Politics Archives - Piñon Post

Parental-rights showdown erupts as feds probe NM school districts

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Two of New Mexico’s largest public school districts are now under federal investigation over policies that allow students to use different names or pronouns at school without that information necessarily being disclosed to their parents.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that its Student Privacy Policy Office has opened investigations into Albuquerque Public Schools and Santa Fe Public Schools, citing concerns that district practices may violate federal parental-rights laws.

Federal officials said they are examining possible violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, or PPRA. The department also announced action involving school districts in Pennsylvania as part of a broader nationwide enforcement campaign.

The New Mexico investigations center on whether schools can facilitate what federal officials describe as a student’s “social transition” — such as using a different name or pronouns — while withholding that information from parents.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the administration considers parental notification a fundamental issue.

“Policies designed to conceal or hide the most sensitive information about a child’s well-being not only violate federal law,” McMahon said, adding that parents should remain the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives.

The investigations do not themselves establish that either New Mexico district violated federal law.

APS policy draws federal scrutiny

Albuquerque Public Schools has maintained a detailed gender-identity directive for years.

Under APS Procedural Directive PJ30, students have the right to be addressed at school by a name and pronouns corresponding with their asserted gender identity without first obtaining a legal name change.

The policy also states that transgender or gender-nonconforming students may decide “when, with whom, and how much” information they share about their gender identity.

When school employees contact a student’s parents, however, the directive instructs staff to use the student’s legal name and the pronouns associated with the student’s sex assigned at birth unless the student or parent has specified otherwise.

The directive distinguishes between official records and internal school use. APS says legal names and sex must remain in certain permanent academic records, while preferred names and gender may be used in internal documents and day-to-day interactions.

Federal officials are scrutinizing whether that separation can effectively keep information from parents that FERPA entitles them to inspect.

APS disputes that its procedures violate the law.

“APS policies and procedures adhere to FERPA guidelines,” district spokesperson Martin Salazar said. “We have been notified of the investigation and will respond through the appropriate channels.”

APS social worker already suing district

The federal inquiry comes less than two months after Jeanette Martinez, a social worker at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, sued APS over the same general policy.

Martinez alleges the district requires her to withhold information from parents when students use different gender identities at school and that following the rule conflicts with her constitutional and religious rights.

Her lawsuit says she works with special-education students and argues that she should not be required to conceal a student’s social transition from that student’s family.

The Center for American Liberty, which represents Martinez, argues that APS cannot condition her employment on keeping such information from parents. APS has declined to comment specifically on the pending lawsuit.

The Education Department cited reporting on Martinez’s case when announcing its new investigation.

Santa Fe form gets federal attention

The allegations involving Santa Fe Public Schools are somewhat different.

The Education Department says it received reports that students were given gender support plans and a “Name & Pronoun Info Sheet” asking which names and pronouns they wanted teachers to use.

According to the federal agency, the form allegedly told students that the information could be kept confidential from parents and asked students how teachers should refer to them when communicating with their families.

That detail appears to be among the most significant issues drawing federal scrutiny.

Santa Fe Public Schools says its formal policies require parental involvement before a student’s name or gender marker is changed in the district’s official student-information system.

Superintendent Christine Griffin previously acknowledged that the district’s policy had not been sufficiently clear on the issue. SFPS updated its guidance in August to explicitly state that an official change would not be initiated without parental consent.

District spokesperson Tara Melton said SFPS had not yet received an official inquiry from the Education Department when the investigation was announced but would cooperate if contacted.

“Santa Fe Public Schools remains committed to providing a safe, welcoming and respectful learning environment where every student feels valued and supported,” Melton said.

Federal government escalating enforcement

The investigations are part of a much broader federal effort.

Education Week counted at least 222 investigations opened by the Education Department since the beginning of the administration through Oct. 26, covering issues including transgender policies, DEI programs and other administration priorities.

And federal officials have increasingly moved beyond investigations.

In September, the Justice Department sued Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, alleging the district violated FERPA and PPRA by facilitating students’ gender transitions without notifying parents.

The administration described that case as the first federal lawsuit of its kind.

The Education Department previously found four Kansas districts in violation of FERPA over similar policies. One, Topeka Public Schools, subsequently entered a resolution agreement requiring it to make gender-support records available to parents and rescind guidance preventing parental access.

The Justice Department filed another lawsuit in October against Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland over similar allegations.

That history raises the stakes for APS and Santa Fe.

Federal officials have warned that persistent violations of FERPA can ultimately jeopardize federal education funding, although such a penalty would come only after an enforcement process and opportunities for a district to come into compliance.

Legal fight is not settled

There is, however, an important unresolved legal question.

FERPA was enacted primarily to guarantee parents access to educational records, while PPRA regulates certain surveys, evaluations and collection of sensitive information from students.

Neither statute specifically refers to gender identity.

The administration argues that gender-support plans, preferred-name records and similar information fall squarely within parental access protections.

School districts and transgender-rights advocates dispute that interpretation in some cases, arguing that the laws do not necessarily require educators to proactively disclose every informal conversation or classroom interaction to parents.

Education Week has described the administration’s effort to use FERPA and PPRA to compel parental notification of students’ social transitions as a novel and contested legal theory that is now being tested in federal court.

That makes the New Mexico investigations part of a potentially consequential national legal fight over where student privacy ends and parental rights begin.

For APS and Santa Fe Public Schools, federal officials will now examine whether policies intended by the districts to protect students instead cross the line into withholding records or sensitive information that federal law says parents are entitled to see.

The districts say they follow federal law.

The administration says it intends to find out.

Parental-rights showdown erupts as feds probe NM school districts Read More »

Leger Fernández tees up woke agenda as Dems prepare to take House

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Fresh off a decisive reelection victory in northern New Mexico, Democrat U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández is heading into a dramatically different Congress — one in which her party will control the House and an enlarged progressive bloc is preparing to wield considerably more influence.

Among the measures already offering a glimpse at Leger Fernández’s priorities is H.Con.Res. 123, a resolution she introduced Oct. 6 recognizing what it describes as a wage disparity between Latinas and white, non-Hispanic men and calling on Congress to reaffirm its commitment to closing the “gender wage gap.”

Leger Fernández, who represents New Mexico’s heavily Democrat 3rd Congressional District, won another term Tuesday with about 62.7% of the vote, defeating Republican state Rep. Martin Zamora of Clovis.

Her resolution could receive renewed attention as Democrats prepare to take over the House in January following their sweeping midterm victory.

The measure declares Oct. 8 “Latina Equal Pay Day” and says there were more than 15.2 million Hispanic women in the U.S. labor force in 2025.

It cites data showing Latinas with reported earnings received about 53 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men, while the figure rises to approximately 60 cents among full-time, year-round workers.

Those statistics describe differences in overall earnings between demographic groups; they are not a calculation comparing two workers performing the same job for the same employer under identical circumstances. The broader 53-cent figure also includes people working part time or only part of the year, while the 60-cent figure limits the comparison to full-time, year-round workers.

The resolution argues the disparity is intertwined with differences in homeownership, unemployment, poverty, child-care access and wealth accumulation and says addressing it requires tackling both gender and racial disparities.

It concludes by calling for Congress to recognize the wage gap’s effects and reaffirm support for “ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.”

Leger Fernández: ‘Latinas deserve equal pay TODAY’

Leger Fernández introduced the measure alongside California Democrat Nanette Barragán and more than 20 other Democrat lawmakers.

“Latinas work hard, care for our families, and keep our communities running,” Leger Fernández said when announcing the resolution, arguing that lower earnings leave families with less money for basic expenses. She concluded, “Latinas deserve equal pay TODAY.”

The resolution’s original cosponsors include several prominent members of the party’s progressive wing, among them outgoing Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona.

No Republican was listed among the original cosponsors in the official filing.

The legislation is also backed by a long list of progressive labor and advocacy organizations, including the AFL-CIO, National Organization for Women, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Reproductive Freedom for All, National Immigration Law Center and One Fair Wage.

Leger Fernández has made gender-based economic policy a recurring focus of her tenure. Her congressional website lists equal-pay legislation alongside her support for federally backed child care, paid family and medical leave and other workplace policies. She introduced similar Latina Equal Pay Day resolutions in previous Congresses, including measures in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Resolution is symbolic — for now

H.Con.Res. 123 itself would not create a new federal wage mandate, appropriate money or change employment law.

