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Witnesses say Dem rep was ‘running around naked’ at hotel

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A newly released Chicago police incident report is raising more questions about New Mexico House Rep. Joseph Hernandez’s brief explanation of a late-night hotel encounter that reportedly involved a disturbance, public nudity allegations, and a police escort off the property.

Hernandez, a Shiprock Democrat, previously described the episode as a “negative experience” with hotel security that ended with him moving to another hotel.

But according to the Albuquerque Journal, a heavily redacted Chicago Police Department incident report and two eyewitness accounts paint a far more serious picture of what unfolded early July 29 at the Holiday Inn at Wolf Point in Chicago.

The incident reportedly began around 2:30 a.m. on the hotel’s 17th floor, where Hernandez was staying. The Journal reported that someone called emergency services about a man “running around naked” and “banging and knocking on other guests’ doors.”

The name of the individual in the police report was redacted, but the Journal reported that the descriptors appeared to match Hernandez. Two eyewitnesses also told the newspaper they were certain the man involved in the disturbance was the New Mexico lawmaker.

According to a travel log obtained by the Journal, Hernandez checked into room 1745 on July 26 using a government discount code and checked out the morning of July 29, the same day as the incident.

Chicago police officers reportedly arrived around 2:44 a.m. and found the man “fully clothed” with security. The report described the individual as 5-foot-6, 280 pounds, with short black hair and a light-brown complexion, and a 1987 birth date.

The report also said the man pulled up photos of himself on his phone while “demanding” that officers “know who he is,” and insisted he should be allowed back into his room.

Hotel staff apparently disagreed. According to the Journal’s summary of the report, the hotel told officers the man’s reservation had been “cancelled due to” his behavior and for breaking hotel rules.

Police then escorted him to his room to collect his belongings before escorting him out of the hotel. The report said officers explained he had been “formally trespassed from the property” and waited while he ordered a rideshare to another hotel.

Hernandez’s earlier statement did not mention the nudity allegations, banging on doors, or being formally trespassed.

“During my recent stay in Chicago, I had a negative experience with a hotel security guard that resulted in a visit from Chicago Police,” Hernandez said in the statement. “The situation was resolved quickly as I relocated to a new hotel, where I stayed for the remainder of my trip.”

The Journal reported that Hernandez has declined multiple requests to explain what happened and why the incident escalated. When reached by phone July 31, he reportedly referenced “a security guard,” then claimed he was losing signal, despite no apparent interference on the call. He said he would be available later but did not answer again or respond to follow-up requests.

The incident occurred while legislators from across the country were in Chicago for the National Conference of State Legislatures summit. The Journal reported that Hernandez had not filed travel receipts related to the trip as of Aug. 14, according to the Legislative Council Service.

The two eyewitnesses, who spoke anonymously to protect their employment, told the Journal that hotel staff and security searched the man’s name online and were surprised when the search led them to Hernandez’s page on the New Mexico Legislature website.

When shown another photo of Hernandez and asked to rate their certainty that the man involved was the lawmaker, one witness said “10.” The other said, “If not an 11.”

One witness claimed Hernandez “pushed” them near an elevator while they tried to get him back to his room. That witness also said that once police arrived, Hernandez had put his clothes back on and accused security and the hotel of racial bias.

The Journal reported that the original dispatch was classified as a “sex offense call,” though the Illinois reporting code on the final police report was “criminal trespass.” No charges appear to have been filed, and Hernandez was not listed in Chicago First Municipal District court records.

The witnesses also claimed security had been called on a different night during Hernandez’s stay after he allegedly “passed out” with his shoes off on a couch in the hotel lobby.

The report is politically damaging for Hernandez, who is seeking reelection in House District 4. He first took office in 2025 after winning the seat formerly held by retired Democrat Rep. Anthony Allison.

Hernandez will face Republican Heather Ellison in November. Ellison, a Navajo educator, previously called on Hernandez to explain the Chicago incident.

“Legislators are held to a certain ethical standard, and they have a responsibility to be transparent, especially when spending taxpayer dollars,” Ellison said. “This incident is certainly concerning, and I call upon Representative Hernandez to tell the truth and take accountability for what happened.”

House Speaker Javier Martínez told the Journal earlier this month that he planned to ask Hernandez about the incident, but could not say whether an ethics investigation had been or would be opened.

For now, the public still has more questions than answers.

Hernandez called it a “negative experience.” The police report and witnesses describe something much more serious.

Witnesses say Dem rep was ‘running around naked’ at hotel Read More »

NM Dems have panic attack because Hull says he will talk to other governors

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New Mexico Democrats are sounding the alarm over Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull after he suggested he would work with other governors in the region, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, on policy — a prospect that apparently has the Democratic Party of New Mexico in full fundraising panic.

In a recent DPNM email, Democrats attacked Hull as a “MAGA Mayor” — despite his very middle of the road approach — and claimed he had “revealed his opposition to abortion access in New Mexico.” The party cited a New Mexico Political Report article and accused Hull of saying he would not support New Mexico’s status as a “safe haven” for abortion and would work with Abbott to “prevent Texans from being able to access abortion and reproductive care in New Mexico,” a stretch of a claim. 

The email went further, warning supporters that “there’s no doubt” Hull would try to undo New Mexico’s abortion policies and claiming he would put “patients and providers” at risk. There is likely no chance of such policy, since far-left, pro-abortion Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature.

