Ben Ray Luján beat Republican write-in candidate Larry Marker to win a second term in the U.S. Senate, and the AP called the race as polls closed.
Ben Ray Luján, 54, is New Mexico’s junior senator. He was born in Santa Fe, and public service runs in his family — his father, Ben Luján Sr., was speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives.
Luján started on the state’s Public Regulation Commission, which he chaired, and then spent 12 years in the U.S. House, from 2009 to 2021. He rose high in the House Democratic leadership, serving as assistant speaker and running the party’s House campaign arm. He won his Senate seat in 2020.
On Tuesday, he defeated Larry Marker, a Republican oil and gas operator from the Roswell area. Marker ran as a write-in candidate after no Republican qualified for the primary ballot, so his name was not printed on the ballot. The Associated Press called the race at 9 p.m. ET, and Luján took about 63 percent of the vote.
His win matters because it keeps New Mexico’s Senate seats safely Democratic. Watch how Luján, a senior voice on health care, broadband and energy, uses a second term in a Senate his party will now control.
Fast facts
- Age: 54
- Party: Democratic
- Office: U.S. Senator
- State: New Mexico
- Previous job: U.S. Representative from New Mexico (2009–2021); Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House
- Called by AP: 9:00 p.m. ET, Nov. 3, 2026
Part of the Zark News Election 2026 winners profile series. Winners are listed as called by the Associated Press.