It is a concurrent resolution, a form of congressional action generally used to express the position or sentiment of both chambers. Unlike a bill or joint resolution, a concurrent resolution is not sent to the president and does not carry the force of federal law.

The measure has not received a vote and remains before the House Committee on Education and Workforce, where it was referred the day Leger Fernández introduced it.

But its policy language offers a window into the economic arguments Democrats may pursue once they take control of the chamber.

The current 119th Congress remains in place until early January. Any unfinished legislative push that Democrats want to continue in the new Congress would have to begin again under the new session.

And next year’s political environment will be considerably different.

Progressives prepare to wield larger influence

Democrats won more than 250 House seats in the midterm elections, giving the party a substantial majority when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3. The party also captured control of the Senate.

That victory has already unleashed an internal debate over how aggressively Democrats should pursue progressive priorities.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus expects to have at least 105 members next year, according to a post-election strategy memo from caucus Chairman Greg Casar of Texas. Casar has told members the group intends to use legislation and oversight to pursue policies involving wages, housing, prescription drugs, credit cards and corporate practices.

Other Democrat lawmakers have introduced or backed proposals involving paid leave, immigration enforcement, criminal justice and other issues that Republicans have sharply opposed.

The New York Post, surveying those proposals after the election, characterized the coming agenda as a rush of “far left bills,” pointing to measures involving prostitution decriminalization, the federal death penalty and restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement alongside Leger Fernández’s pay-gap resolution.

Democratic leaders and progressives describe their goals differently.

Casar said the Progressive Caucus wants to advance policies aimed at lowering costs, raising wages and combating what Democrats describe as corporate abuses.

Incoming House Democrat leaders are initially expected to emphasize Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Iran war, tariffs and household costs, according to the Associated Press. With President Donald Trump still possessing veto power and Senate legislation generally facing a 60-vote threshold, Democrats’ ability to turn their House agenda into law will remain limited even after their election victories.

Leger Fernández positioned for more influence

Leger Fernández could have a larger role in that discussion.

The New Mexico Democrat is chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and the October announcement of the Latina pay resolution specifically identified her in that leadership role.

Her comfortably Democrat district also gives her substantially more political breathing room than Democrats representing competitive seats.

Leger Fernández defeated Zamora by roughly 25 percentage points Tuesday, improving on the margin by which she won reelection in 2024.

That means the New Mexico congresswoman returns to Washington not merely as another member of the minority, but as a reelected caucus leader whose party will hold the House gavel.

Whether the Latina pay-gap resolution itself advances before the current Congress expires remains to be seen.

But the larger significance may be what it signals.

For four years, many Democratic proposals were either blocked or stalled while Republicans controlled at least part of the legislative process. Beginning in January, Leger Fernández and her Democratic colleagues will have far greater control over which measures receive hearings, committee votes and passage through the House.

And with an expanded progressive faction already preparing to flex its muscle, the New Mexico Democrat’s longstanding emphasis on wage equity, child care and other workplace policies could move from largely symbolic resolutions toward a much broader legislative push.

Leger Fernández tees up woke agenda as Dems prepare to take House Read More »

Reeb answers voters’ call after dramatic resignation from NM House

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Republican Andrea Reeb is headed back to the New Mexico House in January after voters reelected the veteran prosecutor just weeks after a federal court ruling prompted her to resign her legislative seat to protect criminal cases she was prosecuting.

Reeb announced Thursday that she will serve the new term to which House District 64 voters elected her Tuesday, saying an outpouring of encouragement from constituents, community leaders and fellow lawmakers convinced her to return.

“I have been humbled by how many people called, wrote, and stopped me in town to ask me to come back,” Reeb said. “The voters re-elected me knowing exactly what had happened. They made their wishes clear, and I couldn’t ignore that.”

“The people of District 64 asked me to serve, and I’m going to,” she added. “I’m ready to get back to work for them.”

Reeb was unopposed on Tuesday’s ballot and received 7,112 votes, according to unofficial New Mexico election results, with all 32 precincts reporting in the district spanning portions of Chaves, Curry and Roosevelt counties.

Her return closes an unusual chapter that began with an Oct. 14 federal court decision concerning Reeb’s dual service as a state legislator and special prosecutor.

Reeb resigned rather than put prosecutions at risk

U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs ruled in Baldwin v. Morrissey that Reeb’s simultaneous service as a legislator and special prosecutor violated the separation-of-powers provision of the New Mexico Constitution.

The case stems from actor Alec Baldwin’s civil lawsuit against prosecutors and others involved in the criminal case following the fatal 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust. Riggs’ Oct. 14 decision granted significant portions of motions to dismiss based on prosecutorial immunity while allowing other claims to continue.

One day after the ruling, Reeb resigned from the House.

Reeb said Thursday that the decision was made quickly because remaining in the Legislature while continuing her prosecutor work could have created legal challenges involving numerous pending criminal cases.

“I had to act quickly,” Reeb said. “Staying in the Legislature at that point could have jeopardized dozens of criminal cases, and the victims in those cases deserved better than that.”

At the time, Reeb said she disagreed with the court but would respect its ruling rather than risk allowing a constitutional fight involving her own position to interfere with cases involving crime victims.

“There are victims and families across this state who have trusted me with their cases, and many of them have already waited too long for justice,” Reeb said when she stepped down. “I made a commitment to stand with them in the courtroom, and I owe it to them to keep that commitment.”

Reeb has extensive prosecutorial experience and previously served as the elected district attorney for the 9th Judicial District. More recently, she has worked as a special prosecutor for district attorney offices around New Mexico.

In one recent case, Reeb prosecuted Andrew Whittenberg in San Juan County, securing convictions on two counts of first-degree murder along with aggravated burglary, firearm and evidence-tampering charges. The case included testimony from 33 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits.

Reeb had relied on attorney general’s opinion saying arrangement was legal

An important part of the controversy is that Reeb did not simply assume the dual arrangement was permissible.

Before continuing the work, she sought legal guidance.

In February 2024, Democratic Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office issued Opinion No. 2024-04 specifically in response to a question from Reeb asking whether a legislator could simultaneously serve as a special assistant district attorney without violating the New Mexico Constitution’s separation-of-powers provision.

The Attorney General’s answer was unequivocal: “Yes.”

The opinion acknowledged that the question had not previously been resolved by New Mexico appellate courts but concluded that a legislator serving as a special prosecutor in the circumstances examined by the office did not violate the state Constitution.

Reeb also cited guidance from the State Ethics Commission.

Riggs ultimately reached a different constitutional conclusion in the Baldwin civil litigation, finding that Reeb had simultaneously exercised authority belonging to two branches of state government. The federal judge nevertheless found that Reeb had at least a “colorable claim of authority” to act as a prosecutor — an important distinction given the formal state guidance on which she had relied.

The court also dismissed many of Baldwin’s claims against Reeb and other prosecutors under absolute prosecutorial immunity.

Rather than prolong the uncertainty while criminal cases remained pending, Reeb resigned.

Within days, however, she made clear that the resignation did not necessarily mean she would abandon public service permanently.

“I’m reviewing my options based on a lot of feedback I’ve received,” Reeb told the Eastern New Mexico News shortly after leaving office, adding that she was considering whether to return for the new term beginning in January.

Tuesday’s election provided that opportunity.

New job eliminates the conflict before session begins

Reeb said she will continue her special-prosecutor work through the end of 2026 while transitioning her pending cases to other attorneys.

Then, in January, she plans to join Payne, Powell, Truitt and Chandler as a partner in private practice.

That change removes the dual-office issue identified by the federal court before the Legislature convenes for its 60-day session.

Reeb therefore will not simultaneously be serving as a special prosecutor and legislator when she returns to the Roundhouse, according to her announcement. Independent reporting Thursday likewise confirmed that she intends to phase out the contract prosecutor work before January.

Her resignation remains effective for the balance of her current term. Her announcement concerns the new term voters elected her to Tuesday.

