SANTA FE — House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong and Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer sent a letter Monday to Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver requesting information about her office’s continuity-of-operations planning ahead of the November general election, citing a health matter she disclosed publicly in June and what they described as a “notable increase” in constituent inquiries about the office.

“We write first to acknowledge the health matter you disclosed to the public in June, and to wish you well as you continue to manage both your health and the responsibilities of your office,” Armstrong and Sharer wrote. “In recent weeks, our offices have received a notable increase in communications from constituents asking questions about the operations of the Secretary of State’s office in light of your announcement.”

The two GOP leaders asked Toulouse Oliver to clarify her office’s “continuity-of-operations leadership continuity plan through the completion of the election cycle” and requested a written response or briefing “at your earliest convenience.”

“We ask these questions not to cast doubt on your service, but to ensure that we, and the constituents we represent, can speak with confidence about the state’s readiness to administer this election,” the letter states.

In a statement, Sharer was more pointed.

“As we head into an election cycle that will determine whether our state finally succeeds or continues lagging behind, real questions exist about the Secretary of State’s availability and capacity to conduct the basic duties of her office,” said Sharer, R-Farmington. “New Mexicans are rightfully concerned and we are seeking immediate transparency to ensure that our state’s chief elections officer isn’t asleep at the wheel.”

Letter Follows Viral Video

The letter follows a video posted July 29 by New Mexico radio host Elias Sisneros, who hosts “Unfiltered with Elias Sisneros.” In the video, Sisneros said he visited the Secretary of State’s office in Santa Fe and did not find Toulouse Oliver there. He said several people at the office spoke with him but declined to be identified on camera, and that they told him Toulouse Oliver had not been seen at her workplace in several months. Those claims have not been independently verified.

Sisneros said Toulouse Oliver posted a video statement of her own roughly eight hours after his video went up. In it, Toulouse Oliver did not directly address Sisneros’s claims but addressed election preparedness.

“I want to reassure you that my office and our state’s 33 county clerks are already hard at work planning for another safe, secure and accurate election,” Toulouse Oliver said, according to the video reviewed by the Sentinel, referencing the roughly 100 days remaining before the Nov. 3 election.

Health Disclosure and the Lt. Governor Race

Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico’s secretary of state since 2016, announced in October 2025 that she would run for lieutenant governor and won the Democratic primary in a landslide June 2 victory over state Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, who remained in his Senate seat throughout the race. Two weeks later, on June 18, she abruptly suspended her campaign, citing what she called “recent changes to my health” in a statement posted to social media, without specifying the nature of the health matter, which remains undisclosed.

“Suspending my campaign will allow me to focus on my family while ensuring I can continue to fulfill my duties as secretary of state,” she said at the time, the Sentinel reported.

Her withdrawal, coming after the primary, triggered a replacement process under New Mexico law, which gives the party’s state central committee authority to select a new nominee. After weeks of jockeying among candidates — including Pope, Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard, activist Toni Pinedo and Albuquerque resident Geoffrey Luehring — roughly 500 Democratic Party of New Mexico committee members selected Garcia Richard on July 30, according to Source New Mexico and KSFR.

Garcia Richard will now run alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland against the Republican ticket of Gregg Hull and running mate David Gallegos.

Toulouse Oliver is term-limited from seeking another term as secretary of state and remains in office through the end of her term.