Attorney and former state lawmaker Jacob Candelaria filed the suit in April on behalf of three Republicans. They include Duke Rodriguez, who ran for governor in the June 2 primary; and Zac Anaya, who ran for the state House of Representatives. Current state Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Aztec) also is a plaintiff in the case. All alleged that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration had run afoul of an old New Mexico Supreme Court decision in which Rodriguez, who at the time led Gov. Gary Johnson’s state Human Services Department, was accused of implementing a state program “without seeking legislative approval.”

Lujan Grisham first announced the universal childcare program last September and said it would save families about $12,000 per child annually. The program opened up to all New Mexico families on Nov. 1, 2025, and a new law — Senate Bill 241, which established criteria for when certain families are subject to co-payments — went into effect in May.