U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez’s latest campaign email and a series of airport videos posted to social media are raising eyebrows across New Mexico after the northern New Mexico Democrat made several misleading claims about election law, federal funding, and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal — all while attempting to position herself as a champion of transparency.
In one video filmed at an airport and posted to X, Leger Fernandez held up her REAL ID and claimed it would not be sufficient for voting under Republican-backed election integrity legislation.
“I’m about to get on a flight. I’m going to use my real ID. Guess what I cannot use this for? I can’t use this to register to vote or to vote,” she said. “So when they say they just want ID, it’s not this. They’re going to make you get a passport, which costs money, or walk around with your birth certificate. Voting is not a privilege like taking a plane. Voting is our right.”
She was referring to the SAVE Act, which recently passed the U.S. House and is now under consideration in the U.S. Senate. The legislation requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections — something supporters say is necessary to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections. The bill also allows all currently registered voters to remain registered, a key detail not mentioned in her video.
In another airport video, Leger Fernandez claimed Republicans were responsible for funding issues affecting federal agencies such as TSA and FEMA, saying Democrats had offered a funding solution that Republicans voted down.
“Democrats have offered a funding solution so that we can get TSA funded, we can get FEMA funded. Republicans voted it down,” she said. “There’s a simple solution. Vote for the Democrat funding bill. Let’s get them funded.”
The comments were included as part of her March campaign newsletter, titled “The Teresa Times,” which was sent to supporters and included statements on foreign policy, the Cesar Chavez abuse allegations, federal funding announcements, and the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County. She previously praised Chavez in social media posts.
After years of little public attention from New Mexico’s federal delegation on Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, Leger Fernandez also highlighted her visit to the property and the state-level investigation now underway.
“On Sunday, I was at the Zorro Ranch and we were demanding that there be an investigation,” she said. “It’s been too long, too many decades, but what is buried there? We need to find out.”
Epstein’s Zorro Ranch and the powerful individuals connected to it have been known to the public for years, including during the tenure of multiple high-ranking New Mexico officials. Only now, after national attention has intensified again, are some elected officials publicly calling for deeper investigation. It is unclear who Fernandez was “demanding” an investigation from after years of her silence.
Leger Fernandez’s email also included partisan attacks over Middle East policy, statements about Women’s History Month, announcements of federal spending in northern New Mexico, and a statement responding to sexual abuse allegations involving labor leader Cesar Chavez, in which she said she was “heartbroken and deeply disturbed” and expressed support for survivors.
The SAVE Act, government funding fights, and the Epstein investigation are all quickly becoming political flashpoints heading into the 2026 election cycle — and Leger Fernandez’s latest email shows how Democrats are attempting to message heavily on all three issues as the campaign season ramps up.