A longtime political operative who managed Deb Haaland’s gubernatorial campaign at its launch is now listed as a lobbyist for a company powering Project Jupiter — adding another connection between the Democrat gubernatorial nominee’s political orbit and the massive artificial intelligence data-center industry she has recently vowed to rein in.
Scott Forrester, a veteran New Mexico political consultant and former executive director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, is listed as a lobbyist for Bloom Energy, which is slated to provide the fuel-cell system powering Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa, according to a list of project lobbyists obtained and first reported by The New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico.
Forrester’s connection to Haaland is extensive.
When Haaland formally launched her 2026 gubernatorial bid in February 2025, the Albuquerque Journal identified Forrester as her campaign manager and noted he had also managed her successful first congressional campaign in 2018. Haaland’s campaign is now managed by Dylan McArthur.
Forrester also previously served as a Haaland congressional campaign manager and worked in her congressional office.
Now, his name has surfaced on the other side of one of the biggest political fights in New Mexico: the sprawling $165 billion Project Jupiter data-center campus, designed to support artificial intelligence infrastructure for companies including Oracle and OpenAI.
Haaland’s Project Jupiter connections keep growing
Forrester’s lobbying role lands as Haaland is already facing questions over significant campaign contributions connected to the data-center industry.
Searchlight previously reported that Oracle America contributed $12,400 directly to Haaland’s campaign, while individuals whose identifying information matched leaders at Oracle and Project Jupiter contractor Clayco contributed another $74,800.
Piñon Post subsequently reviewed Haaland’s Sept. 14 campaign-finance filing and identified additional contributions.
That review found $7,500 apiece from Matthew VanderZanden, Mike Casey, and Kevin Hughes, whose names and listed titles match senior executives at STACK Infrastructure, one of Project Jupiter’s developers.
It also found another $2,500 apiece from Kenneth Glueck, Josh Pitcock, and Julia Robin, whose identifying information matches Oracle officials.
Combined with the Oracle and Clayco contributions previously reported by Searchlight, Piñon Post identified at least $117,200 from Oracle America and individuals whose identifying information matches senior figures at Oracle, Clayco, and STACK.
There is no evidence that those contributions or Forrester’s lobbying work altered Haaland’s policy positions. But the overlapping campaign, lobbying, and industry relationships add another layer to the scrutiny surrounding Haaland’s increasingly combative public posture toward large data centers.
During the Democrat primary, Haaland said, “I just believe very strongly that data centers don’t have the best interests of our community at heart.”
She has since promised a day-one moratorium on new large-scale data-center projects until the state adopts new requirements governing water, electricity, transparency, environmental impacts, and community involvement.
When asked about the industry-linked campaign contributions, Haaland defended keeping the money.
“I believe I can walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said.
Her proposed moratorium, notably, would apply to new large-scale projects. Project Jupiter is already under construction, meaning the project at the center of the controversy would not simply be halted by that proposal. Piñon Post previously reported Haaland’s acknowledgment that she does not have the power to stop the existing project.
Project Jupiter assembles a roster of political insiders
Forrester is hardly the only familiar New Mexico political name working for interests connected to Jupiter.
Searchlight reported that Albuquerque lobbyist Vanessa Alarid, who is married to state Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, is registered with Yucca Growth Infrastructure, the applicant seeking an air-quality permit for the project. Attorney Jennifer Bradfute is also working with Yucca on the permit fight.
Gonzales is registered for STACK Infrastructure, while longtime Santa Fe lobbyist and attorney Brent Moore is also working for Bloom Energy.
Rich Guay is lobbying for Oracle, and Jessie Lane Hunt is working for OpenAI.
The collection prompted even a Democrat lawmaker from southern New Mexico to raise eyebrows.
“These names are a who’s-who of power brokers in New Mexico,” Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, told The New Mexican, arguing that the public should know who is being paid to promote Project Jupiter’s interests.
Forrester himself has previously attracted scrutiny in New Mexico politics. In 2025, an Albuquerque City Council candidate accused him of offering to help retire her campaign debt if she stopped pursuing a ballot challenge. The city’s ethics board ultimately dismissed the complaint; the board’s decision recorded that the conversation occurred but did not find an actionable violation under its jurisdiction.
Big money surrounds Jupiter on multiple fronts
The campaign donations are only one piece of the money surrounding Project Jupiter.
Oracle disclosed this month that it spent more than $3.4 million promoting the development as it sought support for an air-quality permit — an expenditure Searchlight described as potentially among the largest lobbying-advertising pushes of its kind in New Mexico.
Meanwhile, construction has continued moving quickly. Oracle told Doña Ana County commissioners earlier this month that the site was already about 26% complete.
That leaves Haaland in an increasingly unusual position.
She is campaigning as a critic of the data-center industry and proposing a temporary halt on new large-scale projects. At the same time, her campaign has received at least $117,200 in contributions tied to companies and executives in that industry, and the man who helped launch her gubernatorial campaign is now lobbying for a company directly involved in powering Project Jupiter.
None of those facts, standing alone, establishes improper coordination or a quid pro quo.
But as Project Jupiter pours billions into New Mexico, hires a roster of seasoned political insiders, and emerges as a major campaign issue, the web connecting the project to the state’s political establishment is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.