But the panic says more about Democrats than it does about Hull.

The Democratic email treats any conversation with a neighboring Republican governor as an existential threat, as if Hull merely speaking with Abbott means New Mexico would automatically adopt every Texas policy overnight. That is the political leap Democrats want donors to make: Hull talks to Abbott, therefore New Mexico loses everything. They never claimed this the numerous times current Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has collaborated with the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both Democrats.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pictured with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The email also reveals how central abortion has become to Democrats’ 2026 playbook. Rather than defending New Mexico’s extreme abortion regime on the merits, DPNM is trying to scare supporters into donating by claiming Hull would destroy “reproductive freedom” and end New Mexico’s status as an abortion destination.

That “safe haven” status is exactly the problem for pro-life New Mexicans.

New Mexico has the most permissive abortion laws in the country. Guttmacher lists New Mexico as a state where abortion is “not restricted based on gestational duration,” and other abortion-access guides likewise describe abortion as legal throughout pregnancy in the state.

That means New Mexico has no gestational limit — no 15-week limit, no 20-week limit, no viability limit, and no general late-term ban. That is abortion up to birth.

Democrats do not like that phrase, but the policy reality is clear: New Mexico law does not set a gestational cutoff.

The state has also moved aggressively to block local communities from restricting abortion. The New Mexico Supreme Court struck down local abortion restrictions in conservative cities and counties, holding that state law precludes local governments from regulating abortion clinics or limiting abortion access. AP reported the ruling reinforced New Mexico’s position as a state with some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country.

Democrats call that “protecting access.” Conservatives call it wiping out local protections.

DPNM’s email insists New Mexico has “stepped up” to protect patients and providers. But the abortion industry’s record in New Mexico is not spotless.

The most notorious example is Keisha Atkins, a 23-year-old woman who died after a late-term abortion in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Journal reported that UNM Health Sciences Center and Southwestern Women’s Options agreed to pay her estate a combined $1.26 million to settle a wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged providers failed to identify, diagnose and treat signs of sepsis during the abortion process.

Another lawsuit, filed by Nichole Atkins, alleged she went to Southwestern Women’s Options in 2010, signed consent forms related to abortion and fetal tissue use, and later claimed injuries from the abortion that left her unable to bear children. Court-linked complaint materials say she alleged the clinic did not properly disclose its relationship with UNM and did not fully inform her about use of fetal tissue.

A separate case involving Jessica Duran accused Southwestern Women’s Options of deception over fetal tissue and UNM research; New Mexico Alliance for Life reported that a district judge allowed Duran’s claims to proceed after denying a motion to dismiss. There are many others, including those pending.

Those cases are exactly why Democrats’ “safe haven” language deserves scrutiny. Safe for whom?

New Mexico Democrats have built a system with no gestational limit, no parental involvement requirement, taxpayer-funded abortion through Medicaid, strong state protections for abortion providers, and preemption against local pro-life ordinances. The Center for Reproductive Rights notes that New Mexico repealed its pre-Roe ban, repealed parental consent, repealed the physician-only surgical abortion restriction, and in 2026 repealed abortion reporting requirements.

Pro-lifers also point to repeated failed attempts to pass born-alive protections in New Mexico. A 2024 legislative analysis noted federal law recognizes a fetus that survives an abortion as a human being who must be cared for, while New Mexico criminal statutes have been applied to infant deaths after birth. But specific state-level born-alive abortion survivor protections have still not become law.

That is the backdrop Democrats do not want to discuss.

Instead, DPNM is trying to turn Hull’s comments about working with Abbott into a fundraising emergency. The email calls Abbott’s policies “extreme,” labels Hull “anti-choice,” and urges supporters to donate to elect Democrats such as Deb Haaland.

The message is obvious: Democrats know New Mexico’s abortion laws are far outside the mainstream, so they are trying to frame any effort to add limits, transparency, or cooperation with neighboring states as an attack on “healthcare.”

But voters may see it differently.

Many New Mexicans may support some abortion access while still opposing abortion without gestational limits, abortion tourism, taxpayer-funded procedures, lack of parental involvement, and a system where high-profile lawsuits have raised serious questions about patient safety.

Hull’s position gives voters a chance to debate whether New Mexico should remain the abortion capital of the Southwest — or whether the state should finally consider protections for unborn babies, mothers, local communities, and taxpayers.

No wonder Democrats are panicking.

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ICE skewers Leger Fernández after detention tour dust-up

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is firing back at Democrat U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández after the New Mexico congresswoman claimed she was blocked from speaking with detainees during a tour of the Torrance County Detention Facility.

Leger Fernández, who represents New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, posted Wednesday that she was at the Torrance County ICE Detention Facility “seeing for myself exactly what is happening inside.”

“I’ll keep you posted on what I find,” she wrote.

But after the visit, Leger Fernández went to KOB and claimed the tour was “very sterile,” accusing ICE and CoreCivic of doing “everything they can” to prevent her from speaking with detainees.

“Core and ICE were so mad, they insulted me in the process about daring to literally say hello to the inmates,” Leger Fernández told KOB, adding that officials were “terrified” of her having conversations with detainees because they were “afraid of what we’ll hear.”

ICE responded with a very different version of events.

“We were glad to host you, Congresswoman,” ICE wrote in a statement posted publicly after her visit. “For those curious, here’s what happened.”

