Linda M. Lopez (born March 13, 1964) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as a member of the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...

from the 11th district. Lopez has also served as the chair of the

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County (; ) is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo ...

Democratic Party since 2003.

Early life and education

Lopez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She earned a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from the

College of Santa Fe A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

. While in the legislature, she attended

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1947, it is the only law school in the st ...

but dropped out when her mother fell ill.

Career

Lopez previously worked in the

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

department at and

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

and Albuquerque's Presbyterian Hospital. She owns a consulting firm based in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico Senate

Lopez was first elected to the

in 1996, representing a district that includes the southwest portion of

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. She has served since 1997 and is the longtime chair of the Senate Rules Committee. She was also the Chairman of the

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County (; ) is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo ...

Democratic Party from 2003 to 2004. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico The lieutenant governor of New Mexico () is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico, ranking just below the governor. Thirty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor ...

in 2010, coming fourth out of five candidates. Lopez ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in the 2014 New Mexico gubernatorial election. She came in last place in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

: state Attorney General Gary King won the nomination with about 35% of the vote, Santa Fe Mayor

Alan Webber Alan M. Webber (born September 18, 1948) is an American entrepreneur, author, publisher, and politician serving as the 43rd List of Mayors of Santa Fe, New Mexico, mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico, since 2018. Previous to his assumption of the mayo ...

received about 23%, Lawrence Rael received about 20%,

Howie Morales Henry C. "Howie" Morales (born January 5, 1973) is an American politician and educator serving as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, lieutenant governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

received about 14%, and Lopez received about 8%. In the Senate, Lopez has supported renewable energy mandates and a moratorium on

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

. She supported allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in

s, increased funding for

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

and other early childhood services, and the use of emergency powers to combat the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of New Mexico on March 11, 2020. On December 23, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Health reported 1,174 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths, bringing the cumulative statewide to ...

. Lopez voted in favor of medical marijuana in New Mexico and stated that, "With proper oversight and structure, I will support legalizing recreational marijuana." She has supported legislation to mandate the wearing of body-worn cameras by almost all state and local law enforcement officers in New Mexico. A supporter of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

, Lopez sponsored legislation to remove from New Mexico's statute books the state's 1969 anti-abortion law, which has been largely unenforceable since ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

'' (1973); the proposal failed in a 24–18 vote in the state Senate. Lopez has sponsored legislation in 2019 to create a task force to design a monument at the site of the

Battle of Glorieta Pass The Battle of Glorieta Pass was fought March 26–28, 1862, in the northern New Mexico Territory, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. While not the largest battle of the New Mexic ...

, an 1862

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

battle in which

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

forces beat back a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

advance.

Personal life

Lopez is

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. She is divorced and has one son and a daughter. On January 3, 2023, a suspect fired over a dozen gunshots at Lopez's home, three of which went through Lopez's 10-year-old daughter's bedroom. No injuries were reported.

Solomon Peña Solomon Pena (born April 1983) is an American political candidate who was the Republican nominee for the 14th district of the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2022. He attracted national attention when he was arrested on January 16, 2023, ...

, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for state representative, was later arrested in connection with the shooting, along with several other shootings that targeted Democratic politicians in

References

External links

Senator Linda M. Lopez
at the NM Senate website
Project Vote Smart - Senator Linda M. Lopez (NM)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Linda M Lopez
2008200620042000
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=43716 1996] campaign contributions
Linda Lopez for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Linda 1964 births Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Mexico Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Democratic Party New Mexico state senators Women state legislators in New Mexico 21st-century American women politicians Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Santa Fe University of Art and Design alumni 21st-century members of the New Mexico Legislature