New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced Thursday she is suspending her campaign for lieutenant governor, citing recent changes to her health — a withdrawal that comes just over two weeks after she won the Democratic primary for the office.
“In the coming days, I will take a step back from my campaign for Lieutenant Governor,” Toulouse Oliver wrote in a signed statement. “This has been an incredibly difficult decision, but a necessary one. Recent changes to my health have caused my family and I to reflect on my commitments at home and to the people of our state.”
Toulouse Oliver secured the Democratic nomination on June 2, defeating Albuquerque Sen. Harold Pope Jr. with roughly 80% of the vote. She had been set to join Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland on the fall ticket, facing the Republican pairing of former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull for governor and state Sen. David Gallegos, R-District 41, for lieutenant governor in November.
Toulouse Oliver said she intends to remain in her role as secretary of state and pledged her office would “continue to conduct stellar, gold-standard election practices that prioritize ballot access and safe, secure elections.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded to the announcement Thursday morning on Facebook. “Maggie Toulouse Oliver has served New Mexicans with great distinction as Secretary of State, and she would have made an excellent lieutenant governor,” Lujan Grisham wrote. “Maggie is a good friend and I know her decision to suspend her campaign today did not come easy. I respect that Maggie has chosen to prioritize her health and her family and I wish her all the best.”
Pope, her former primary opponent, also issued a statement. “Like so many New Mexicans, I was saddened to hear about the health challenges facing Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and her decision to suspend her campaign,” Pope wrote. “Public service often asks a great deal of those who step forward to serve, and making a decision like this is never easy. It takes tremendous courage to put your health and family first, especially when you have dedicated so much of yourself to serving others.”
Should Toulouse Oliver file a formal withdrawal, that action would open the door to a vacancy process under New Mexico law. Under NMSA 1978, Section 1-8-8, when a vacancy occurs in a party’s list of nominees after a primary — and at least 90 days before the general election — the state central committee of the relevant political party is authorized to select a replacement nominee.
That appointment must be filed with the proper filing officer no later than 70 days before the general election, along with a declaration of candidacy and required campaign finance forms. As of Thursday, Toulouse Oliver had not filed formal withdrawal paperwork.
The New Mexico Democratic Party’s state central committee would be responsible for selecting Toulouse Oliver’s replacement on the lieutenant governor ballot.
Toulouse Oliver has served as New Mexico’s Secretary of State since 2016 and is term-limited from seeking re-election to that office.