Return comes as House GOP faces smaller numbers

Reeb’s decision also gives House Republicans an experienced attorney at a time when the caucus will enter the next Legislature with reduced numbers.

Democrats gained four Republican-held seats Tuesday and are expected to begin the coming session with a 47-23 House majority, giving them a two-thirds supermajority if the results hold.

Reeb is one of relatively few Republican attorneys in the chamber, alongside lawmakers including Rep. Cathrynn Brown of Carlsbad.

She was first elected in 2022 and has also served on the House’s bipartisan committee examining Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to New Mexico.

Her return could therefore carry significance beyond House District 64 as Republicans prepare for a session in which Democrats will wield overwhelming numerical control.

For Reeb, however, Thursday’s announcement centered on a simpler argument: she stepped aside when a court decision created an immediate risk to the prosecutions entrusted to her, spent the intervening weeks arranging a way to eliminate that conflict, and then listened when constituents asked her to return.

“The voters re-elected me knowing exactly what had happened,” Reeb said.

Now, rather than forcing a choice between the courtroom and the Roundhouse, Reeb says she has arranged her professional life so she can return to Santa Fe in January — this time without the conflict that prompted her resignation in the first place.

Reeb answers voters’ call after dramatic resignation from NM House Read More »

From Santa Fe to CD2, Republicans get caught in national Dem surge

63 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

New Mexico Republicans woke up Wednesday to a bruising set of election results, but the scale and geography of the losses suggest the story was considerably bigger than any one candidate, campaign, or state.

A national backlash amid a years-long left-wing campaign against President Donald Trump and Republican control in Washington swept across the country Tuesday, carrying Democrats to control of both chambers of Congress and producing dramatic Democratic victories even in places that had been reliably Republican only two years earlier. New Mexico was caught squarely in that current.

With all 2,204 New Mexico precincts fully reporting early Wednesday, unofficial Secretary of State results showed 726,684 ballots cast — a turnout rate of 49.65%.

Democrat Deb Haaland defeated Republican former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull roughly 57%-43% in the governor’s race. The unofficial count stood at approximately 412,800 votes for Haaland and 308,300 for Hull.

The result was painful for Republicans who had viewed Hull — a three-term mayor with an economic-development record in fast-growing Rio Rancho — as one of the party’s strongest statewide recruits in years.

But Hull was hardly alone.

Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez defeated Republican Marine veteran and retired law enforcement officer Greg Cunningham in the 2nd Congressional District by a wider margin than polling had suggested. Official unofficial returns showed Vasquez with 123,113 votes to Cunningham’s 86,650, roughly 59%-41%.

Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján defeated Republican Larry Marker 455,165 to 265,557, while Democrats also won the state’s other two congressional districts.

Democrats swept the statewide constitutional offices as well, winning secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer, and commissioner of public lands.

This was not just a New Mexico story

For Republicans searching for an explanation, the national map is impossible to ignore.

Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and Senate, with the Associated Press describing the result as a sweeping rebuke of Republican governance in Washington. Democrats captured Senate seats in territory that would have looked almost unimaginable for the party only recently, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, along with North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats also made House gains deep inside territory Trump carried in 2024.

The AP Voter Poll (take that as you may) found a potent combination of economic anxiety and dissatisfaction with Trump.

Roughly two-thirds of voters nationally said Trump’s policies had made the economy worse, and about eight in 10 of those voters backed Democratic congressional candidates. Voters who said they were very concerned about everyday costs such as groceries, health care and gasoline also broke heavily toward Democrats.

The results also showed erosion among groups that helped return Trump to the White House in 2024. AP reported young and Hispanic voters moving away from Republicans, with only about one-third of Hispanic voters supporting Republican House candidates nationally.

In other words, New Mexico Republicans were trying to swim against a national tide that was knocking down GOP candidates in states far redder than the Land of Enchantment.

Anti-Trump vote shows up clearly in New Mexico

There is direct evidence that sentiment and apparently effective Democrat branding against Trump filtered into New Mexico’s down-ballot races.

Before polls closed, a Rio Rancho voter told the Santa Fe New Mexican she considered voting for Hull and believed he had been a “good mayor,” but ultimately voted against him because of his association with the national Republican Party.

“If the person in the White House was different right now, I may have changed my vote,” she said.

That is a remarkable admission because it suggests the Republican candidate’s own municipal record was not necessarily the deciding factor. National politics was.

Democrat leaders openly leaned into that message.

House Speaker Javier Martínez said ahead of Election Day that voters were motivated not only by state issues but by electing legislators who would “fight against” Trump administration policies.

Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow, who lost House District 38, offered essentially the same diagnosis from the other side.

Dow told KRWG that she had worked harder than ever and spoken to more voters, but found many were intensely focused on national events.

“They were so upset with what was happening at the national level, it was difficult to engage with them in a conversation about our state,” Dow said.

That may be one of the clearest explanations of what happened Tuesday.

Republicans running for governor, Congress or the Legislature could campaign on crime, schools, taxes, water or the state economy, but many voters entered the booth thinking first about Washington.

State House Republicans take another hit

The national environment also battered Republicans at the Roundhouse.

Democrats flipped several Republican-held House districts, including District 7 in Valencia County, District 38 in southern New Mexico, District 39 around Silver City and District 57 in Rio Rancho.

Official unofficial returns show Democrat Rickie Gonzales defeating Republican Rep. Tanya Mirabal Moya in District 7, 4,265 to 3,952.

In District 57, Democrat Chriselle Martinez defeated Republican Rep. Catherine Cullen 7,313 to 6,286.

Republican Rep. Luis Terrazas, who had repeatedly won a district with a Democrat registration advantage, lost District 39 to Democrat Raul Turrieta. Democrat David Mooney also defeated Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow in District 38.

Republicans did have bright spots.

Rep. Nicole Chavez held her closely divided northeast Albuquerque seat despite heavy Democrat spending, while Republicans retained a number of their reliably conservative districts. The GOP also picked up the northwest New Mexico House seat left without a Democratic nominee after Joseph Hernandez dropped out too late for Democrats to replace him on the ballot.

Still, Democrats emerged with an even stronger position in Santa Fe.

CD2 may be the clearest example of the national environment

Perhaps no New Mexico result better illustrates Tuesday’s political climate than the 2nd Congressional District.

Trump himself carried the district in 2024, even as Vasquez won reelection.

Republicans therefore had a logical reason to believe Cunningham — a combat Marine veteran with two decades in law enforcement — had an opening.

Pre-election polling reinforced that view. The final Albuquerque Journal poll showed Vasquez ahead by only four points, inside the poll’s margin of error.

Instead, Vasquez won by roughly 17 percentage points.

That enormous divergence from both the district’s 2024 presidential vote and the final polling is difficult to explain purely through candidate quality or normal partisan movement.

Cunningham himself acknowledged the national problem as results arrived.

Looking at Republican losses around the country, he told supporters, “It’s not pretty.” Asked what was driving the difficult environment, he boiled his answer down to one word: “Gas.”

The AP’s national voter data broadly supports the affordability component of that explanation. Voters remained deeply unhappy about prices and overwhelmingly blamed Trump’s policies when they believed economic conditions had deteriorated.

Republicans face a rebuilding challenge — but not a permanent verdict

For Republicans, Tuesday’s losses are significant. They are not necessarily evidence that every GOP policy or every Republican candidate was individually rejected.

Midterm elections have historically punished the party occupying the White House. What made 2026 extraordinary was the magnitude.

Republicans lost not only in New Mexico but in places where the party normally begins with an enormous structural advantage. Democrats won a Texas Senate seat for the first time in decades, captured South Carolina and Kansas Senate contests, took control of both chambers of Congress and flipped House seats throughout Trump-won territory.

That context matters when assessing what comes next for the New Mexico GOP.

The results point to a turnout problem as much as a persuasion problem. Election Day reporting showed Republican participation lagging its 2022 pace while Democrat turnout exceeded it. By 5 p.m. Tuesday, 327,787 registered Democrats had voted statewide compared with 218,459 Republicans, and Republican turnout as a percentage of registration was running noticeably behind 2022.

The results also demonstrate the difficulty of separating state Republicans from the national party when voters are intensely focused on a Republican president.

