Martha Garcia with $85,350; Paul Spencer with $1,751.69
CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – The two candidates seeking to represent House District 6 are entering the final stretch of the 2026 election with dramatically different campaign finances.
Democrat Martha Garcia has reported $85,350 in contributions during the election cycle, while Republican Paul Spencer has reported $1,751.69, according to campaign finance records filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State.
That means Garcia's campaign has reported nearly 49 times as much in contributions as Spencer's.
The difference is also visible in campaign spending.
Garcia has reported $62,305.15 in expenditures, leaving her campaign with $23,044.85 in cash on hand.
Spencer has reported $255.70 in expenditures and has $1,495.99 remaining.
Garcia also reports $6,372.44 in in-kind contributions.
Spencer reports $0.
Neither campaign currently reports campaign debt.
The figures come from the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Information System, or CFIS, which requires candidates and political committees to publicly disclose campaign contributions and spending.
Garcia's most recent filing listed in the system was submitted Sept. 14, while Spencer's was submitted Sept. 13. The Secretary of State provides campaign finance records through its public CFIS database.
Where the Money is Coming From Garcia's largest contributors listed by the Secretary of State include both individuals and political committees.
The Committee to Elect Javier Martinez contributed $6,200. Javier Martinez is the New Mexico Speaker of the House of Representatives and chairs the legislative branch this seat seeks to earn.
James W. Carson contributed another $6,200.
Sandra J. Martinez contributed $6,000.
Justice for New Mexico contributed $6,000.
And Reena Szczepanski's campaign committee contributed $5,500. Together, those five contributors account for $29,900, or about 35% of Garcia's reported contributions.
The remaining roughly $55,450 came from other contributors reflected in her campaign records.
Spencer's campaign is operating on a much smaller financial scale.
His largest listed contributor is Billie Bond at $800.
George Garcia contributed $150, he is a sitting Grants City Councilor.
While Michael Pendleton, Mark Lewis and Plesant Gaines are each listed at $100.
The five largest contributors shown on Spencer's campaign summary account for $1,250 of his reported $1,751.69.
Campaign contributions can be used for expenses including advertising, campaign materials, signs, mailers, travel, consulting and voter outreach. The amount a campaign raises, however, is not a measure of how much support a candidate has among voters and does not determine an election's outcome.
A Race With Legacy
House District 6 includes portions of Cibola and McKinley counties and has been among the more closely watched legislative races affecting Cibola County this election cycle.
This legislative seat has been contentious since the last elected official to this seat, Eliseo Lee Alcon, passed away in late 2024 after winning the primary election. His passing trigger a succession crisis that led to the elevation of Garcia to the seat by appointment of Cibola and McKinley County Boards of Commission and approval from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, making her the first Native American woman to hold the House District 6 seat.
By the time Garcia was elevated to the seat the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session was more than halfway complete.
The 2025 Primary Election saw the largest contested field of candidates in New Mexico, and a lawsuit to remove one of the candidates.
By the time the dust settled in House District 6’s primary race, Garcia emerged from a four-candidate Democratic primary as the victor, receiving 1,437 votes districtwide.
Spencer was unopposed for the Republican nomination and received 913 votes in his primary.
The two will now face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.
HD6 BY THE NUMBERS
Martha Garcia: $85,350 raised | $62,305.15 spent | $23,044.85 cash Paul Spencer: $1,751.69 raised | $255.70 spent | $1,495.99 cash Garcia has reported nearly 49 times as much in contributions.