Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is lashing out after Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez scored an early courtroom victory against her administration’s socialist “universal child care” program, with a state judge ordering the governor’s administration to cease enforcement of several regulations tied to the program unless it can justify them in court.
The sharp rebuke came after Second Judicial District Judge Elaine Lujan issued an Alternative Writ of Mandamus ordering the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department to “immediately cease from any further enforcement” of multiple child care rules challenged in Rodriguez’s lawsuit, or otherwise appear in court and show cause why the state should not be compelled to comply.
Rodriguez had sued the administration arguing that Lujan Grisham unlawfully created the “universal child care” program without proper legislative authorization, without an appropriation to cover its costs, and without following lawful rulemaking procedures.
The court’s writ states that the challenged rules were allegedly enacted “without legislative authorization and without the necessary appropriation to cover the new financial obligations on the State budget imposed by the child care assistance benefit they created by rule.”
Rather than quietly address the ruling, Lujan Grisham erupted in a blistering public statement attacking Rodriguez personally and dismissing his candidacy.
“A third-tier Republican candidate for governor — who lives in Arizona — is using a frivolous lawsuit in a despicable attempt to mislead New Mexico families and generate headlines for a campaign that is going nowhere,” the governor said.
She insisted the child care program “is NOT being shut down” and claimed Rodriguez was “purposely sowing confusion and mistrust.”
But the governor’s response notably came after a district judge declined to dismiss the case outright and instead issued a writ directing her administration to halt enforcement of the challenged rules unless it can successfully defend them.
Rodriguez hailed the ruling as proof his lawsuit exposed serious legal flaws in the governor’s program.
“Today’s order represents a victory for the New Mexico Constitution, for government transparency, and for the people of New Mexico,” Rodriguez said. “The Governor can now choose whether to comply or defy the District Court.”
Rodriguez’s attorney, former Democrat state senator Jacob Candelaria, also mocked the administration’s prior confidence that the case would be thrown out.
“Governor Lujan Grisham’s legal prognosticators predicted the Court would dismiss this suit outright,” Candelaria said. “However, the Court did not simply hand the Governor the result she wanted.”
The dispute centers on Lujan Grisham’s much-publicized September 2025 announcement declaring New Mexico the first state in the nation to offer universal child care. Rodriguez and his co-petitioners argue the governor attempted to create that sweeping entitlement program through executive and administrative action rather than through a properly enacted statute.
The judge’s writ does not permanently strike down the program at this stage. Instead, it gives the administration the option to answer the petition and defend the rules in court, with a hearing scheduled for June 11, 2026.
Still, the ruling is a significant embarrassment for the governor, particularly given the unusually aggressive nature of her response.
Rodriguez seized on that reaction, arguing it shows the administration is panicking.
“I do understand how New Mexico state government works,” Rodriguez said. “The Governor can now do the right thing and start over, or she can continue to create chaos for families.”
The legal fight now threatens to become a flashpoint in the 2026 gubernatorial race, with Rodriguez positioning the case as evidence that Lujan Grisham and her allies have repeatedly overstepped legal boundaries in pursuit of progressive policy goals.
For now, one thing is clear: what the governor touted as a signature achievement of her administration is now under direct judicial scrutiny—and her furious response suggests the ruling hit a nerve.