That does not mean the electorate is permanently locked into Tuesday’s alignment.

New Mexico still contains large Republican majorities throughout southeastern and eastern New Mexico, and Hull carried counties including Otero while other Republican statewide candidates remained competitive in several rural areas. Official results show Hull winning Otero County 10,245 to 7,595.

There are also voters who plainly distinguish between individual Republican candidates and the national political environment — including the Rio Rancho Democrat who said she viewed Hull positively but ultimately voted based on Trump.

For Republicans, that distinction may be central to understanding the road forward.

Candidates will have to rebuild turnout, continue competing for unaffiliated and Hispanic voters, and find ways to make state and local contests about New Mexico issues even when national politics threatens to overwhelm them.

Tuesday was unquestionably a brutal night for the GOP.

But it was also a national Democrat wave, not an isolated collapse confined to New Mexico. Republicans in Santa Fe were swept up in the same backlash that toppled GOP candidates from Texas to Kansas to South Carolina and handed Democrats control of Congress.

The most important question for New Mexico Republicans now is not whether Tuesday hurt.

It did.

The question is what remains once the national wave recedes — and whether the party can turn Tuesday’s defeat into the beginning of a rebuild rather than allow one difficult midterm to define its future.

From Santa Fe to CD2, Republicans get caught in national Dem surge Read More »

NM Election Day showdown: GOP eyes key races to rebalance power

9 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

After months of campaigning, millions of dollars in political advertising, and some of the most consequential races New Mexico has seen in years, voters who have not already cast ballots will head to the polls Tuesday to decide the state’s next governor, a nationally watched congressional contest, every statewide elected office, the entire state House, and a slate of constitutional amendments and bond questions.

Polls open statewide at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, and close at 7 p.m. Anyone in line when the polls close is allowed to vote, while absentee ballots must be received by county clerks no later than 7 p.m. — a postmark is not enough. New Mexico also allows eligible voters to register and vote on Election Day.

For Republicans, Election Day itself will be critical.

More than 456,000 New Mexicans have already voted, putting turnout ahead of the comparable 2022 midterm election. But the early electorate is heavily Democrat: 235,527 registered Democrats had cast ballots compared with 141,691 Republicans and 75,607 unaffiliated voters. About 40.7% of registered Democrats had voted before Election Day compared with 31.8% of Republicans.

That gives Democrats a substantial banked-vote advantage — but it does not tell voters how those ballots were actually cast, and Republicans have historically relied more heavily on Election Day voting, so this pattern is a positive sign for Republicans, who this year outperformed the 2022 early vote by statistically significant margins.

One statistic may be particularly important Tuesday: nearly the entire Democrat early-vote advantage came from Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Santa Fe and Sandoval counties.

Those four counties accounted for more than two-thirds of all pre-Election Day ballots and produced a Democratic registration advantage of 92,889 ballots. Across New Mexico’s other 29 counties combined, Democrats led Republicans among early voters by just 947 ballots — 63,903 to 62,956.

That creates a clear geographic storyline for election night: watch whether Republican-heavy southern, southeastern and rural counties pour enough voters into polling places Tuesday to substantially narrow the Democrats’ early advantage.

Democrats, many of the most radical who are obsessing over President Donald Trump, have already banked their votes and more moderate Democrats and open-minded independents are set to head to the polls Tuesday.

Governor: Hull looks for Election Day surge against Haaland

The marquee statewide contest pits former Biden Interior Secretary Deb Haaland against Republican former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, with Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham barred by term limits from seeking another term.

Public polling has consistently put Haaland slightly ahead, although the margins have been in the single digits.

The final Albuquerque Journal survey by Research & Polling Inc. showed Haaland at 49% and Hull at 42%, with 9% undecided. A SurveyUSA poll for KOB put the race at 47%-41%. A Research Co. survey fielded through Monday put Haaland at 51% and Hull at 44%, with 5% undecided. These polls historically have significantly undercounted Republicans.

The candidates are offering sharply different approaches to the state’s problems.

Hull has emphasized crime, economic development and tax reduction, including a proposal to phase out New Mexico’s personal income tax and recruit more large employers. Haaland has emphasized extreme Medicare for All, continued universal child care, free college tuition and expanded government assistance in health care and other areas. Affordability, public safety, education and management of the state’s enormous oil-and-gas revenues have dominated the contest.

One thing to watch immediately after 7 p.m.: Sandoval County. Hull governed Rio Rancho for years, making his performance there an important test of whether his local political base translates statewide.

Then watch Bernalillo County. Republicans do not need to win the state’s largest county, but a substantially narrower Democratic margin there would be one ingredient in a competitive statewide result.

CD2: Cunningham-Vasquez could provide the night’s biggest congressional drama

If Republicans are looking for a federal pickup in New Mexico, the race attracting the most national attention is the 2nd Congressional District showdown between Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Republican challenger Greg Cunningham.

The district is politically unusual: Donald Trump carried it in the 2024 presidential election, 49.9%-48.1%, while voters simultaneously reelected Vasquez over Republican Yvette Herrell, 52.1%-47.9%. It is one of 23 Democratic-held House districts nationwide that Trump won in 2024.

One big reason I think Greg Cunningham (@cunninghamfornm) can win tomorrow:

In 2022, Republicans lost the gerrymandered NM-02 to Gabe Vasquez by just 1,350 votes (0.7%).

🔵 Dems’ early voting lead in 2022: D+17%
🔵 Dems’ early voting lead this year: D+15.9%
🔴 The early vote is…
— Rep. John Block (@RepBlock) November 2, 2026

That makes split-ticket voting the central question Tuesday.

Can Cunningham consolidate voters who backed Trump two years ago but also voted for Vasquez? Or can Vasquez once again build a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republican crossover voters?

The latest Journal poll showed Vasquez at 48% and Cunningham at 44%, with 8% undecided. Crucially, the four-point gap was inside the poll’s ±5 percentage-point margin of error. An earlier SurveyUSA poll found Vasquez ahead 46%-43%.

That polling is considerably tighter than some model-based forecasts, which currently rate Vasquez as the favorite. Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball list the district as only Lean Democratic.

But NM-02 has a history of producing close races.

Vasquez first captured the seat in 2022 by just 1,350 votes, defeating Herrell 50.3%-49.6%. His 2024 reelection margin increased to roughly four points, but Trump’s simultaneous victory in the district demonstrated that a Republican majority remains possible at the top of the ticket.

Cunningham, a former Recon Marine and 20-year law enforcement officer, has made public safety and immigration enforcement central to his campaign. Vasquez has focused heavily on economic issues and his congressional record.

Watch Doña Ana and Valencia counties closely

Two counties could provide early clues in CD2.

Doña Ana County is the district’s largest Democrat population center, and Democrats built a substantial early-vote advantage there. As of Oct. 30, 19,109 registered Democrats had cast ballots compared with 8,794 Republicans and 6,375 unaffiliated voters.

Republicans need Cunningham to limit the damage around Las Cruces while piling up votes elsewhere.

Valencia County presents a different picture.

Its final pre-election turnout dashboard showed 7,104 Democrat ballots and 6,547 Republican ballots overall. But among early in-person voters specifically, Republicans actually led Democrats 5,804 to 5,349, while Democrats held the advantage among absentee voters.

That is precisely the sort of county where Tuesday’s turnout could matter enormously.

The southeastern portion of the district is another place to watch. In 2024, Herrell overwhelmed Vasquez in heavily Republican Lea County, while Vasquez built much larger margins in Doña Ana.

In other words, election night may become a race between Vasquez’s margins around Las Cruces and Cunningham’s margins through the district’s Republican territory.

Senate race comes with Election Day legal drama

Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján faces Republican Larry Marker for a six-year term. Public forecasts generally regard Luján as strongly favored.

But Marker has unexpectedly become central to one of the biggest election-law stories of the closing days.

The RNC, Republican Party of New Mexico and Marker sued Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver after the League of Women Voters’ printed voter guide placed the photograph of Taos County Commission candidate Nehemiah Vasquez next to Marker’s name.

On Monday, a state judge ordered the League’s guides removed from polling locations statewide. Individual voters may still bring their own copies into the polls. The court did not resolve the Republicans’ broader claim that distributing outside voter guides inside polling places constitutes illegal electioneering under New Mexico law.