According to ICE, Leger Fernández signed the agency’s Facility Visitation Agreement before the tour, agreeing to follow the rules governing conduct inside ICE facilities. One of those rules, the agency said, is that meetings with detainees must be scheduled ahead of time for the privacy of detainees and the safety of visitors.

ICE said field leadership welcomed the congresswoman and provided a tour specifically tailored to the areas she had requested to see, including visitor check-in, intake, kitchen and food preparation, and medical services.

The problem, according to ICE, began in the kitchen area.

During that portion of the tour, Leger Fernández allegedly asked to speak with certain detainees. ICE said she was reminded that without prior consent from detainees, her request could not be accommodated at that time.

“Instead of accepting this guidance, the Congresswoman began talking and shouting to them from a distance, telling the detainees who she was and attempting to get closer to them,” ICE wrote.

The agency said her behavior disrupted operations and required intervention by facility leadership.

“ICE maintains clear policies about acceptable conduct within its facilities, just like all other federal law enforcement agencies do,” the agency continued. “Those policies are made clear ahead of time to congressional visitors.”

The statement undercut Leger Fernández’s attempt to portray herself as a victim of secrecy and intimidation. ICE says she knew the rules, signed the agreement, received the tour she requested, then tried to bypass the process anyway.

The clash came as New Mexico Democrats and far-left activists are losing their minds over a recent ICE arrest outside La Familia Medical Center in Santa Fe.

KOB reported that a man taking his daughter to a doctor visit was arrested outside the clinic after leaving the facility and entering the public parking lot. The station reported that Leger Fernández said there were eight ICE detentions around Santa Fe that day.

The arrest quickly became a rallying cry for New Mexico’s anti-ICE left, with activists and politicians decrying federal enforcement near a health care facility.

But Source New Mexico reported that a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson described the man arrested, Edgar Chacon-Miranda, as a “criminal illegal alien” whose arrest was part of a “targeted enforcement operation.” DHS said his record included battery against a household member, criminal sexual penetration in the second degree, child abuse, and abandonment of a child. Source New Mexico reported that the charges stemmed from a 2018 case and were dropped because prosecutors failed to proceed within required time limits.

In other words, the case Democrats turned into an anti-ICE spectacle is not nearly as simple as the sob story they blasted across social media.

Leger Fernández still rushed to condemn the enforcement activity, claiming “there is no community in the United States that is safe” and attacking the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Source New Mexico reported that she also promoted legislation to restrict immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations” such as churches, schools, and clinics.

That same posture now appears to have followed her into the detention facility itself.

Rather than wait for scheduled detainee meetings or follow the conduct rules she agreed to, ICE says Leger Fernández tried to engage detainees from a distance and push closer to them during the tour.

CoreCivic, which operates the Torrance County Detention Facility, told KOB that the water at the facility comes from the same Estancia municipal system that serves the surrounding community and that staff drink the same water as those in custody. The company also said the facility operates under federal detention standards with ICE personnel onsite and is subject to regular audits and inspections.

Leger Fernández has said she and Rep. Melanie Stansbury plan to send follow-up questions to ICE about conditions inside the facility.

But ICE’s response makes clear the agency is not letting her frame the visit without pushback.

The bigger picture is obvious: New Mexico Democrats are turning immigration enforcement into political theater at every opportunity. First came the outrage over ICE arresting a man DHS described as a “criminal illegal alien.” Then came Leger Fernández’s dramatic detention-center visit. Then came ICE’s public rebuttal, accusing her of violating the very visitation rules she had signed.

For voters, the question is simple.

Should members of Congress follow the rules inside federal detention facilities, or should they get to disrupt operations for a political stunt?

ICE says Leger Fernández got the tour she requested. What she apparently did not get was permission to turn it into a show.

ICE skewers Leger Fernández after detention tour dust-up Read More »

Haaland ticket goes full anti-ICE after Santa Fe arrest

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Democrat lieutenant governor nominee Stephanie Garcia Richard is openly directing immigrants to report federal immigration enforcement activity and seek legal help after a Santa Fe ICE arrest sent New Mexico’s left into a full-scale meltdown.

In a social media post, Garcia Richard wrote, “To our [illegal] immigrant neighbors: you belong here, and Deb and I are not going to stop fighting for you.”

She then pointed viewers to the NM Migra Watch Hotline, listing the number and extension to “report enforcement activity or get legal help.”

The hotline is not just a generic help line. Share New Mexico describes the NM Migra Watch Hotline as a statewide resource to “report an immigration enforcement action” or seek legal help, including attorney referrals for a friend or family member facing detention or deportation. The listing says calls are answered by New Mexico Dream Team members in Albuquerque. 

That is the kind of resource Garcia Richard, the Democrat Party-selected nominee for lieutenant governor, is now promoting as the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket tries to position itself against federal immigration enforcement.

Garcia Richard became the Democrat nominee for lieutenant governor after the Democrat Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee voted to fill the vacancy left by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s withdrawal from the race. Source New Mexico reported that Garcia Richard won after a vote of roughly 500 state party members, receiving 255 votes, or 53% of the 477 ballots cast. 

