SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) 鈥� A Democratic district attorney in the eye of New Mexico鈥檚 tempest over crime and accountability launched his candidacy for governor Thursday as the National Guard prepares to deploy to the state鈥檚 largest city to shore up public safety.
Albuquerque-based District Attorney Sam Bregman 鈥� the father of Major League Baseball star Alex Bregman of the Boston Red Sox 鈥� is touting his crime-fighting credentials in a as he vies for the party nomination against former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
No Republican has entered the race yet, with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham set to term out of office at the end of next year. Candidates for governor have a February 2026 registration deadline.
Persistently high rates of violent crime in Albuquerque and New Mexico far exceed the national average, and residents were left reeling most recently by a .
But many voters are no longer shocked and see it more as a confluence of social challenges that will be unavoidable for the next governor, said political analyst Sisto Abeyta, president of Tri-Strategies New Mexico. He pointed to pressing concerns about low-wage jobs, an affordable housing shortage and scarce access to addiction and mental health services.
鈥淭he economy equates to crime, housing equates to crime,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy are there drug addicts? There's not enough mental health" services.
Bregman asserts that law enforcement is starting to turn the tide against crime, and that voters want a governor who can effectively push back against Donald Trump, who lost the vote in New Mexico three times 鈥� but narrowed the margin in 2024.
鈥淚 think most voters are tired of the radical right, and they're not very receptive to the radical left either 鈥� and I'm not either,鈥� Bregman told The Associated Press. 鈥淢ost people want someone who is just going to focus on the same issues that they do when they鈥檙e at the breakfast table."
That includes wages, health care, education for their kids and whether their neighborhoods are safe, he said.
The centrist political pitch arrives days after the enactment of an election bill allowing independent voters to begin voting in major party primaries. About 23% of registered voters in New Mexico 鈥� roughly 310,000 residents 鈥� have no party affiliation.
鈥淢any of these younger, unaffiliated voters are disenchanted with the major parties, which is why they鈥檙e declining to state a party affiliation," Albuquerque-based pollster Brian Sanderoff said. 鈥淣ow, all of a sudden, the state鈥檚 taking away a barrier鈥� to participation in primaries.
Law enforcement has been prolific 鈥渟teppingstone to higher office in New Mexico,鈥� Sanderoff noted, including the ascendance of former Republican district attorney Susana Martinez to two terms as governor, ending in 2018.
Albuquerque鈥檚 struggle with crime has made Bregman 鈥� a tall, goateed 61-year-old grandfather often seen in a cowboy hat 鈥� a fixture of local television news reports. Lujan Grisham has handed Bregman a megaphone on crime policy with his appointment to a task force on organized crime, after appointing him in 2023 as district attorney to succeed Ra煤l Torrez, now the state attorney general.
Republicans on Thursday took issue with Bregman's record on public safety, arguing that crime has continued to skyrocket under his leadership.
Lujan Grisham in an emergency maneuver to help bolster public safety on Albuquerque's Route 66 corridor at the request of Albuquerque's police chief.
As district attorney, Bregman said he has hired more attorneys, launched a team dedicated to the intersection of guns and violent crime, pushed back against pretrial release of defendants that may pose a danger and secured murder convictions against at least 300 people.
鈥淲e have started to turn the tide when it comes to crime in general 鈥� still a long road to go,鈥� said Bregman, a former private defense attorney.
Morgan Lee, The Associated Press
