By Kevin Hendricks
Sen. Cindy Nava once spent her days in the Roundhouse hallways as an undocumented student volunteer, watching lawmakers she couldn’t vote for decide her future. Now she’ll be the one counting their votes.
New Mexico Senate Democrats elected Nava, a Democrat from Bernalillo, as Senate Majority Whip on Oct. 4, the caucus announced. Members also chose Sen. Linda Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, as majority leader, renominated Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, for president pro tempore and re-elected Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, as caucus chair.
The four-member team will steer the Democratic majority’s agenda when the 60-day legislative session opens Jan. 19. Nava’s District 9 and Jaramillo’s District 5 both reach into Sandoval County, giving local residents two seats at the leadership table.
In a letter to constituents, Nava said the vote makes her the first former DACA recipient in the country to serve in state Senate leadership. She arrived in the U.S. at age 7, and her parents cleaned houses and office buildings to support the family.
“There are kids in New Mexico right now growing up the way I did,” Nava wrote.
She described the whip’s job as more than a head count, calling it a chance to build trust within the caucus and push housing, school and public safety bills to the governor’s desk.
Trujillo, a former Santa Fe school board member and two-term state representative, takes the majority leader post.
“New Mexicans sent us to Santa Fe to solve real problems,” Trujillo said.
Nava won District 9 in 2024. She previously worked as a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, focusing on affordable housing and homeownership.
Follow the 2027 legislative session:
- Opening day: Jan. 19, 2027, at the Roundhouse, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe
- Find your legislator: nmlegis.gov/Members/Find_My_Legislator