Her latest video came after federal immigration agents arrested a man outside La Familia Medical Center in Santa Fe. KOB reported that clinic staff said the man had driven his daughter to a doctor’s appointment and was arrested after leaving the facility and entering the public parking lot. The station also reported that Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said there were eight ICE detentions around Santa Fe that day. Source New Mexico similarly reported that the arrest occurred outside La Familia’s Alto Street clinic and involved a parent with an 11-year-old child. 

DHS had not publicly released details about the man’s immigration case or criminal history in the KOB report.

That did not stop New Mexico Democrats from turning the arrest into a political production.

Garcia Richard claimed in her video that ICE agents in Santa Fe “followed a parent and child from their home to their doctor’s appointment at a clinic, waited for them to finish the appointment, then arrested the parent.”

“This is incredibly unsettling,” she said. “Clinics are where we go for medical care. Churches are where we go to pray. Schools are where we go to learn.”

She then tied the episode directly to House Bill 9, the so-called Immigrant Safety Act, saying fear of enforcement was “the very reason” the Legislature passed the law.

“But now the Trump administration is trying to gut it,” Garcia Richard said. “This is not safe for any of us. To our immigrant families, Deb and I see you. You belong here. And we will use every tool that the state has to keep you safe.”

HB 9 prohibits public bodies from entering into agreements to detain people for federal civil immigration violations and prohibits public property from being used to facilitate detention for federal civil immigration violations, though the bill text says it does not limit law enforcement’s ability to detain individuals or perform brief investigative stops as permitted by state law. 

The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, the City of Albuquerque, and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller in May, alleging that HB 9 and Albuquerque’s similar ordinance interfere with federal immigration enforcement authority. 

Haaland also posted a melodramatic video from La Familia Medical Center, writing, “I will not stay silent while ICE terrorizes our communities.”

In the video, Haaland claimed ICE agents “barreled through the parking lot” and arrested the father of an 11-year-old child, leaving the child alone. “I will do whatever I can to keep our community safe,” she said.

But the question for New Mexicans is safe from whom?

Federal immigration agents are tasked with enforcing federal immigration law. ICE’s own public materials describe the agency as managing the immigration enforcement process, including identification, arrest, detention and removal of aliens subject to enforcement. 

Democrats are instead framing federal enforcement itself as the threat.

That posture is now central to the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket. Rather than asking why someone was targeted by ICE, whether the person had prior immigration violations, or whether federal officers were carrying out a lawful enforcement action, Democratic leaders rushed to condemn ICE and direct immigrants to resources that help report enforcement activity and fight detention or deportation.

The Trump administration also rescinded Biden-era “protected areas” guidance in 2025, ending special limits on immigration enforcement near locations such as schools, hospitals and churches. Reuters reported that the administration rolled back the prior guidance, while Trump border czar Tom Homan said ICE would focus on serious criminals but that anyone without legal status could be subject to arrest.

That makes Garcia Richard’s statement even more revealing.

Her message was not aimed at helping law enforcement or clarifying what happened. It was aimed at telling immigrants that the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket will use “every tool” of state government to protect them from federal immigration enforcement.

For voters who believe New Mexico should cooperate with federal law, that is a major admission.

The Democratic ticket is not hiding where it stands. Garcia Richard is promoting an ICE-reporting hotline. Haaland is accusing federal agents of terrorizing communities. And both are tying their campaign to a state law the DOJ says obstructs federal immigration enforcement.

The left may be losing its mind over one Santa Fe arrest. But the bigger story is what the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket just told voters: when ICE comes to New Mexico, Democrats want the state standing in the way.

Haaland ticket goes full anti-ICE after Santa Fe arrest Read More »

NM union treasurer’s bourbon run ends in federal guilty plea

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A former treasurer for a New Mexico labor organization has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors say he used union funds for unauthorized personal expenses and hid the misuse through false and incomplete financial reports.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Max Jaramillo, 58, pleaded guilty to embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization.

Jaramillo served as treasurer of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 331, from 2014 through February 2024, according to federal court records cited by the Department of Justice. In that role, he was responsible for safeguarding union money and accurately reporting the labor organization’s financial activities.

Jason Hawke, Unsplash.

Instead, prosecutors say Jaramillo used his position to take union funds for personal spending over a period stretching from January 2015 through November 2023.

Federal authorities said Jaramillo also concealed the misuse by submitting false and incomplete reports both to the U.S. Department of Labor and to the union’s own members.

One example cited by prosecutors was a March 15, 2023, annual report submitted to the Department of Labor. According to DOJ, that report falsely represented and omitted material information about how union funds had been spent.

Among the unauthorized expenses, prosecutors said Jaramillo used $49.98 in union funds on July 1, 2022, to buy himself a bottle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

American Postal Workers Union, Washington, DC. Ajay_suresh, Wiki Commons.

The bourbon purchase is only one example identified in the DOJ announcement, but it underscores the allegation at the center of the case: money that was entrusted to a union officer for labor organization purposes was instead used for personal spending.

Jaramillo’s guilty plea marks another federal financial fraud case in New Mexico involving abuse of a position of trust. Union treasurers are expected to manage funds on behalf of members, maintain accurate records, and provide honest reporting to federal regulators and the rank-and-file workers whose dues support the organization.

In this case, prosecutors say Jaramillo violated those duties for years.

Jaramillo pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization. At sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

A sentencing date was not included in the DOJ announcement.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the guilty plea Wednesday.