That means voters should not expect to find League of Women Voters guides stacked inside voting locations Tuesday.

Every statewide office is on the line

Governor is only one piece of a sweeping statewide ballot.

Republican David Gallegos is running alongside Hull for lieutenant governor against Democrat Stephanie Garcia Richard, Haaland’s running mate.

Other statewide contests include Republican Ramona Goolsby versus Democrat Amanda López Askin for secretary of state; Republican Samuel Kane against Democrat Attorney General Raúl Torrez; Republican Joshua Lawrence against Democrat Auditor Joseph Maestas; Republican James Ellison against Democrat Treasurer Laura Montoya; and Republican Chaves County Commissioner and experienced game warden Michael Perry against Democrat Juan Sanchez III for commissioner of public lands.

The results will provide another useful measure of whether the electorate is voting straight-ticket or splitting its choices among individual candidates.

Five state House battles could tell a bigger story

All 70 New Mexico House seats are technically on the ballot, although most are either uncontested or safely held by one party.

Democrats currently hold a commanding chamber advantage, and Republicans would need substantial gains to threaten control. But a handful of swing districts could determine whether Democrats expand that majority or Republicans claw seats back.

The Journal identified five contests as particularly competitive: Republican Rep. Nicole Chavez versus Democrat Lisa Curtis in Albuquerque-based District 31; Republican Rep. Luis Terrazas versus Democrat Raul Turrieta in District 39; Democratic Rep. Sarah Silva against Republican Ben Luna Jr. in District 53; Republican Rep. Catherine Cullen against Democrat Chriselle Martinez in Rio Rancho-based District 57; and Democratic Rep. Charlotte Little against former Republican Rep. David Adkins in District 68.

Those races give Republicans both offensive and defensive assignments.

District 53 has repeatedly moved between the parties and offers Republicans a potential pickup, while Adkins is trying to reclaim a seat in northwest Albuquerque. At the same time, Chavez and Cullen are defending Republican-held seats Democrats are aggressively targeting.

There is also an unusual state Senate District 33 election covering portions of Chaves, Lincoln and Otero counties, where Republican Rex Wilson faces Democrat William Griffin after the previous officeholder left the seat early. The seat is heavily Republican.

Four constitutional amendments, three bond questions

Voters will also face seven statewide ballot questions.

Constitutional Amendment 1 would require governors to provide explanations for vetoes and would eliminate the “pocket veto” by allowing bills to become law when the governor fails to act within the constitutional timeframe. It could tie the hands of a future Republican governor and open them up to litigation over reasons for a veto.

Amendment 2 would remove the constitutional requirement that school elections be held separately from partisan elections.

Amendment 3 would establish nominating committees for university boards of regents and change how student and nonstudent regents are selected.

Amendment 4, the most controversial, would create career politicians by awarding the part-time Legislature hefty salaries of around $68,000 each. It would not require term limits or hours of work to earn the salary, all while legislators could still receive pensions and per diem for meetings and legislative sessions.

The three statewide bond questions would authorize up to $21.58 million for senior citizen facilities, $19.32 million for library acquisitions and $352.23 million for higher education, special-school and tribal-school capital projects.

Don’t overreact to the first numbers after 7 p.m.

Another important thing to remember Tuesday night: the order in which votes appear can distort the early picture.

The Associated Press notes that many New Mexico counties are expected to release large portions of their absentee and early in-person vote in their initial reports. Election Day ballots may arrive later and at different speeds from county to county.

Since Democrats have a pronounced advantage among ballots already cast while Republicans traditionally perform better among Election Day voters, some races could begin with large Democrat leads and tighten as Election Day votes are added.

In 2024, roughly half of New Mexico’s statewide vote was reported by about 8:33 p.m. Mountain Time and 90% by roughly 10:48 p.m., although there is no guarantee Tuesday will follow the same timetable.

Federal and statewide races that finish within 0.25% of votes cast trigger an automatic recount under New Mexico law.

The number that matters Tuesday: Republican Election Day turnout

The early-vote figures leave Republicans with a simple test.

Democrats have already banked significantly more votes statewide. Republicans have not.

But outside the four largest Democrat-performing counties, the party-registration split among pre-Election Day voters is nearly even.

That means the size and geography of Tuesday’s electorate matter enormously.

A strong Republican Election Day showing in Otero, Lea, Eddy, Chaves, San Juan, and other rural counties — coupled with competitive margins in Valencia and Sandoval — would give GOP candidates the kind of electorate they need to make the statewide races closer and threaten Vasquez in CD2.

A weak Republican Election Day turnout, by contrast, would leave an enormous early Democrat advantage untouched.

And that is why the first number to watch Tuesday may not be the governor’s margin or the congressional margin at all.

It may simply be how many Republicans show up.

Unofficial results will begin posting after 7 p.m. Tuesday on the Secretary of State’s election-results website. Voters can find their polling place, verify registration and view their sample ballot through New Mexico’s official NMVote portal.

NM Election Day showdown: GOP eyes key races to rebalance power Read More »

Lawsuit could upend voter-guide rules at New Mexico polling places

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

A major election-law fight has erupted just days before Election Day after the Republican National Committee, Republican Party of New Mexico, and GOP U.S. Senate candidate Larry Marker sued Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver over voter guides being provided at polling locations — including printed guides that display the photograph of an entirely different candidate above Marker’s name.

The verified complaint for injunctive relief, filed at 4:01 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Fifth Judicial District Court in Chaves County, names Toulouse Oliver in her official capacity as defendant. The case, D-504-CV-2026-01071, has been assigned to District Judge Thomas E. Lilley.

The lawsuit contains two distinct claims.

First, Republicans are asking the court to rule broadly that providing voter guides inside polling places violates New Mexico’s prohibition on electioneering within 100 feet of the polls — a ruling that could affect future elections.

Second, they are seeking immediate removal of the League of Women Voters’ erroneous 2026 voter guide from polling locations before the Nov. 3 election.

At issue is the U.S. Senate contest involving Republican Marker.

The League’s printed voter guide places Marker’s name alongside a photograph that is actually of Nehemiah Vasquez, a candidate for Taos County Commission, according to the complaint.

The filing even reproduces the two images side-by-side: Marker’s actual campaign photograph beside the photograph printed in the League’s guide.

League admits wrong candidate’s photo was printed

One of the most significant pieces of evidence in the lawsuit comes directly from the League of Women Voters itself.

An email from League of Women Voters of New Mexico President Hannah Burling to RPNM Executive Director Leticia Muñoz-Kaminski is attached as Exhibit 1.

“In Mr. Marker’s case a photo of a candidate running for another office in the state was placed in the Voter Guide,” Burling acknowledged.

The League said it was “still trying to fact check how this occurred.”

But the email also establishes a timeline likely to become central to the dispute.

Burling said the League learned of the error in early October, contacted Marker and received his correct photograph. By then, she said, the printed guides were already being produced and could not be corrected before distribution.

The League corrected its online Vote411 guide and PDFs posted by its local chapters.

Republicans argue that creates a serious problem because incorrect printed copies still made their way into polling locations.

The complaint further alleges that some county clerk offices had already begun removing the guides by Oct. 30, although that assertion is based on what the plaintiffs describe as “anecdotal reports.”

New Mexico law bans campaign literature near polls

The lawsuit hinges largely on Section 1-20-16 of New Mexico law.

State law prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of polling locations and defines electioneering to include the distribution of signs, “campaign literature,” campaign buttons, shirts, hats and similar materials, along with verbal or electronic solicitation of votes.

Violating the provision is a petty misdemeanor.

The complaint argues that League voter guides qualify as “campaign literature” even if they are intended to be nonpartisan.

Republicans contend there is no specific statutory exemption allowing an outside organization’s voter guide to be stacked inside polling places simply because election officials deem it neutral.

And they argue the dispute becomes even more serious when the material contains an acknowledged factual error involving a candidate’s identity.

Lawsuit points to previous ban under Republican secretary

The complaint also reveals that this is not the first time New Mexico officials have confronted the exact question of League voter guides inside polling sites.

