New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands

	New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$90,000
2024 FY Budget:	$23,517,500
Term limits:	2 terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	New Mexico Constitution, Article V, Section I
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard; Democratic Party; Assumed office: 2019-01-01
	Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
	Other New Mexico Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Public Lands • Secretary of Education • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Superintendent • Secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources • Secretary of Workforce Solutions • Public Regulation Commission • Public Education Commission

The New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands is an elected constitutional state executive officer in the New Mexico state government. The commissioner leads the New Mexico State Land Office, which is responsible for administering nine million acres of surface and 13 million acres of subsurface land for the beneficiaries of the New Mexico State Land Trust.^[1]

The office's mission is "to use state trust land to raise revenue for New Mexico public schools, hospitals, colleges, and other public institutions."^[1]

Current officeholder

The current New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands is Stephanie Garcia Richard (D). Richard assumed office in 2019.

New Mexico elects the commissioner of public lands during midterm elections. Commissioners serve for a term of four years with a limit of two consecutive terms.^[2]

Authority

The New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands' authority is derived from Article V of the New Mexico Constitution.

Article V, Section 1:

"The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general and commissioner of public lands ..."^[2]

Qualifications

New Mexico state government organizational chart

Article V, Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

"No person shall be eligible to any office specified in Section One, hereof, unless he be a citizen of the United States, at least thirty years of age, nor unless he shall have resided continuously in New Mexico for five years next preceding his election ..."^[2]

A citizen of the United States.
At least 30 years of age.
Has resided continuously in New Mexico for five years preceding the election.

Elections

2022

See also: New Mexico Public Lands Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands

Incumbent Stephanie Garcia Richard defeated Jefferson Byrd and Larry E. Marker in the general election for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Stephanie Garcia Richard (D)	54.7	379,621
	Jefferson Byrd (R)	44.8	310,853
	Larry E. Marker (Independent) (Write-in)	0.6	3,950

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 694,424
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands

Incumbent Stephanie Garcia Richard advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Garcia Richard	100.0	116,641

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 116,641
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands

Jefferson Byrd advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jefferson Byrd	100.0	92,318

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 92,318
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Aubrey Dunn (R)