Now that Deb Haaland has been confirmed as the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior there is a vacant seat in the House of Representatives for NM’s CD1. Haaland resigned the post Tuesday after the U.S. Senate confirmed her as secretary of the interior, kicking off a special election for the the 1st Congressional District that includes most of Albuquerque and parts of Sandoval, Santa Fe and Valencia counties. 

On Thursday morning New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced the date for the special election would be June 1st. “Now that Election Day is set, I encourage anyone interested in seeking the office to familiarize themselves with the laws and procedures outlined in the Election Code” Toulouse Oliver said in a news release. The Secretary of State also urged all eligible voters in the 1st Congressional District to register or update their voter registration by going to nmvote.org.

Democrats who have declared their candidacies are: Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Randi McGinn, Melanie Stansbury, Georgene Louis, Patricia Roybal Caballero, Selinda Guerrero, Victor Reyes and Francisco Fernández.

Republicans seeking the seat are: Eddie Aragon, Jared Vander Dussen, Jonathan Gonzalez, Mark Moores, Michaela Chavez, Ronnie Lucero and Tracy Trujillo. Also John McDivitt has announced his run as a Libertarian candidate, and former state Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is planning to run as an independent candidate. Click HERE to read more on the special election.