In 2011, then-Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a Republican, ordered League of Women Voters guides removed from polling locations after concluding that the newly revised electioneering law classified the materials as prohibited “campaign literature,” according to the complaint.

Duran’s successor maintained that interpretation.

But after Toulouse Oliver took office, the policy changed.

The plaintiffs cite a 2016 League newsletter stating Toulouse Oliver had reassured the organization that paper guides would once again be permitted in county clerk offices and polling places.

“There was no intervening statutory amendment or even regulatory promulgation on which this about-face was based; the Secretary just took a different position from her predecessors,” the complaint argues.

That is one of the lawsuit’s key legal arguments: the plaintiffs say Toulouse Oliver effectively created an unwritten exception for voter guides she regards as genuinely nonpartisan.

The Secretary of State’s public election guidance currently emphasizes that voters are entitled to vote without intimidation or interference and that state and county election officials are authoritative sources of election information.

Republicans cite new 2026 election law language

The complaint also points to a change lawmakers made to the election statute earlier this year.

Senate Bill 264 amended the law to specify that electioneering can occur “under color of law or otherwise.” The enacted provision still defines electioneering as including campaign literature and solicitation of votes.

Republicans argue that addition reinforces their claim that electioneering restrictions are not limited to conventional candidate campaigns or political parties.

The lawsuit goes further, arguing that allowing election officials to decide which outside guides are sufficiently “nonpartisan” creates an unworkably subjective standard.

It cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, in which the Court held that states regulating political materials inside polling places must have “objective, workable standards” distinguishing what can enter a polling location from what must remain outside.

The plaintiffs contend Toulouse Oliver’s alleged “genuine nonpartisanship” exception lacks such an objective standard.

Complaint also addresses dispute over mistaken photo

The filing makes clear that Republicans are not accusing Vasquez, whose photograph was mistakenly used, of wrongdoing.

“Nothing in this Complaint should be construed as impugning Mr. Vasquez,” the plaintiffs wrote.

The filing also contains another notable allegation: Marker “particularly and emphatically disputes” what the complaint characterizes as an insinuation by the guide’s publisher that he was upset because the incorrect photograph depicted a Hispanic man.

The League, meanwhile, says its mistake was unintentional and has emphasized its stated mission of providing accurate election information.

“It is the League’s mission to empower voters and defend democracy through accurate election information, and we seek to immediately correct any errors that come to our attention,” Burling wrote.

Lawsuit seeks much more than removing one bad guide

The case could have consequences extending beyond Marker’s race.

Count 1 asks the court to declare that providing voter guides to voters inside polling locations violates the statutory ban on campaign literature.

Count 2 offers the court a narrower route: even if voter guides generally are permissible, Republicans argue an acknowledged factually erroneous guide should not be.

“Certainly materially factually false ones should be” barred, the complaint argues.

The plaintiffs are asking Judge Lilley to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions preventing the League’s current guides from being placed or provided inside polling locations on Election Day.

They also seek a broader injunction barring Toulouse Oliver from exempting any voter guides from the electioneering statute, a judicial declaration that voter guides constitute electioneering, and attorney fees and costs.

Importantly, Republicans say they are not attempting to stop the League from publishing or distributing voter guides elsewhere.

Nor are they seeking to prevent an individual voter from bringing a guide into a voting booth for personal use.

Instead, the complaint says the issue is whether outside political information should receive what Republicans characterize as the “imprimatur of government approval” by being provided inside polling locations while other political materials remain prohibited.

“Democrats are playing games with our elections, and the RNC is putting a stop to it,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in announcing the litigation, accusing state officials of allowing voters to receive a guide displaying someone else’s face beside Marker’s name.

That characterization is the RNC’s; the League describes the incident as a printing error and says its electronic materials were corrected after the mistake was discovered.

The complaint has also been personally verified under penalty of perjury by both Marker and RPNM Executive Director Muñoz-Kaminski.

With New Mexico polls scheduled to open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, the court fight comes down to the wire. The Secretary of State’s office confirms those Election Day hours on its official election page.

What started with one strikingly wrong photograph has now become a larger legal confrontation over who gets to put political information inside New Mexico polling places — and whether the Secretary of State has the authority to decide which voter guides are exempt from the rules applied to everybody else.

Lawsuit could upend voter-guide rules at New Mexico polling places Read More »

Haaland burns through $3.2M as data-center cash keeps flowing

17 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

The final major campaign finance reports before Election Day show Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland continuing to operate a vastly larger financial machine than Republican Gregg Hull — burning through more than $3.2 million in just three weeks while taking in another $1.33 million.

The filings also show money from donors connected to the data-center and energy-infrastructure industries continuing to find its way into Haaland’s campaign, following earlier scrutiny over tens of thousands of dollars she accepted from companies and executives tied directly to the controversial Project Jupiter development.

Haaland entered the latest reporting period with $2.84 million in the bank, raised $1,334,472.89 and spent a staggering $3,204,277.20, leaving her with $967,455.71 as of the end of the period. Her campaign also reported another $185,656.41 in in-kind contributions.

Hull, meanwhile, began with $521,796.33, raised $348,623.35 and spent $622,292.97, leaving the Republican with $248,126.71.

The enormous disparity caps a governor’s race in which Haaland has shattered New Mexico fundraising records. The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that Haaland has now spent nearly $19.6 million since launching her campaign and raised approximately $20.5 million. Hull’s total spending stands at just over $2.6 million.

Data-center connections keep surfacing

One of the more politically sensitive pieces of Haaland’s fundraising continues to be money connected to the rapidly expanding data-center industry.

In the previous reporting period, Searchlight New Mexico found that Haaland accepted at least $87,200 from Oracle America and individuals whose identifying information matched senior executives at Oracle and Clayco, two companies directly involved with the massive Project Jupiter data-center campus in Doña Ana County.

Oracle itself gave $12,400, while executives matching top officials at Oracle and Clayco contributed another $74,800. Project Jupiter is being developed by companies including Oracle and STACK Infrastructure, with Clayco among the major construction firms.

The latest filings do not show another direct Oracle or Clayco corporate contribution, but data-center-industry connections have not disappeared.

On Oct. 26, Haaland accepted $5,000 from Lukas Hansen, who is listed in the state filing simply as an engineer from California.

Hansen’s public professional profile is considerably more specific: he works for Yates Construction and describes his work as “Building Data Centers & Power Infrastructure.” Yates itself is heavily involved in large-scale data-center construction around the country.

Then came another eye-catching contribution filed after the main reporting period.

An Oct. 28 contribution schedule shows Kevin Bassalleck giving Haaland the maximum $12,400 contribution. The filing describes Bassalleck only as a “President.”

Bassalleck is founder and president of Albuquerque-based Gridworks, a major solar and battery infrastructure contractor. Gridworks’ own project portfolio says it built the 100-megawatt Encino North and South solar project specifically to provide renewable electricity to Meta’s Los Lunas data center. The company has also worked on other PNM-linked projects supplying power infrastructure around New Mexico.

That does not make either Bassalleck or Hansen a Project Jupiter donor. But the contributions continue a broader pattern of significant checks from people and businesses operating in the infrastructure ecosystem surrounding large-scale computing and energy demand.

Haaland has proposed a temporary moratorium on new large data-center projects until statewide water, energy and other safeguards are enacted. Her campaign previously defended accepting the Project Jupiter-linked contributions, saying she had been clear about concerns surrounding transparency, water and environmental impacts.

Exxon, gun-control PAC, uranium company among Haaland donors

The massive Haaland filing contains plenty of other notable names.

Everytown for Gun Safety’s political action committee contributed the maximum $12,400 on Oct. 7.

A day later, Exxon Mobil Corporation contributed $6,200.

Haaland also collected $12,400 from Rio Grande Resources, the company associated with the uranium industry in Grants, along with $10,000 from PMI US Corporate Services, $10,000 from liquor company Sazerac, $10,000 from UnitedHealth Group and numerous contributions from unions, political committees, tribes and wealthy individuals.

Separate Oct. 28 filings also list a maximum $12,400 contribution from AFSCME PEOPLE, $5,000 from Democratic state Sen. George Muñoz, and $3,982.24 from Friends of Maggie, the campaign committee associated with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

The short supplemental reports contain an apparent filing-system inconsistency: their contribution schedules list four checks totaling $33,782.24, while the summary pages display smaller totals. The itemized schedule itself lists all four donations.