The case was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the federal agency responsible for enforcing reporting and disclosure requirements for labor organizations and protecting union funds from misuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.

The DOJ announcement did not specify the total amount of union money Jaramillo admitted to embezzling. It did, however, describe a pattern of unauthorized personal spending and false reporting over nearly nine years.

For union members, the case is a reminder that financial transparency is not a technicality. It is supposed to protect workers from insiders who treat member-backed funds like personal accounts.

Jaramillo now awaits sentencing after admitting in federal court that he embezzled from the labor organization he was entrusted to help manage.

NM union treasurer’s bourbon run ends in federal guilty plea Read More »

Fox report blows up Vasquez’s working-class act

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U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is facing fresh scrutiny after a new Fox News Digital report raised serious questions about the New Mexico Democrat’s carefully crafted working-class image.

Vasquez, who represents New Mexico’s competitive 2nd Congressional District, has repeatedly tried to cast himself as a humble, blue-collar candidate who understands families struggling to make ends meet. But the new report says records and social media material reviewed by Fox complicate the story Vasquez has been selling voters.

Fox reported that Vasquez has said he “never had the luxury of financial wealth” and argued during his 2022 campaign that voters were drawn to a candidate who “doesn’t come from wealth” or money.

He has also repeatedly leaned on his mother’s background in Mexico’s maquiladora industry to build that narrative. In an October 2025 La Opinión op-ed, Vasquez wrote that his mother, Hortencia Banuelos, “worked long hours in the maquiladora industry working to make ends meet,” calling her story one of “sacrifice, resilience, and hope.”

But Fox reported that Banuelos’ own professional profile and public records show a more complicated picture. According to the report, she held senior finance roles at GE during much of Vasquez’s childhood, including as a finance manager and comptroller in Mexico from December 1985 to March 1994.

Fox reported that the profile said Banuelos oversaw accounting, finance, payroll, accounts payable, IT, and customs. She was later promoted in 1994 to senior finance analyst at a GE operation in Bloomington, Indiana, where her profile said she analyzed a manufacturing plant with $800 million in revenue and 3,000 employees.

Fox also cited a 2020 Hispanic Executive profile reporting that GE hired Banuelos in Mexico in the 1980s and selected her for a two-year training program geared almost exclusively toward Ivy League graduates before she moved to Indiana.

The professional record, according to Fox, was accompanied by social media screenshots showing a more affluent family lifestyle, including repeated European travel, a three-month stay in France, luxury shopping, and upscale family photos. Fox reported that some photos included Vasquez himself, including one in which he posed with a Corvette.

That is a far cry from the stripped-down “I never had the luxury of financial wealth” image Vasquez has pushed in his public biography.

Congressional Leadership Fund, the House Republican-aligned super PAC endorsed by House GOP leadership, seized on the report, accusing Vasquez of trying to mislead voters about his background.

“Gabe tells voters he ‘never had the luxury of financial wealth,’ pointing to his mother working long hours in a factory to make ends meet,” CLF said in materials shared with Piñon Post. “But Gabe has never been poor.”

CLF also mocked the contrast between Vasquez’s public image and the lifestyle details highlighted in the report, writing, “Let them eat cake!”

The group also pointed to prior reporting on Vasquez’s personal life, noting that he “even threw himself a fake wedding for $90,000.” Fox reported that Vasquez previously faced scrutiny over a 2018 ceremony with a former fiancée at Akiin Beach Tulum in Mexico, where the Daily Mail reported events can cost between $30,000 and $90,000. Vasquez’s campaign told the Daily Mail the pair “participated in a private commitment ceremony but were never legally married and eventually separated.”

The Fox report is damaging because Vasquez’s political brand depends heavily on authenticity. He has spent years presenting himself as a grounded, working-class Democrat who can speak to southern New Mexico families on affordability, wages, and the cost of living.

But Republicans argue the new reporting shows another example of Vasquez saying one thing while the public record tells a very different story.

Vasquez’s campaign pushed back hard against the criticism of his mother.

“It’s pathetic that as Americans face Trump’s disastrous economy, Republicans attack Gabe’s mom who has worked incredibly hard, starting from the maquiladoras in Mexico, in pursuit of her American Dream,” campaign manager Patricia Socarras Santiago told Fox News Digital. “Gabe is incredibly proud of his mom and will work to ensure everyone can access the American Dream and reverse the impacts of Trump’s tanking economy.”

But that response does not answer the core political problem.

The issue is not whether Vasquez should be proud of his mother. The issue is whether he has presented voters with a selective biography that emphasizes factory struggle while downplaying corporate finance success, elite professional advancement, European travel, luxury shopping, and an upscale family image.

There is nothing wrong with upward mobility. There is nothing wrong with family success. There is nothing wrong with a mother building an impressive career.

The problem comes when a politician uses a carefully curated working-class narrative to connect with voters while leaving out the inconvenient parts that complicate the image.

Fox quoted Republican strategist Colin Reed, who said voters can spot “phony double-talk” more easily than politicians realize.

“It’s far better to be who you are and offer a compelling vision to make voters’ lives better than contort your own biography and background into something it’s not,” Reed said.

For Vasquez, that may be the real danger. The more he asks voters to trust his story, the more damaging it becomes when national reporting raises questions about what he left out.

And in a battleground district where authenticity matters, a polished working-class act can become a liability fast.

