Fourth candidate likely to join crowded Dem primary for governor

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, a two-term Democrat under current far-left Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, known more for his roots in Silver City than for leading statewide, is expected to announce this week whether he will jump into the 2026 gubernatorial race or seek a different political lifeline: the presidency of Western New Mexico University, which is still reeling from a multi-million-dollar severance scandal.

Morales, 52, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he wasn’t leaning toward a run for governor until he received “an outpouring of encouragement” from supporters. “The calls coming in really made me second-guess the way I was leaning,” he said Tuesday. Morales plans to meet with advisers before making a decision.

But skepticism remains about whether Morales, who finished a distant fourth in the 2014 Democrat primary for governor, has the political firepower to mount a serious campaign, especially against better-known and better-funded opponents, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

So far, three Democrats have entered the race, including former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland under Joe Biden, who reportedly raised nearly $3 million in just three months. Bernalillo County District Attorney and gun confiscation activist Sam Bregman and former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima round out the field. That leaves Morales potentially splitting the vote with another southern New Mexico contender, while two well-known Albuquerque-based candidates may dominate the race in the state’s most populous region.

Morales himself acknowledged that a larger field would help his odds. In 2014, as a relatively unknown state senator, he received just 14% of the primary vote. Though he now holds the second-highest elected office in the state, his statewide political impact remains modest.

Moreover, Morales openly admitted he’s not sure if vocal encouragement will translate into campaign donations—an essential question for any serious contender. “Not necessarily,” he said when asked if money would be the determining factor. “I have children who are still in school.”

That personal angle hints at another option Morales is eyeing—one arguably more aligned with his background in education and his current lifestyle: becoming president of Western New Mexico University, his alma mater. However, that position comes with its own set of challenges.

The university, located in Morales’ hometown of Silver City, is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Former President Joseph Shepard received a $1.9 million payout to resign, approved by a group of regents appointed by Gov. Lujan Grisham. Shepard was then offered a $200,000-per-year teaching position that required only two online business classes per semester.

In light of that controversy, four new regents (also appointed by Lujan Grisham) are overseeing the search for an interim president this summer, with a full-scale national search expected to stretch into 2026. Morales, who holds a doctorate in education and once coached high school baseball, says the school has deep personal meaning for him. “I grew up on that campus. It’s special to me,” he said.

Still, if Morales seeks the WNMU job, he’ll face fierce national competition. And while he’s positioned himself as a “down-to-earth” public servant, it remains to be seen if the university’s leadership, marred by allegations of mismanagement and self-dealing, can regain public trust, no matter who takes the reins.

In a Democrat Party already leaning toward nationally connected, far-left candidates, Morales would either have to moderate himself with cheesy slogans and costumes like Bregman or embrace the far-left radicalism of Lujan Grisham or Haaland. 

In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull remains the lone candidate, while others have expressed interest.