Haaland drops more than $2.1 million with one ad firm

Where Haaland’s money went is just as striking.

Her campaign made three enormous payments to Washington-based Sage Media Planning & Placement for advertising buys: $680,938.87 on Oct. 9, $723,382.65 on Oct. 16 and $738,011.41 on Oct. 22. Together, those three payments total more than $2.14 million.

The campaign also spent heavily on digital operations, including more than $163,000 in one payment to MissionWired and multiple payments totaling $250,000 to Kentucky-based The Perkey Group for digital consulting.

Haaland additionally sent $215,000 to the Democratic Party of New Mexico through four separate payments during the reporting period.

Hull spends heavily on TV, consultants

Hull’s smaller operation was also spending aggressively as the campaign entered its closing days.

His largest individual expenditure was $100,000 to Red Surge for television or cable airtime and production on Oct. 7. Another $50,000 television payment and $2,000 print-ad payment went to the same firm on Oct. 21, bringing the reported total to $152,000.

Hull also spent $86,748.31 with Virginia-based Peakland Strategies for campaign consulting.

Other sizable expenditures included roughly $71,500 to Rio Rancho-based LWE Digital, $32,500 to Perez & Associates and more than $141,000 in various payments to the Republican Party of New Mexico for mailings and other campaign-related purposes.

Hull’s notable donors included $12,400 from Harvard Petroleum Company, $12,400 each from Patrick Guthrie and Charles Brewer, $11,200 from California CEO Joan Hubbard, and $10,000 contributions from several other individuals.

Two very different money machines

The filings reinforce one of the clearest contrasts of the entire gubernatorial contest.

Hull has emphasized that the overwhelming majority of his donors are New Mexicans. Haaland, meanwhile, has tapped a massive national fundraising network built during her time in Congress and as U.S. interior secretary. A recent Journal analysis found roughly 65% of Haaland’s fundraising at that point came from outside New Mexico, while Hull has said more than 95% of his donors are from inside the state.

Haaland’s campaign argues the volume of small-dollar contributions demonstrates broad grassroots backing, while Hull has made the geographic source of campaign money a central part of his argument.

What the newest reports make indisputable is the sheer difference in scale.

Haaland spent more than $3.2 million in roughly three weeks — more than Hull has spent during much of his entire gubernatorial campaign — and still entered the campaign’s final stretch with substantially more cash available.

And as data centers remain one of New Mexico’s most contentious political issues, the names behind some of Haaland’s newest checks ensure questions about who is financing the candidates — and what industries those donors represent — are unlikely to disappear before Election Day.

Haaland burns through $3.2M as data-center cash keeps flowing Read More »

Hot mic: Dem candidate jokes about ‘running over people’ at Silver City rally

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Democrat state House candidate Raul Turrieta is facing scrutiny after a preserved recording from a March “No Kings” protest captured him on a hot mic appearing to joke about driving around a Silver City park and “run[ning] over people” — moments before realizing the Facebook Live broadcast was apparently still recording.

Turrieta is challenging Republican state Rep. Luis Terrazas of Bayard for House District 39, which includes portions of Grant, Hidalgo and Catron counties. He is the current chief deputy in the county assessor’s office.

The video was recorded March 28 during Silver City’s “We the People — All the People” rally at Gough Park, one of the local events connected to the nationwide “No Kings III” demonstrations against the current federal administration. Organizers explicitly advertised the Silver City event as part of the nationwide nonviolent protest movement.

A preserved copy of the Facebook Live recording reviewed by the Piñon Post shows Turrieta riding in a golf cart with Silver City Town Councilor Angela Salaiz, who was filming the broadcast.

At first, Turrieta can be heard talking about his campaign.

“Our next representative,” Salaiz says.

“Hey, I sure hope so,” Turrieta responds, adding, “We are here for the people. La gente.”

Then, after attention apparently turned away from the livestream, Turrieta made the remark that is now drawing attention.

“I guess we should drive around the gazebo and run over people,” he said, before Salaiz added, “Let’s do it. Let’s do it.”

Seconds later, Turrieta appeared to realize the livestream was still active.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had me,” he said.

The recording ends amid an apparent scramble to shut off the broadcast. It has since been deleted.

Salaiz is currently the District 1 member of the Silver City Town Council, according to the town’s official roster.

Brantley unloads over hot-mic moment

Republican state Sen. Crystal Brantley of Elephant Butte seized on the footage in a Facebook post supporting Terrazas.

“Yikes, Grant County! Hot mic mess!” Brantley wrote.

She praised Terrazas as an “honest and true legislator for southwest New Mexico” who has “consistently delivered results,” while blasting Turrieta’s conduct at the protest.

Brantley characterized Turrieta as “full of hot air” and accused him of making “foolish statements on a hot mic.”

The episode is particularly striking given that the event where Turrieta appeared was promoted by organizers as a peaceful protest centered on “democracy,” “human rights,” and opposition to what participants described as “authoritarian” government actions.

The remark puts the Democrat challenger in the position of explaining why a candidate for public office joked about running over people attending a public gathering.

Turrieta stakes out clear positions to Terrazas’ left

The controversy comes as voters are already being presented with a sharp policy contrast between Turrieta and Terrazas.

Turrieta has publicly backed a number of policies associated with New Mexico’s far-left.

During an October candidate forum, he said he supports New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period and an “assault weapon” ban.

On abortion, Turrieta has argued the government should stay out of the decision, meaning opposition to any limit, even up to the date of birth.

“I trust women to make medical decisions with their doctor,” he said during a recent candidate forum, regarding abortion providers. “The government does not belong in a doctor’s office.”

He also opposes school voucher programs and has advocated expanding wind and solar energy while phasing out New Mexico’s oil-and-gas industry.

On immigration, he has used particularly aggressive language against the Trump administration, telling the Albuquerque Journal that Trump’s policies use ICE “to terrorize communities.” He also criticized proposals involving immigration enforcement near polling places.

Turrieta additionally supports creating a paid New Mexico Legislature, telling the Journal that lawmakers should receive a salary tied to the proposed constitutional amendment.

His campaign’s coalition also offers a window into his political alignment. In his Ballotpedia candidate questionnaire, Turrieta listed endorsements from Planned Parenthood, the American Federation of Teachers, and Conservation Voters New Mexico, among others.

Hot mic lands days before Election Day

Terrazas has represented House District 39 since 2021 and is seeking another term against Turrieta in the Nov. 3 general election.

The resurfaced March footage injects a far more explosive moment into the final days of the race.

Turrieta’s campaign messaging says elected officials should demonstrate “integrity, accountability, and a strong work ethic” and treat constituents with respect.

Now, voters are hearing what the Democrat challenger said when he apparently thought the microphone was no longer listening.

Hot mic: Dem candidate jokes about ‘running over people’ at Silver City rally Read More »

Dem-on-Dem clash erupts as Stansbury bucks Heinrich on sweeping energy bill

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

A public Democratic family feud is breaking out inside New Mexico’s congressional delegation, with U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury coming out forcefully against a sweeping bipartisan permitting package negotiated and championed by fellow New Mexico Democrat U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich.

Stansbury took to social media this week to declare herself “adamantly opposed” to the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, S. 5653, in its current form — putting her directly at odds with Heinrich, one of the four senators responsible for crafting the massive 417-page deal.

“As currently drafted, I am adamantly opposed to this bill,” Stansbury wrote, warning that it “could undermine Tribal sovereignty and consultation, protection of sacred and cultural sites, our public lands and waters, and the ability of our communities to have a say in projects that could impact them.”

She acknowledged the push to speed up major projects but argued that faster permitting cannot come at the expense of tribes, environmental protections or local input.

“We understand the urgency of expediting clean energy and critical infrastructure projects,” Stansbury wrote, “but it cannot be done at the expense of our sovereign Tribal nations, the environment, or the rights of our communities.”

She also took a swipe at the Trump administration, saying reforms should not rest on what she called its “false promises.”

The unusually sharp statement places Stansbury opposite Heinrich on one of the senator’s most significant bipartisan legislative efforts of the year.