Fox report blows up Vasquez’s working-class act Read More »

Vasquez’s despicable vote comes back to haunt him in new ad blitz

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A major center-right advocacy group is launching a six-figure ad campaign in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District targeting Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez over his vote against legislation that included a ban on taxpayer funding for gender-transition procedures for minors.

American Action Network, or AAN, announced the new New Mexico buy as part of its broader $22 million summer issue advocacy campaign, which is aimed at drawing a contrast between House Republicans and Democrats on taxes, costs and federal spending priorities.

The New Mexico ad campaign begins August 20 and will run in NM-02, one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. The district is currently represented by Vasquez, who is seeking reelection and is expected to face Republican Greg Cunningham, a former Marine and law enforcement officer, in the general election.

AAN’s new ad accuses Vasquez of voting to allow taxpayer funding for what the group describes as “sex changes and chemical castration for minors.” The group argues that Congress moved to block public funding for such procedures, but Vasquez voted against the ban.

“Gabe Vasquez wants to waste New Mexicans’ tax dollars, voting to allow taxpayer funding for chemical castration drugs for minors,” AAN spokeswoman Lydia Hall said in a statement provided to Piñon Post. “Gabe Vasquez should be ashamed of himself for subjecting minors to a chemical castration sex-change procedure that is banned in 16 countries.”

The ad is part of a national effort by AAN to put vulnerable Democrats on defense over hot-button cultural and spending issues while also promoting the Republican-backed tax package that President Donald Trump signed into law last year.

That package, which Republicans now call the Working Families Tax Cut, included several Trump-backed tax priorities, including tax relief related to tips and overtime pay, as well as relief for seniors. The IRS says the law created new deductions tied to tips, overtime compensation and other working-family provisions beginning in 2025.

Vasquez voted no on H.R. 1, known during the legislative fight as the One Big Beautiful Act. The bill passed the House on May 22, 2025, by a 215-214 vote, with all Democrats voting against it. The House Clerk’s official vote record lists Vasquez as a “Nay.”

AAN is now using that vote to tie Vasquez to what it calls “radical priorities,” arguing that Democrats voted against tax relief for working families while defending federal spending on controversial gender-related medical procedures for minors.

The campaign also includes Spanish-language messaging, a notable move in a southern New Mexico district where Hispanic voters are central to both parties’ strategies.

The New Mexico campaign follows Axios reporting that AAN’s $22 million ad campaign is running across 41 congressional districts, including NM-02. Axios reported that the ads are focused on GOP tax cuts and attacks on Democrats over gender-affirming care for minors.

AAN is a major outside advocacy organization on the right. The group describes itself as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(4) “action tank” that promotes center-right policies based on limited government, freedom, American exceptionalism and strong national security. Axios described AAN as a top outside group aligned with House Republican leaders and reported that the new buy brings AAN’s total investment this Congress to a record $62 million.

That kind of money signals how seriously national Republicans are taking Vasquez’s district.

NM-02 has been one of the most closely watched House seats in the country for several cycles. Vasquez narrowly defeated Republican Yvette Herrell in 2022, then won reelection in 2024. Republicans now see the seat as one of their best opportunities to flip a Democrat-held district in 2026.

The AAN ad is also a sign that Republicans plan to keep nationalizing the race around cultural issues, taxes and federal spending.

For Vasquez, the attack lands as he has tried to portray himself as a moderate focused on working families and affordability. But Republicans argue his voting record in Washington tells a different story — especially when it comes to H.R. 1, the same legislation that included major tax cuts he has since tried to distance himself from while promoting some similar policies.

AAN’s new campaign attempts to force Vasquez into another difficult position: explain why he voted against the Republican tax package while defending the broader Democratic opposition to provisions conservatives say protect children and taxpayers.

The ad buy also shows that the 2026 race in NM-02 is already heating up months before Election Day.

With national groups now pouring money into the district, Vasquez’s record on taxes, spending, border security, public safety and cultural issues will remain front and center.

And AAN is making clear that one of its opening attacks will be simple: Gabe Vasquez voted the wrong way when taxpayers and children were on the line.

Vasquez’s despicable vote comes back to haunt him in new ad blitz Read More »

MLG says 2028 Dems are suddenly calling her

23 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is suddenly getting attention from national Democrats with their eyes on 2028 — and she appears eager to position the state as the party’s new presidential testing ground.

According to a new report from Politico, several potential 2028 Democrat presidential contenders have been reaching out to Lujan Grisham after New Mexico secured an early slot on the Democrat presidential primary calendar.

The Democrat National Committee finalized its 2028 early-state calendar over the weekend, placing New Mexico fourth in line on Feb. 15, 2028, after South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire. Michigan and Virginia will follow later in February.

For decades, New Mexico has been an afterthought in presidential primaries. Now, thanks in large part to Lujan Grisham’s lobbying, the state is being recast as an early proving ground for Democrat candidates who want to show they can speak to Hispanic voters, rural voters, border communities and energy-producing states before most of the country casts a ballot.

“This is a testing ground,” Lujan Grisham told Politico.

That line may be the most revealing part of the interview.

The term-limited governor is trying to sell New Mexico as a national model for Democrats, arguing that presidential candidates should not wait until the general election to engage Hispanic voters and border-state issues.

The governor previously said after the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee selected New Mexico that Democrats “cannot show up for Hispanic voters in November after Democrats have already picked a nominee.”

