Hull’s Sandoval County support boosts Republican primary win

Gregg Hull’s strongest path to the Republican nomination ran through Sandoval County, where the former Rio Rancho mayor captured 9,349 votes and 79% of the county’s GOP governor primary ballots. That local support made up about one out of every six votes Hull won statewide, a sign that Rio Rancho remains one of the most influential political bases in New Mexico Republican politics.

Unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State showed Hull finished with 56,412 votes statewide, or 47% of the Republican primary vote, ahead of Doug Turner with 44,319 votes and Duke Rodriguez with 19,288. Statewide turnout was 24.53%, with 345,482 ballots cast and all 2,204 precincts reporting, giving Hull a clear but not overwhelming win as he headed toward a November 3 general election matchup with Democrat Deb Haaland.

Sandoval County stood out because Hull’s margin there was not just large, it was decisive. Turner received 1,389 votes in the county and Rodriguez 1,066, leaving Hull with a result that underscored how deeply his political identity is tied to Rio Rancho and the surrounding metro area. Hull also won Bernalillo County, Santa Fe County and Valencia County, while Turner was stronger in southeastern counties including Eddy, Lea and Chaves, showing the Republican electorate divided along both geographic and political lines.

Hull’s rise in the primary reflected a campaign built around his hometown record. He was the first Republican to enter the governor’s race in 2025 and led the delegate vote at the GOP pre-primary convention in March. He also reported raising slightly more than $474,000 since January 2025, far below the more than $11.1 million reported for Haaland in the same coverage, but enough to stay visible as he leaned on his local name recognition and Rio Rancho’s growth story.

That story has long been one of Hull’s central arguments: while he was mayor, Rio Rancho grew from about 93,000 residents to nearly 113,000, and he said the city’s sales tax did not rise during his 12 years in office. He has said he wants to make New Mexico more business-friendly, lower crime, improve education, support the oil and gas industry and attract new businesses. If elected in November, Hull would become the first mayor to serve as New Mexico governor since 1962, a reminder that Sandoval County’s political weight can extend well beyond county lines.