Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has entered the race for governor of New Mexico, making his announcement Thursday at Plaza Park.
Bregman’s name will appear on the primary ballot in June 2026, when he will vie to be the Democratic candidate for governor against former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
Haaland announced she would run for governor on Jan. 28 in Los Alamos.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will complete her second term as governor in 2026.
“I love New Mexico,” Bregman said of his decision to run for governor, just moments before taking the stage at Plaza Park on Thursday. “It’s a wonderful place.”
Bregman lives in Albuquerque, but said it was an honor to be able to announce his candidacy in Las Vegas. He said he chose to make his announcement in Las Vegas because of its citizens.
“You can say a lot of things about Las Vegas,” Bregman said. “Its history is amazing. Its beauty is amazing. But perhaps the best is the people of Las Vegas. (They) are really something special.”
“I wanted to come up and make sure they heard my vision for the future, and they got to know a little bit about me and I got to know a little bit more about them.”
A graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law, Bregman was appointed district attorney of Bernalillo County by Lujan Grisham in January 2023. He was re-elected to the post in 2024.
Bregman started his political career as an Albuquerque city councilor, a role he held from 1995-1999.
Bregman said he chose to run for governor now as a way of giving back to the community.
“I raised a family here and had a successful career,” Bregman said. “I truly believe it’s time to give back to the community the best I can, and that would be by helping others in the state of New Mexico.”
Bregman said there are four main issues the state must focus on: public safety, education, economic development and healthcare.
According to a press release from his campaign, during his time as district attorney, Bregman increased homicide prosecutions by 76.5 percent.
The press release states that between 2019-2022 there were 162 convictions for homicide, but since he became district attorney, there have been 286.
Speaking about the issue of public safety, Bregman said more has to be done to recruit police officers.
“I have a track record for being able to bring people into law enforcement,” he said. “I’ve hired 80 prosecutors in the last two years.”
Bregman said there is a need to hire more police officers to patrol the streets.
“The best way to make neighborhoods and communities safer is more police out on the streets,” he said. He went on to say that there is a need to hold violent criminals accountable.
“Our laws need to reflect a sense of urgency when it comes to holding violent criminals accountable.”
When it comes to education, Bregman said truancy and chronic absenteeism are issues in which New Mexico leads the nation. He also said there is a need to pay teachers well in order to “recruit the best and brightest from across the country.”
“I think we need to provide as much training as possible to our teachers,” Bregman went on to say.
Bregman said there is also a need to recruit more doctors, calling it “concerning” when someone has to wait months in order to see a physician.
He also said there is a need to protect Medicaid and Medicare.
“We need to … ensure we are reimbursing the Medicaid reimbursement and Medicare reimbursement the best we can,” he said. “Lately, we’ve been hearing from Washington that they’re considering cutting back funding for Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. That troubles me terribly, because that’s the last thing we need to do. We need to protect our healthcare system.”