NM-LG: NM Sen. Pope staying in Dem lieutenant governor race even after losing Haaland endorsement
New Mexico Sen. Harold James Pope Jr. (D-Albuquerque) is pressing forward with a campaign to become Deb Haaland’s running mate in the upcoming gubernatorial election, despite Haaland’s endorsement Friday of state Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard for the Democratic ticket.
Pope ran for lieutenant governor in the Democratic primary against Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who withdrew from the race on June 18 due to unspecified health reasons. Pope lost that race June 2 by a wide margin, earning just 20% of the vote.
But he told Source NM on Monday that his experience as part of that campaign, including visiting every county in New Mexico and meeting party officials during the pre-primary convention in March, makes him a “front runner” in what he sees as a continuation of the campaign for lieutenant governor he launched last year.
“I want to be clear: I’m not entitled to this nomination because I’m the only one left,” he told Source NM. “But I do believe that I ran a race, and I have a lot of support, and I should be able to compete, because while I didn’t win, tens of thousands of people voted for me across the state.”
https://sourcenm.com/2026/06/29/nm-sen-pope-staying-in-dem-lieutenant-governor-race-even-after-losing-haaland-endorsement/