| IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2026 Marker challenges every major New Mexico newsroom to host a debate and invite both candidates. “If he won’t show, leave the podium empty. You’ve done it before.” Albuquerque, NM — With 21 days until Election Day, Sen. Ben Ray Luján still refuses to debate Republican challenger Larry Marker. New Mexico’s major news outlets have said almost nothing about it. They weren’t always this quiet. In 2020, then-Rep. Luján tried to dodge a KOB-TV debate and blamed his schedule in Washington. The station announced it would hold the debate anyway, with an empty podium for Luján. The Associated Press carried the story statewide. A leading New Mexico political scientist said publicly that he should take part. Luján showed up. Six years later, Luján has the same habit, and the press has lost interest. No station has announced an empty podium, and no editorial board has demanded that he face his challenger. The only Senate stage Luján has agreed to this fall is a keynote at NMSU’s Domenici Public Policy Conference, a slot given to him alone, with no invitation for his opponent. “Four years ago, New Mexico’s newsrooms knew exactly what to call a candidate who ducks debates,” said Larry Marker. “Now the same senator is doing the same thing, and they’ve decided it isn’t news. That’s not journalism. That’s a favor. Ben Ray Luján has spent 18 years in Washington. He has a record on fentanyl, on FEMA, on the debt, and on what you pay at the pump. He doesn’t want to defend it, and the press doesn’t seem to want to make him.” Marker issued a direct challenge to KOB, KOAT, KRQE, the Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe New Mexican, and New Mexico PBS. He asked each of them to host a Senate debate before Election Day and invite both candidates. “I’ll take any stage, any moderator, any question, including from the outlets that have ignored this race,” Marker said. “If Senator Luján won’t come, do what you did in 2020 and leave his podium empty. Let New Mexico see who showed up.” The Marker campaign will appear at any forum that offers equal time to both candidates. ### |
