New fundraising reports show tight race in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District
The latest numbers are in, and New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of 2026.
The race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District is intensifying as new campaign finance reports reveal Republican Greg Cunningham narrowly outraised Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez last quarter by just $901.
Cunningham raised $901,786 during the most recent quarter, compared to Vasquez’s $900,884, according to Federal Election Commission data on campaign contributions from April 1 to June 30.
“Greg Cunningham is a good candidate, but he’s not that well known in the district, so he needs to spend the money and get his message across to the voters,” KOAT Political Expert Brian Sanderoff said.
While Cunningham edged out Vasquez in the latest quarter, the overall fundraising totals favor the incumbent. Vasquez has raised $3.7 million this election cycle, compared to $1.5 million for Cunningham.
“People only give money if they think a candidate has a shot,” Sanderoff said.
The sources of the candidates’ funding also show differences. Vasquez’s top five contributing states are New Mexico ($550,000), California ($427,000), New York ($211,000), Massachusetts ($159,000), and Washington, D.C. ($61,000).
Cunningham’s top five are New Mexico ($447,000), Florida ($57,000), California ($29,000), Kentucky ($14,000), and Colorado ($13,000).
“It’s possible that it will be tougher for Greg Cunningham because of the national political mood,” Sanderoff added.
New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District is one of just 13 nationwide where voters backed former President Donald Trump in the last election, but the seat is currently held by a Democrat.
Sanderoff pointed to past election results showing CD-2 is a competitive district. It encompasses a large part of Southwestern New Mexico, including cities like Silver City, Las Cruces, Carlsbad, Alamogordo, Socorro, Belen and parts of Albuquerque’s South Valley as well as the Westside.
Two years ago, Vasquez won the seat by just four percentage points. In the election before that, he won by less than one percentage point, or about 1,350 votes.
“I would say that this district would be considered lean Democrat, but it’s competitive. It’s a district where the Republicans feel they’ve got a shot. So we’ll see millions of dollars raised in this race between the two candidates,” Sanderoff said.
The next major update will come with third-quarter fundraising reports, covering July through September, which are due in mid-October—just weeks before Election Day.
In the last election cycle, Vasquez raised about $7 million, while his Republican opponent, Yvette Herrell, raised $4.4 million.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
