By Julia Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief
Happy Monday, everyone. The National Weather Service forecasts moderate to major heat risk today throughout the state, putting some at risk for heat illness, which you can read more about here.
As some of our top stories indicate, it’s beginning to look a lot like election season. We’ll be waiting until later in the week to learn who state Democratic leaders choose as gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland’s running mate on the Nov. 3 ballot, and until next month to learn whether national party leaders will approve moving up the state’s next presidential primary. As always, more stories await below and online at sourcenm.com. Thanks for starting the week with us!
Four candidates for New Mexico lieutenant governor made their closing statements July 25, 2026, to the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee. Clockwise from top left: Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, state Sen. Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), Toni Pinedo and Geoffrey Luehring. (Screenshots from virtual SCC meeting)
Democratic lieutenant governor candidates tout experience, vision in final plea to party members
Four candidates vying to become the New Mexico Democratic Party’s lieutenant governor nominee made their closing arguments Saturday to the party’s State Central Committee, which is tasked with electing a candidate to run alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland. Source’s Patrick Lohmann reports on their final statements.
The New Mexico Department of Justice on July 24, 2026, gave state lawmakers 50 legislative and policy proposals to reform the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department. (Photo by Kaveh Mowahed/KUNM News)
NM Department of Justice recommends 50 reforms for child welfare agency
The New Mexico Department of Justice on Friday gave state lawmakers dozens of legislative and policy suggestions to reform the state’s troubled child welfare agency. Source’s Joshua Bowling details the recommendations, which follow the agency’s April investigative report as well as recent reports that Children, Youth & Families Department staffers recently dropped a teenage boy in the foster care system at the U.S.-Mexico border and instructed him to cross into Ciudad Juárez to reunite with his estranged mother.
Companies seeking to extract uranium and other resources from New Mexico have filed more than 12,000 claims since 2023, including uranium claims in Canjilon pictured above, as part of a statewide explosion in extraction interest. (Image courtesy U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
More mining claims filed in New Mexico in last 4 years than previous century
In the latest installation of Source NM’s By the #s series, Patrick Lohmann reports on the surge of mining claims in the state, calculating that the more than 12,000 mining claims for minerals such as gold, copper and uranium over the last four years constitute roughly three times the number of claims staked in the state in the entire 20th century.
After New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in May helped lobby Democratic National Committee members to move up the state’s presidential primary, the Rules and Bylaws Committee on July 24, 2026, recommended making New Mexico fourth in line. (Screenshot)
National Democratic committee recommends moving New Mexico up on calendar for presidential primary
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on Friday voted to catapult New Mexico’s 2028 presidential primary election to fourth in the country, Source’s Joshua Bowling reports. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who helped pitch an earlier date for the state, said on Friday she appreciated the committee taking her request seriously. The DNC is expected vote on the committee’s proposed plan next month.
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