RGF Freedom Index Results Finalized

As we have done for more than a decade, the Rio Grande Foundation has tracked the votes in New Mexico’s legislative sessions. The 2026 session was a short, 30-day legislative session, but some momentous bills passed (for better AND worse) and some horrible bills that could have passed were defeated, but often included floor votes which are included in the Index.

As per the usual, our Freedom Index involves rating bills from -8 for the very worst to +8 for the very best. Floor votes (and only floor votes) are compiled based on the bill scores and the relevant votes and each legislator receives a score. So, positive scores mean adherence to voting for limited government and individual liberty while negative scores are associated with voting for bigger government and higher taxes. Also notably House and Senate scores can’t be easily compared as they don’t vote on the some bills.

High Scores included:

Rep. Alan Martinez of Albuquerque had the highest overall score and the highest score in the House at 84

Sens. Pat Boone, Candy Ezzell, and Larry Scott had the highest scores in the Senate. They were tied at 76

Low Scores included:

Sen. Linda Lopez had the lowest overall score and the lowest score in the Senate at -84.

Sen. Angelica Rubio had the lowest score in the House at -42. House scores at the bottom of the scale were higher than Senate scores at the lower level due to the unanimous passage of several medical provider compacts.