politics • Dec. 17, 2025

Cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez joins the race for New Mexico governor

Cannabis industry leader and former New Mexico cabinet secretary Duke Rodriguez has officially entered the 2026 New Mexico governor’s race as a Republican candidate, highlighting priorities like guaranteed health care, education reform, crime reduction and fiscal stability while engaging voters directly through newspaper ads rather than traditional campaign events.

Cannabis entrepreneur Duke Rodriguez, the president and chief executive officer of Ultra Health and a former New Mexico Human Services Department secretary, has officially entered the race for governor in 2026, launching a Republican bid that adds a business-driven and unconventional voice to a contest already drawing national attention as the state prepares to choose a successor to term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, with Rodriguez announcing his candidacy through newspaper advertisements rather than a traditional campaign rally and positioning himself as an outsider candidate focused on pragmatic solutions to long-standing problems in health care, education, public safety and state finances; Rodriguez, who previously served in the administration of former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson in the 1990s, is best known for leading Ultra Health, one of New Mexico’s largest and most influential medical cannabis companies, and he has argued that his experience navigating complex regulations, building businesses, and delivering services in a highly regulated industry gives him a unique perspective on how state government can function more efficiently and effectively, particularly as New Mexico continues to grapple with rising crime rates, workforce shortages, uneven educational outcomes and persistent poverty despite a recent surge in oil and gas revenue; in outlining his platform, Rodriguez has emphasized the need for what he calls “guaranteed health care,” greater accountability and choice in education, tougher approaches to crime that balance public safety with rehabilitation, and long-term protections for the state’s public employee retirement system, presenting himself as a candidate who prioritizes results over ideology and who is willing to challenge entrenched political interests at the Capitol; his entry into the race comes as several high-profile Republicans have declined to run, leaving the GOP searching for a candidate who can compete statewide in a political environment that has favored Democrats in recent election cycles, and Rodriguez joins a Republican field that includes Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and state Sen.

Steve Lanier, while Democrats are fielding a strong slate that includes former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, and former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, making the 2026 contest one of the most competitive and closely watched gubernatorial races in the Southwest; Rodriguez’s candidacy has also raised questions about his eligibility under the New Mexico Constitution’s five-year residency requirement for gubernatorial candidates, an issue he has dismissed as a nonproblem by saying he moved to New Mexico as a teenager, has maintained continuous ties to the state through business and personal connections, and considers New Mexico his permanent home, though the issue could still surface as the campaign intensifies; politically, Rodriguez is attempting to carve out space as a Republican who supports legal cannabis while criticizing what he describes as regulatory overreach and inefficiency in state government, a stance that may appeal to libertarian-leaning voters, business owners and independents but could also face skepticism from both social conservatives within his own party and progressive Democrats who view the cannabis industry with caution; his decision to announce via print advertising rather than rallies or social media blitzes reflects his stated belief that voters are tired of performative politics and want straightforward communication about policy priorities, though critics argue that building grassroots enthusiasm and voter turnout will require more traditional campaigning in a state with diverse rural and urban constituencies; as the race unfolds, Rodriguez will need to balance his outsider message with the realities of statewide campaigning, fundraising, and party politics, particularly in a state where Republicans have not won a gubernatorial election since 2010, while Democrats will seek to tie him to broader national GOP positions that may be unpopular with New Mexico voters; nonetheless, Rodriguez’s entry adds a new dimension to the contest, injecting debate over the role of business leadership in government, the future of legalized cannabis, and whether voters are open to a nontraditional Republican candidate at a time when economic uncertainty, public safety concerns and dissatisfaction with political institutions remain high, setting the stage for a dynamic and consequential gubernatorial race that will shape New Mexico’s political direction beyond 2026..