Former Las Cruces mayor Ken Miyagishima officially announced his bid for the New Mexico Governors office on May 27th.
Miyagishima, a Democrat, announced Tuesday, May 27, at the Las Cruces Home Builders Event Center, 2825 N. Main St. in front of supporters and media. He also livestreamed the announcement on social media.
At the event — which had present and former majors from Las Cruces, El Paso, Tularosa, and Juárez in attendance — Miyagishima touted his sixteen years of experience in city leadership and outlined his ideas for changes in New Mexico. Miyagishima was Las Cruces’ longest running mayor.
Former El Paso major Oscar Leeser supported Miyagishima saying, “When you’re talking about representing not only the city of Las Cruces but representing the state of New Mexico you want somebody that has experience working with people.”
During his speech, Miyagishima first took aim at the crime problem in New Mexico, stating that the state, “leads the nation in violent crime” and much of this could be traced back to criminals being released back onto the street. He cited New Mexico’s “Arnold Tool” — a controversial assessment tool that helps judges decide weather or not to allow a person pretrial release — as “the only law of its kind in the country” and a “stumbling block” that prevents “judges from doing their jobs and protecting communities.”
Miyagishima continued by addressing the controversial laws surrounding malpractice lawsuits in the state. New Mexico has no cap on how much money can be won in a malpractice lawsuit leading to high malpractice insurance for medical providers. Miyagishima says that this has caused doctors to leave New Mexico and that “we’re the only state that is losing doctors.”
According to Miyagishima, the reason why this has not been solved is because a “powerful group” of trial lawyers has influence over state legislation. “I will never take money from a trial lawyer,” Miyagishima said. “I challenge Sam and Deb not to take any money from trial lawyers.”
When asked about what prompted his bid for governor, he said that “this time I know how the parts move” and does “not need any on the job training.”
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham cannot run again due to term limits.
Miyagishima will face former United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman in the Democratic Primary in June of 2026.
Miyagishima was mayor of Las Cruces from 2007 to 2023. Prior to that, he sat on the Las Cruces City Council and the Doña Ana County Commission.
The general election will be in November of 2026. So far, the only Republican to announce is Rio Rancho Mayor Greggory Hull.
