Apr. 14—SANTA FE — Juan Sanchez, a Valencia County native and former state Democratic Party official, is the first candidate to enter the race to be New Mexico’s next state land commissioner.
Sanchez will officially launch his campaign Monday, and said in an interview he felt compelled to run in large part due to what he described as threats to public lands in New Mexico and nationally.
“It just really felt like that now with the current administration in Washington, D.C., our public lands really seem to be under attack at the federal level and I think we need a really strong champion to be stepping up from them at the state level,” Sanchez told the Journal.
Sanchez worked until December as U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s political director, and Heinrich has endorsed Sanchez’s candidacy, saying, “There is no one I trust more than Juan to do this critical job.”
Before working for roughly five years for Heinrich, Sanchez worked for the New Mexico Acequia Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a natural resource specialist.
He also served a two-year stint as vice chairman of the state Democratic Party but is making his first bid for a publicly elected office.
New Mexico’s 2026 land commissioner race will not feature an incumbent, since current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office.
Garcia Richard, a Democrat, announced last month she would run for lieutenant governor next year.
The State Land Office oversees more than 9 million acres of state trust land, plus 13 million subsurface acres, for the benefit of public schools and other beneficiaries.
The annual earnings recorded by the office jumped from roughly $1.1 billion during the 2019 budget year to nearly $2.6 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with more than 90% of that amount coming from oil and natural gas royalties.
“There’s no doubt that mineral extraction is a huge part of our economy,” Sanchez said.
But he said oil and gas operators should be held accountable for any contamination they cause on state trust land, and indicated he would continue efforts launched by Garcia Richard to plug abandoned oil wells around New Mexico.
Sanchez, who described himself as a hiker, angler and avid hunter, also said he would pursue opportunities to increase New Mexico’s outdoor recreation industry.
He said that could include initiating land swaps to improve access to state trust lands that are currently landlocked, or difficult to access due to surrounding properties.
“We are so rich in our lands and culture here in New Mexico, that I think there are opportunities to develop a little bit more our outdoor economy,” Sanchez told the Journal.
Sanchez, who is also a digital creator with more than 100,000 followers, plans to announce his campaign on social media accounts Monday.
New Mexico’s primary election for land commissioner and other statewide offices is set for June 2026, with the general election to be held in November 2026.