In the Politico interview, Lujan Grisham argued New Mexico will force candidates to talk about rural economics, health care, child care, energy, affordability, public safety and border security in a state where Hispanic voters are central to the electorate.

That is the pitch.

But it also creates a major political test for Democrats — because New Mexico is not just a convenient demographic showcase. It is also a state where the Democrat Party’s record on border security, crime, energy, education and affordability will be on display.

Lujan Grisham told Politico that she has recently spoken or texted with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and former Ambassador Rahm Emanuel. She also reportedly spoke with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, chatted with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker during his recent New Mexico visit, and is working to schedule time with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who she said is planning a trip to the state.

That means New Mexico could soon become a must-visit stop for the next crop of national Democrats looking to replace President Donald Trump after his second term.

Politico reported that Lujan Grisham discussed the state’s calendar position, demographics and her own policies, including universal child care, with potential contenders.

That framing gives the governor a chance to tout her own legacy before leaving office. But it also means Democrats who campaign here will have to deal with New Mexico’s real-world problems, not just the national party’s preferred talking points.

The most striking portion of Lujan Grisham’s interview may have been her warning to Democrats on immigration and the border.

“Don’t be uncertain,” she said when discussing border security.

She also warned that voters do not want to hear Democrats sound like they support open borders.

That is a notable admission from a Democrat governor in a border state — and it could create awkward moments for a party whose left flank has spent years attacking immigration enforcement, opposing border security measures, and flirting with slogans about abolishing federal agencies.

Lujan Grisham went further, saying debates about “abolishing one system or another” do not appeal to mainstream voters.

The governor did not name specific Democrats, but the warning is obvious: the party cannot afford to sound radical on the border if it wants to win back voters who have drifted away from Democrats in recent years.

That message is particularly relevant in New Mexico, where border security is not an abstract cable-news issue. It affects law enforcement, ranchers, local communities, ports of entry, trade, drug trafficking and public safety.

New Mexico’s new early-state role is also likely to elevate energy policy.

The state is one of the nation’s most important energy producers, with oil and gas revenue playing a massive role in the state budget. That could force national Democrats to explain how they plan to balance climate rhetoric with the reality that New Mexico’s schools, programs and government spending rely heavily on fossil fuel production.

Lujan Grisham called this “smart energy production,” a phrase that sounds designed to soften the tension between the Democrat Party’s anti-fossil-fuel activists and New Mexico’s oil-funded government machine.

The DNC’s decision is being framed nationally as an effort to better reflect the Democrat coalition, including Black, Latino, rural, union and diverse voters. But for New Mexico, it also puts the state’s political contradictions directly in the spotlight.

Democrats want New Mexico to be a showcase for Hispanic outreach, border-state politics and progressive policy wins.

Republicans are likely to argue it is something else entirely: a warning sign of what one-party Democrat control looks like when crime, border chaos, struggling schools and affordability concerns collide.

Either way, Lujan Grisham got what she wanted.

The 2028 Democrat hopefuls are calling. New Mexico will vote early. And the governor is trying to make sure the road to the Democrat nomination runs through Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and the borderlands.

The question now is whether New Mexico becomes a national Democrat success story — or an early reminder of the party’s biggest liabilities.

MLG says 2028 Dems are suddenly calling her Read More »

UNM fails nearly every free speech test

11 Comments / Culture, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A national higher education watchdog says the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque is falling badly short on free expression, viewpoint diversity and intellectual openness, giving the state’s flagship university credit for just three out of 20 measures in a new campus free speech report card.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, or ACTA, released its latest Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression evaluation for UNM on August 18. The report is part of ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative, which reviews universities against a 20-point plan the organization says is designed to restore “higher education’s commitment to excellence and open inquiry.”

UNM did not fare well.

According to ACTA, UNM receives credit for only three of the 20 Gold Standard measures. The organization said its research highlights UNM’s strengths in protecting free expression, but also identifies “areas it must work on to improve the student experience.”

The three areas where UNM received credit were limited. ACTA gave the university marks for encouraging student groups devoted to free expression, civil discourse or a plurality of perspectives; establishing policies that protect free expression rights on campus and set clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events and classes; and reviewing student government policies to ensure viewpoint neutrality in student group recognition and funding.

Everywhere else, according to the report card, UNM came up short.

ACTA says UNM has not adopted the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a similarly strong statement. It also faults the university for lacking clear free expression expectations in student and faculty handbooks and codes of conduct, failing to include a free expression unit in new-student orientations, and not adopting an institutional neutrality policy such as the Kalven Report.

The watchdog also says UNM does not sponsor campus debates that model civil discourse and does not enforce policies protecting free expression rights with clear consequences for disruptions.

The criticism continues in ACTA’s section on intellectual diversity. UNM received no credit for encouraging presidents, provosts and deans to model respect for a broad range of viewpoints; guaranteeing viewpoint diversity in student life policies; supporting academic centers dedicated to free inquiry and intellectual diversity; or ensuring faculty hiring, evaluation and promotion are based on merit while making clear the institution is open to intellectual diversity.

In the “break down barriers to free expression” category, ACTA says UNM has not eliminated speech and IT policies that have a chilling effect on free expression, has not ensured Title VI, Title VII and Title IX enforcement does not infringe on free expression, and has not disbanded bias response teams.

