Miyagishima enters Democratic race for governor, vows medical malpractice reform

Daniel J. Chacón, The Santa Fe New MexicanThe Santa Fe New Mexican

Former longtime Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima formally launched his campaign for governor Tuesday, promising to make medical malpractice reform his top priority.

"We're facing an epidemic of losing some of the greatest doctors we've ever had simply because it's too expensive to practice medicine here because the medical malpractice laws are outdated," he said during a 16-minute speech.

"Would you believe that we rank second in the nation in medical malpractice lawsuits? Second. We're the only state that is losing doctors — only state," he said during his announcement event in Las Cruces, which was streamed live on Facebook.

Miyagishima issued a challenge to the two other announced Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Deb Haaland, a former congresswoman and U.S. interior secretary, and Sam Bregman, a former Albuquerque city councilor who has served as the district attorney in Bernalillo County since 2023.

"When I was mayor, I never took money from anyone as a contribution, anyone who did business with the city," he said. "I won't take any campaign contributions from anyone who does business with the state, and I will never take money from a trial lawyer. So, I make the challenge to Sam and Deb not to take any money from trial lawyers."

Miyagishima, who served as the Las Cruces mayor for 16 years, from 2007 to 2023, also vowed to tackle crime and affordable housing as governor.

He said he worries for his wife's safety if she goes out by herself when they visit one of their sons in Albuquerque.

"The FBI now says New Mexico is the most dangerous state in the country," he said. "We lead the nation in violent crime, aggravated assault, robbery and rape. The numbers are the untold stories of lives shattered, families traumatized, communities living in fear."

New Mexico can't address its crime problems "absent a crackdown on gang violence, on drug cartels and mandatory sentences for repeat offenders," he said.

Miyagishima advocated for doing away with a pretrial risk assessment process known as the Arnold Tool, saying it creates "stumbling blocks" that prevent judges from doing their job and protecting communities.

"We deserve a system where justice is swift, where justice is fair, where justice is focused on protecting innocent lives and not sending violent offenders back into our neighborhoods. We deserve better," he said.

"Nosotras merecemos algo mejor," Miyagishima, a Mexican American of Japanese descent, repeated in Spanish, which he did several times throughout his speech.

Miyagishima also said New Mexicans deserve a state "where families can finally reach the American dream," adding too many hardworking New Mexicans are just struggling to find a safe, clean affordable place to live.

The Democratic and Republican primary elections will be in June 2026, with the general election in November 2026.