Who works the New Mexico Legislature
When people picture a lobbyist, they tend to picture one person speaking for one company. In New Mexico, the reality is closer to the opposite: a relatively small group of contract lobbyists each carries a long roster of clients through the Capitol at once.
Our lobbying index links registered lobbyists to the employers who hired them — 6,359 such relationships between 2013 and 2026, covering about 2,700 lobbyists and 2,500 employers. Most lobbyists in the data represent only one or two employers. A handful represent dozens.
The multi-client lobbyists
At the top, Scott Scanland was registered for 89 different employers over the period, with Anthony "T.J." Trujillo and Joseph Thompson at 81 each, followed by James Bullington (74) and Richard Romero (69). These are contract lobbyists — hired guns, in the trade's own phrase — and their client lists are a map of who is paying attention to the Legislature in any given year. When one person speaks for four or five dozen interests, a single relationship with that lobbyist can put a lot of doors within reach.
You can see any lobbyist's full client list — or run it the other way — in the lobbying index.
Who fields the most lobbyists
On the other side of the ledger, the employers registering the most lobbyists are largely membership and advocacy organizations rather than single corporations — groups like AARP, the New Mexico Association of Educational Retirees, the New Mexico Association of REALTORS, the League of Women Voters of New Mexico, and Conservation Voters New Mexico. Organizations like these often register many members or affiliated advocates, which inflates their lobbyist counts relative to a company that hires one firm.
Why it matters
Lobbying is legal, disclosed, and part of how a legislature hears from the people it governs. Making the disclosures searchable simply lets the public see what the filings already say: which interests are organized enough to be in the room, and which few individuals carry the most of them. Explore it yourself in the lobbying index.
Figures cover registrations from 2013–2026, drawn from New Mexico's public lobbyist-registration disclosures (former and current state systems combined). We publish registration facts only and omit personal contact details. See our methodology.