Not left. Not right. Forward.
U.S. Senate · New Mexico · 2026
A former State Representative, U.S. diplomat, and small-business owner running as a Forward Party candidate — because New Mexico needs a Senator who is a rubber stamp for neither party.
Why Bob is running
New Mexicans feel stuck and frustrated. We have a gorgeous state full of hard-working people, and a government that most of the time does not represent us and does not work well for most of us.
The U.S. Senate is a big deal. We need a serious person rooted in New Mexico traditions, but with a private-sector and global perspective, to help America solve genuinely complex problems. Our Senator should not be hanging their hat on bringing home the pork and occasionally showing up in our community. Nor should they be focused on representing only one corner of our diverse state.
Most importantly, we need a Senator who is not a rubber stamp — not for the Democrats and not for the Republicans. Do you know how New Mexico gets one of the most powerful Senators in the nation? Not through seniority. Elect someone like Bob, who works with both parties and forms non-partisan, non-aligned coalitions with other independent Senators, so that both parties need his vote.
It is called the fulcrum strategy: just two or three Senators unaligned with either major party can end the gridlock, moderate the extremes in both parties, and get things done for America. Several independent Senators are likely to be elected this cycle. New Mexico can be one of them.
The Forward Party in New Mexico
Both major parties — the legacy parties — care more about winning the next election than governing responsibly. A recent Gallup poll found that 51% of Americans describe themselves as independents. In New Mexico, registered independents grew from 25% to 27% in a single year, and independents are now the second-largest block of voters in most states.
Put that next to an 18% approval rating for Congress and a 94% re-election rate, and you can see something is broken. What is needed is a home for independent voters, and for Republicans and Democrats who no longer recognize their own party — a party committed to the rule of law, to civil engagement, and to democracy reforms like open primaries, instant-runoff voting, and term limits.
We see a way out of the quagmire where yelling and calling the other side evil accomplishes nothing. Not further left, not further right, but Forward.
Bob Perls with Forward Party Co-Founder Andrew Yang.
Where Bob stands
Thoughtful and fiscally conservative, moderate on social issues, radical about breaking up the two-party duopoly. Data first, party line never.
Term limits, an end to dark money, non-partisan open primaries, proportional representation, and universal public financing of campaigns.
Today there is no incentive for politicians to listen to all voters — only to the party base, which does not represent most Americans. To reward coalition-building and problem-solving, we have to change how we elect, district, and finance candidates.
Reimpose fiscal discipline and truly no new taxes. Both parties use the U.S. Treasury as a piggy bank to get re-elected, and our children and grandchildren will be left paying off the debt.
Effective government means data-driven decisions and shutting down programs that do not work — starting with the ones nobody wants to touch.
Medicare for All, so that every U.S. citizen can get care. Employers do not want to administer health plans, and private insurance adds no value for patients.
No new bureaucracy. Coverage for all.
A trillion dollars will go into AI research, development, and infrastructure this year alone. We cannot ban it and we cannot ignore it, so we must regulate it the way we regulate nuclear and bio-sciences research: strict protocols, disclosure, and federal oversight.
AI will dislocate a great many workers. Replace the stigmatizing in-kind benefit programs that have failed to dent poverty with a cash floor — a guaranteed annual income administered through the IRS — funded by a 3% tax on AI companies' gross revenue and by eliminating the bureaucracies that run the old programs.
Data centers are going to be built — if not here, then somewhere our data and research are less secure. The left hates them, the right loves them, and neither side is taking a rational, data-driven approach.
Require them to run on renewables and feed more energy back into the grid than they draw, and to use brackish, grey, or desalinated water so our rivers and aquifers are untouched. Done properly, this is good economic development for rural New Mexico.
Secure the border while treating all Americans and visitors with dignity. The integrity of the border protects Americans and lets us control who and what comes in — and a thriving economy requires that we increase legal immigration.
Bob adjudicated asylum claims as a consular officer in Frankfurt and Ottawa. The near-automatic asylum pathway was wrong; so is rounding up people who are neither criminals nor a threat. There was a bipartisan deal that would have legalized DREAMERs and tightened the border, and it was killed for election-year advantage. That is political theatre, not governing.
One to two years of national service for young people aged 19 to 21.
Young people from different regions and different walks of life need to understand each other better. Shared service is how you rebuild national bonds that politics has worn through.
The United States is the most powerful nation in the world, but we cannot go it alone. Damaged relationships with Canada, the European Union, and Great Britain cost us moral authority and make coalitions harder to build, whether we are acting diplomatically or militarily.
Ukraine is in Europe and its defense is in our strategic national interest. Russia is now a dangerous rogue state. With proper support and defensive weapons, Ukraine can prevail without a single American soldier on the ground.
A New Mexico life
Bob grew up in New Mexico and attended Albuquerque Public Schools. He is a former New Mexico State Representative and a U.S. diplomat, and he currently serves as Honorary Consul for Germany in New Mexico.
B.A. in Government from Pomona College and an M.S. in Healthcare Management from the University of Maryland.
In four years in the New Mexico House, Bob wrote and passed significant legislation — often without help from his own party's leadership:
From 2010 to 2015 Bob served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, including consular work at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt and the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, where he adjudicated asylum claims. He also worked on national security and intelligence issues.
Bob's career spans entrepreneurship and consulting across healthcare, cybersecurity, and renewable energy. He founded and ran a small medical electronics company, co-founded a cybersecurity company, and ran a renewables company.
Bob founded New Mexico Open Elections, which helped advance primary-election reform in New Mexico in 2025, and serves as Chair of the New Mexico Forward Party.
Bob raised a family, went through a divorce, and then raised a blended family in a second marriage that is now 27 years long. He has close relationships with his step-daughters and son, and five grandchildren.
Two kinds of people run for office: those who follow the party line and stay for decades, and those who build things, stay independent, listen, and act. Bob has built companies, a charter school, a reform non-profit, and a political party.
Independent campaigns run on people, not PACs
No PAC money. No anonymous money. This campaign is funded by New Mexicans who are done choosing between two parties that are not listening.
Bob does not accept PAC or anonymous contributions. Contributions to Forward with Bob Perls for US Senate are not tax deductible.
Get in touch
Questions, volunteering, press, or an invitation to speak to your group — reach the campaign directly.