By
State
New Mexico
Office / race
U.S. Senate
Party
Republican
Reviewed
October 24, 2026

Career timeline

  1. Reported high-school graduationSource ↗
  2. Won the Republican primary through write-in votesSource ↗
  3. Faces Luján in the general electionSource ↗

A write-in route to the nomination

U.S. Capitol — election file photograph
The U.S. Capitol in September 2013. Archival election context; this is not a portrait of the candidate.Photo: Martin Falbisoner · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0

Larry Marker is the Republican nominee challenging Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján in New Mexico’s 2026 election. The secretary of state’s candidate history records his June primary victory with 31,220 votes. His name was entered by voters as a write-in during the primary; that history should not be confused with his subsequent appearance as a general-election nominee.

Sources: New Mexico secretary of state: Larry Marker election history ↗

Oil and gas work in southeast New Mexico

The United States Capitol with its dome and east-side façade
The east side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., September 2013. File photograph. Archival context; not a photograph of this candidate or a 2026 campaign event.Photo: Martin Falbisoner · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0

Source New Mexico described Marker as a self-employed oil-and-gas businessman born in Hobbs and raised in Roswell. It also recorded earlier unsuccessful campaigns for state land commissioner and the state Senate. Those experiences connect his present candidacy to natural-resource policy and rural economic development, rather than previous congressional service.

Sources: Source New Mexico: 2026 U.S. Senate candidate interviews ↗

What he disclosed in a candidate questionnaire

In the Albuquerque Journal’s October questionnaire, Marker listed his age as 62, Roswell as his city of residence and self-employment as his occupation. He reported graduating from high school in 1982. These are biographical details supplied in an election questionnaire, establishing a basic public record without adding an unsupported university credential or assumptions about his private life.

Sources: Albuquerque Journal: Larry Marker candidate questionnaire ↗

An energy-centered campaign

Voting booths inside a Washington, D.C., polling station
Voting booths at a Washington, D.C., polling station on November 5, 2024. Archival election photograph; not a photograph of survey respondents. Archival context; not a photograph of this candidate or a 2026 campaign event.Photo: oscepa · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0

Marker’s campaign argues for fewer regulatory obstacles affecting oil and gas production and supports development involving hydrogen and nuclear energy. It links those positions to jobs and education funding in New Mexico. That is the economic argument he puts forward for voters to assess, rather than a finding that every proposed project would produce the same fiscal or environmental result.

Sources: Marker campaign: priorities and platform ↗

Farmers, ranchers and border policy

The campaign also emphasizes grazing rights, access to water and opposition to regulatory decisions it considers harmful to agriculture. Its border platform supports law-enforcement agencies and action against trafficking. These themes place land management, resource use and enforcement near the center of Marker’s agenda, with federal authority and local economic activity repeatedly intersecting.

Sources: Marker campaign: priorities and platform ↗

Support for Trump with stated limits

In Source New Mexico’s interview, Marker said he supported most of President Trump’s policies but questioned presidential authority over tariffs and war-making. He also identified federal debt and Social Security as priorities. Those answers show specific points on which his stated position is more qualified than a general declaration of party loyalty.

Sources: Source New Mexico: 2026 U.S. Senate candidate interviews ↗

Sources & original reportingSource publication or schedule date: Sources reviewed October 24, 2026New Mexico secretary of state: Larry Marker election history ↗Source New Mexico: 2026 U.S. Senate candidate interviews ↗Marker campaign: priorities and platform ↗Albuquerque Journal: Larry Marker candidate questionnaire ↗

Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.