ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There were some close races and landslide victories in the New Mexico primary election.

In the race for Bernalillo County district attorney, Sam Bregman holds a strong 56%-44% lead against fellow Democrat Damon Martinez. The results are still unofficial until they’re certified. There is no Republican candidate, so Bregman is poised to remain the district attorney after November.

Two state senators who have served for nearly a decade lost their primary – Bill O’Neill and Daniel Ivey-Soto. Both of them have been state senators since 2014 and held key committee positions.

Debbie O’Malley defeated O’Neill in Senate District 13 – she has held positions as an Albuquerque city councilor and as a county commissioner. Her background is in affordable housing development and she says that will be a big priority for her.

“A lot of policy is made up at the state level, you know, issues around budget, I think that’s really important,” O’Malley said. “I’ve worked with our state representatives, and I know what works and what doesn’t. So, you know, I’m looking forward to getting resources out to our district, an area that really needs a lot.”

Senate District 13 was another race that had no Republican challenger, so O’Malley will be headed up to the Roundhouse.

Heather Berghmans defeated Ivey-Soto in Senate District 15. She is not new to the Roundhouse, since she has worked as a policy analyst and finance consultant for many Democratic legislators since 2018. In the primary, she got 80% of the vote.

“We have been knocking on doors since April, and I’ve been talking to voters for months. From what I heard at the doors they were eager for someone new to vote for and so I wasn’t entirely surprised,” Berghmans said. “Maybe by the margin, of course, but the district has been telling me they are eager for my candidacy.”

Berghmans will face off against Republican nominee Craig Degenhardt in November.

There were also a handful of other races that did not pan out in the incumbent’s favor. Three Democratic representatives lost their primary races Tuesday night, including Willie Madrid, Harry Garcia, and Ambrose Castellano.

This will have an impact on policy. All three Democrats voted against the proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave bill that would have required employees and employers to pay into a state fund that would allow workers to take paid time off when a child is born, for a family emergency, or another kind of medical crisis. That bill failed on the House floor by only two votes.