moderate to conservative elected officials from office, especially those in the New Mexico Legislature..
STRATEGIC ANNOUNCEMEMENT
Bregman’s decision to officially launch his campaign in Las Vegas, New Mexico as opposed to Albuquerque where his base is was strictly strategic. It is clearly aimed at conservative Hispanic voters in a traditional Democratic stronghold. It was a clear message of planting his politcal flag in a statewide election that he intends to win and not to concede any part of the state to anyone. The Las Vegas venue will give northern New Mexico voters and opportunity to see Bregman for the first time personally and up close what Bregman represents and not just some interview on TV news casts about a murder case his office is prosecuting.
CONTERINO AS CHIEF POLITICAL CONSULTANT
DA Bregman has his work cut out for him since Deb Haaland has already announced more than $3 million in campaign contributions but there is more than enough time for him to catch up with the fund raising. With a seasoned and respected politcal consultant that is easily done.
On April 7, it was reported by New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan that veteran Democratic consultant Dave Contarino, who helped bring home two gubernatorial wins each for Governors Bill Richardson and Lujan Grisham will be the chief politcal strategist to the Bregman Campaign for Governor. Contarino, 63, served as Richardson’s chief of staff during his first term.
A reliable source said Contarino “will help level the playing field” with Deb Haaland and “Contarino will work to nationalize this race and make it about who can win the general election.”