UNM also received no credit in ACTA’s leadership accountability category. The group says the university has not included free expression commitments in key institutional documents, has not made free expression a criterion in searches and evaluations for top administrators, has not required free expression and viewpoint diversity training for administrative staff, and has not conducted regular surveys to assess the state of free expression and intellectual diversity on campus.

The organization describes itself as launched in 1995 and says it works with alumni, donors, trustees and education leaders to support liberal arts education, high academic standards, the free exchange of ideas and affordable, high-quality college education.

InfluenceWatch describes ACTA as a “conservative-leaning organization” that encourages trustees, alumni and donors to take a more active role in setting university policy. The left-wing Media Bias/Fact Check (so, take this with a grain of salt) rates ACTA as right-biased with “Mixed” factual reporting, citing its conservative advocacy, lack of donor transparency and one-sided reporting, while also noting it has no recorded fact-check failures.

But those caveats do not erase the substance of the UNM report card.

The central finding is straightforward: by ACTA’s standards, UNM has not built a serious institutional framework for free speech, viewpoint diversity or academic neutrality. Instead, the university received credit for only a small handful of procedural protections while failing most of the group’s broader tests for an open campus culture.

For New Mexicans, the report raises obvious questions. If the state’s flagship public university is funded by taxpayers and serves students from across the ideological spectrum, why has it not adopted stronger protections for free expression? Why has it not embraced institutional neutrality? Why are regular campus surveys on intellectual diversity not already standard practice?

ACTA’s report does not accuse UNM of being the worst campus in America. It does something more specific: it measures the university against a detailed free-expression checklist and finds it badly lacking.

In an era when universities increasingly face criticism for ideological conformity, DEI bureaucracy, shout-downs, bias reporting systems and administrative activism, UNM’s 3-out-of-20 score is not a small warning sign.

It is a failing grade from a group that believes universities should be places where ideas are debated, not managed by bureaucracy.

UNM fails nearly every free speech test Read More »

Vasquez desperate to rewrite record after throwing NM Downwinders to the wolves

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

When far-left Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez had one of his clearest opportunities to stand up for New Mexico’s long-suffering Downwinders, he didn’t.

Instead, Vasquez joined his fellow Democrats and voted against the final H.R. 1 package that contained the historic expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) — the very expansion he is now celebrating and attempting to build his political brand around.

Now, more than a year later, Vasquez is back on offense with a shiny new press release portraying himself as a relentless champion for Downwinders.

The problem is his voting record.

On Monday, Vasquez announced his support for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026, boasting that he stands with the Tularosa Basin Downwinders and declaring that Washington must take responsibility for the damage caused by the 1945 Trinity nuclear test.

“I stand with the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium and all those that refuse to let the world forget what happened at the Trinity Site,” Vasquez said.

His office even bragged that the 2025 expansion of RECA to New Mexicans was a “huge win” and claimed Vasquez has “long worked closely with the Downwinder community.”

What the press release conveniently leaves out is that when Congress actually voted on the legislation delivering that huge win, Vasquez voted no.

On July 3, 2025, the House considered final passage of the Senate-amended H.R. 1. Buried inside the massive package was something New Mexico families had fought decades to achieve: an expansion of RECA covering victims of the Trinity Test and other Americans harmed by radiation exposure.

Vasquez had a choice.

He could break with the partisan opposition to the broader package and vote for legislation containing the long-awaited relief New Mexico Downwinders had begged Washington to provide for generations.

He chose not to.

Vasquez voted NO.

The measure passed anyway, 218-214, and the RECA expansion became law without his support.

Whatever objections Vasquez had to other provisions of the sweeping reconciliation package, the practical reality is unavoidable: the legislation that finally delivered RECA coverage to New Mexico reached the House floor, and Gabe Vasquez voted against it.

He also voted against the procedural measure that allowed the Senate-amended H.R. 1 — with the RECA expansion included — to come before the House for a final vote.

Now Vasquez wants voters to forget that moment and focus instead on his latest press conference-ready push for additional benefits.

The hypocrisy does not stop there.

Vasquez is also attempting to portray himself as a stalwart supporter of New Mexico’s military community by touting his December 2025 vote for the final Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

His congressional office celebrated the vote as delivering “major wins for New Mexico,” highlighting military infrastructure, a servicemember pay raise and provisions Vasquez helped insert into the bill.

But again, there are inconvenient votes missing from the press release.

Vasquez voted against the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA in June 2024.

Then, in September 2025, he voted against the House version of the Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA before later supporting the negotiated final version in December.

That is a far different record from the uncomplicated pro-defense image Vasquez is now trying to sell.

The Downwinder issue is particularly glaring because these families waited approximately eight decades for recognition.

New Mexicans living near the Trinity Site endured cancer, illness, death and generations of unanswered questions while the federal government excluded them from compensation available to other radiation-exposed communities.

When Congress finally put legislation containing their long-awaited relief on Vasquez’s desk for an up-or-down vote, he did not stand with them.

He stood with the partisan opposition to H.R. 1.

Now that the expansion is safely law despite his vote, Vasquez is attempting to wrap himself in the cause and take credit as one of its loudest champions.

New Mexico Downwinders deserved courage when their compensation was actually on the line — not political rehabilitation after someone else supplied the votes necessary to get it done.

Vasquez desperate to rewrite record after throwing NM Downwinders to the wolves Read More »

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