Ben Ray Luján
DemocratU.S. Senator, NM| Age | 54 (b. 1972-06-07) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2009-01-06 (~17 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | Hispanic/Latino (Hispano of New Mexico) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Education | Graduated Pojoaque Valley High School (1990); attended the University of New Mexico (1990–1995); earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from New Mexico Highlands University (2007). |
| Prior occupation | Blackjack dealer at a tribal casino; later served on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (2005–2008) before entering Congress. |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Marital status | Never married |
| Children | 0 |
| Residence | Nambé / Santa Fe area, New Mexico |
| Notable relatives | Father, Ben Luján Sr., was a longtime member of the New Mexico House of Representatives (serving nearly 40 years), including as Majority Whip and as Speaker of the House until his death in 2012. |
Pending research: languages · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2008 |
| Previous offices | New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, District 3 (2005–2008; Chairman 2005–2007) · U.S. House of Representatives, New Mexico's 3rd congressional district (2009–2021) |
| Committees | Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Finance · Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry · Indian Affairs · Budget |
| Caucuses | Congressional Hispanic Caucus · Congressional Arts Caucus |
| Leadership | Chair, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) (2015–2019) · Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House / House Assistant Democratic Leader (2019–2021) · House Chief Deputy Whip (appointed 2013) · Chair, Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband |
| Ideology | Self-described progressive Democrat; ranked among the more liberal members per voting-record trackers (Voteview DW-NOMINATE / GovTrack). Exact numeric DW-NOMINATE score not confirmed from a directly readable source. |
| Signature legislation | Broadband infrastructure expansion for rural and tribal communities (e.g., Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act; Accelerating Broadband Permits Act) · Led four bills enacted as part of the bipartisan SUPPORT Act reauthorization to address the fentanyl/opioid crisis |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $167,000–$430,000 (2023) · estimate
| Wells Fargo savings account | fund · $100,001–$250,000 · 2023 |
| New Mexico state employee pension | other · $50,001–$100,000 · 2023 |
| State Federal Credit Union account | fund · $15,001–$50,000 · 2023 |
Scandals & crimes ledger
Resolved; cleared of primary allegations, with one inadvertent technical violation noted; no sanction imposed — 2017 House Ethics Committee review of activities during the 2016 gun-control sit-in
Following a June 2016 House Democratic sit-in over gun legislation, the watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust alleged that Luján (then DCCC chair) solicited campaign contributions in connection with the sit-in. The Office of Congressional Ethics referred the matter to the House Committee on Ethics. In an August 1, 2017 report (H. Rept. 115-272), the Committee cleared Luján of soliciting contributions or conducting campaign activity from the House floor, but noted that a campaign operative had used a House-floor image of the sit-in in an ad, which it deemed an inadvertent, technical violation. No penalty was imposed.