Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark is gearing up to run for New Mexico Secretary of State in 2026.
Clark, a Democrat, filed her candidate committee registration on May 12 and announced her campaign on social media Wednesday. She will face at least one Democratic primary challenger, Amanda López Askin, the Doña Ana County Clerk.
Current New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, also a Democrat, is term-limited. No Republican or other party candidates have filed for the position.
Clark was elected as Santa Fe County Clerk in 2020 and reelected last November. Clark said her experience in modernizing elections as Santa Fe County Clerk makes her the right choice for the position.
Clark’s accomplishments include launching real-time wait-time polling site maps, implementing GPS-secured ballot transport and contributing to one of the highest voter turnouts in the state. In 2024, 113,618 eligible voters in Santa Fe County cast 84,130 ballots, good for a voter turnout of 74.05%. Only Los Alamos County (75.82%) and Harding County (74.19%) saw a higher percentage of registered voters participating in the Nov. election.
“I’m officially running to be New Mexico’s next Secretary of State,” Clark said. “I’m running because our democracy is on the line — and New Mexicans deserve secure, transparent, and accessible elections no matter where they live.”
Under New Mexico law, the Secretary of State is second in the line of succession, assuming the role of chief executive should the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor become vacant. The Secretary of State also oversees elections, manages the state’s business division, administers ethics and lobbying rules, and maintains records.