Heinrich helped negotiate sweeping bipartisan deal

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act was introduced Sept. 30 by Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah, along with Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Heinrich.

Technically, Capito is the bill’s sponsor, while Heinrich, Lee and Whitehouse are original co-sponsors. But Heinrich was one of the four principal negotiators who spent more than a year working on the package.

The Bipartisan Policy Center described the legislation as the most comprehensive federal permitting reform proposal to date, saying it tackles nearly every major component of the permitting system after decades of failed reform attempts.

Heinrich has portrayed the bill as a way to build energy and transmission infrastructure more quickly while reducing costs.

“It should not take decades to build the infrastructure our country needs,” Heinrich said when the legislation was unveiled.

He said the measure would get to “yes” or “no” on projects faster while preserving environmental safeguards and “protecting the ability of Tribes to formally consult during these processes.”

That assertion now sits squarely against Stansbury’s warning that the legislation could do precisely the opposite.

Heinrich has also emphasized provisions designed to force large data centers to cover costs they impose on the electric grid rather than shifting those expenses onto residential customers.

Tribal consultation becomes flashpoint

The biggest Democratic fault line appears to involve changes to the National Historic Preservation Act.

Under current law, federal agencies generally must consult with State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers before approving projects that could affect historic or culturally significant properties.

The Heinrich-backed legislation would impose new deadlines and narrow portions of that process.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s detailed analysis, the bill would change how the geographic scope of historic-preservation reviews is determined, narrow what qualifies as an adverse effect and impose deadlines throughout consultation.

As the Bipartisan Policy Center summarized it, under the proposal “the agency, rather than the consulting parties, would decide when review is finished.”

The legislation would simultaneously authorize $200 million annually for the Historic Preservation Fund from fiscal years 2027 through 2036 and provide additional support for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices.

Stansbury breaks with Heinrich

The dispute is notable because both New Mexico Democrats generally position themselves as strong advocates of environmental protections, renewable energy and tribal consultation.

Yet on permitting reform, they now find themselves on opposite sides.

Heinrich argues that the existing federal process is so slow and unpredictable that it prevents the construction of the very clean-energy infrastructure Democrats say they want.

Stansbury, meanwhile, is warning that Congress could go too far in speeding projects along.

Her declaration that she is “adamantly opposed” to the measure represents considerably more than a minor disagreement over legislative language.

It is an open challenge to one of Heinrich’s marquee bipartisan negotiations.

And the Democratic disagreement reaches beyond New Mexico. Heinrich’s fellow Democratic negotiator Whitehouse has enthusiastically promoted the package, arguing it would help “flood the grid with clean, affordable energy.” Meanwhile, progressive and tribal groups are mobilizing against portions of it.

Bill also takes aim at data-center costs

Ironically, the legislation also contains provisions aimed directly at one of the issues that has generated substantial Democratic concern in New Mexico: enormous new data centers.

The proposal would bar utilities from shifting certain infrastructure costs associated with new data centers of 20 megawatts or greater onto other customers. States could also require data centers to provide their own generation, restrict how much electricity they draw or charge them additional amounts that could be used to lower other customers’ bills.

The broader package would also dramatically overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act, shorten litigation timelines, streamline electric transmission development, change portions of the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act processes, and make it more difficult for future administrations to revoke already-issued permits.

For Heinrich, those changes represent a bipartisan attempt to solve a system he says has become incapable of building infrastructure at the pace the country requires.

For Stansbury, the current bill crosses a line.

That leaves two prominent New Mexico Democrats publicly fighting over just how much environmental and permitting law Congress should rewrite in the name of faster construction — with Heinrich trying to shepherd his bipartisan deal forward and Stansbury now openly telling colleagues the legislation, as written, should not pass.

Dem-on-Dem clash erupts as Stansbury bucks Heinrich on sweeping energy bill Read More »

Former Dem rival crosses party lines as Hull touts broad NM backing

9 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull unveiled a sprawling list of nearly 80 endorsements Tuesday, highlighting support from dozens of current and former New Mexico mayors, public-safety officials, state lawmakers, former Gov. Gary Johnson and a onetime Democratic candidate for governor as the race enters its final week.

Hull’s campaign announced endorsements from 79 individuals and organizations, including 31 current and former mayors representing 27 New Mexico communities, three county sheriffs, the New Mexico Fraternal Order of Police and the Rio Rancho Firefighters Association.

Among the most notable names is former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who initially entered the 2026 governor’s race as a Democrat before leaving the Democratic primary to run as an independent. He ultimately ended that bid in July and endorsed Hull, the former longtime mayor of Rio Rancho.

“I have known Mayor Hull for almost 12 years. He is intelligent, hardworking and a man of integrity,” Miyagishima said in the campaign announcement. “My goal is to help transform Mayor Hull into Governor Hull, deliver for the southwestern part of our state, and close the gap in our Native American communities.”

Hull seized on their shared municipal experience, portraying the support of mayors and local public-safety officials as evidence that his campaign is rooted in local government rather than national politics.

“Ken and I didn’t start this race in the same party, but running two of New Mexico’s largest cities taught us both the same lesson: when disaster hits, nobody asks whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Hull said.

He pointed specifically to the recent flooding in San Juan County and previous disasters affecting Ruidoso and other areas, arguing governors must be prepared to coordinate state resources, work with FEMA and local governments and invest in infrastructure intended to reduce future damage.

“That’s the job I’m ready to do on day one,” Hull said.

Johnson, lawmakers and sheriffs join list

The endorsement roster also includes former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who served two terms as a Republican before later becoming one of the country’s most prominent Libertarian political figures.

Current mayors named by the campaign include Paul Wymer of Rio Rancho, Nate Duckett of Farmington, Mike Morris of Clovis, Robert Noblin of Belen and Lynn Crawford of Ruidoso.

Former mayors backing Hull include Miyagishima, Dennis Kintigh of Roswell, Javier Sanchez of Española, Jim Owen of Rio Rancho and others.

The campaign also listed a large contingent of Republican state lawmakers, including Sens. Craig Brandt, Crystal Brantley, Candy Spence Ezzell, Jim Townsend, Pat Woods and Nicole Tobiassen, along with several House members and former legislators.

Hull’s release described the group as including 17 current and former state legislators, although the accompanying list names 18 current and former legislators.

Public-safety endorsements include San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari, Catron County Sheriff Keith Hughes and Torrance County Sheriff David Frazee, in addition to the state Fraternal Order of Police and Rio Rancho firefighters union.

Campaign puts spotlight on New Mexico donors

Hull also used Tuesday’s announcement to revive one of his campaign’s recurring contrasts with Democratic nominee Deb Haaland: where their donors live.

“These endorsements didn’t come from Washington or California,” Hull said. “They came from Farmington, Clovis, Roswell, Raton, and Rio Rancho.”

Hull’s campaign said 95% of its contributions have come from New Mexico donors, with most donations at $100 or less.

A recent independent review by Source New Mexico actually found an even higher in-state share among Hull’s donors during the latest reporting period: 99% were from New Mexico, compared with about 17% of Haaland’s donors. Haaland, however, dramatically outraised Hull overall, taking in roughly $1.9 million during the Sept. 8-Oct. 5 reporting period compared with approximately $634,000 for Hull.

Haaland’s campaign has pushed back on Hull’s framing by emphasizing the size of its contributions rather than donors’ locations. Her campaign said the average contribution has been relatively small and argued that her fundraising demonstrates broad grassroots support. During the latest reporting period, Haaland’s donations averaged roughly $55, compared with about $450 for Hull, according to Source New Mexico.

Still, Hull has consistently made New Mexico-based financial support a centerpiece of his pitch.

“This race should be decided by people who actually live here,” Hull said, “and that’s who is standing with me.”

Hull and Haaland are competing in the Nov. 3 general election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

With Election Day now one week away, Hull’s latest announcement is aimed at showcasing the breadth of his institutional and local-government support — particularly from mayors, law-enforcement organizations and officials whose names are familiar within communities across the state.

See the full list of endorsements by clicking here.

Former Dem rival crosses party lines as Hull touts broad NM backing Read More »

1 2 3 4 5 6 … 257 NEXT PAGE »