NRCC ad torches Vasquez, Dems as they shut down the government

On day one of the Democrats’ government shutdown, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) wasted no time targeting New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-Las Cruces) for what they called a reckless and hypocritical decision to shut down the federal government. All members of New Mexico’s all-Democrat congressional delegation joined Vasquez in shuttering the government over political gamesmanship.

The NRCC is launching a paid advertising campaign on Monday highlighting Vasquez’s and other Democrats’ vote to close the government over their attempt to give free health care to criminal aliens, which the NRCC says jeopardized paychecks for servicemembers, Border Patrol, and law enforcement, while halting disaster relief and cutting off vital support for veterans, farmers, and small businesses.

The attack comes with an added sting: Vasquez himself previously criticized Republicans for allegedly threatening a shutdown. In a since-deleted post on X, dated September 29, 2023, Vasquez wrote: “Tomorrow at midnight, the government will shut down. Far-right Republicans would rather hold the government hostage than see our military personnel get paid for their work. We need less nonsense and more common sense.

The NRCC says Vasquez’s actions this year show that his rhetoric was hollow. “Out-of-touch Democrat Gabe Vasquez is grinding America to a halt. Vasquez’s shutdown puts critical programs that New Mexicans rely on at risk, just so he can prioritize open borders and handouts for illegal immigrants. Voters won’t forgive this betrayal,” said NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson.

The committee’s new ad drives the point home. Opening with the blunt line “Democrats shut it down,” the ad shows a news anchor clip acknowledging Democrats’ role in the standoff, before ticking through the consequences of Vasquez’s vote: military troops, police, and Border Patrol losing paychecks; veterans, farmers, and small businesses losing critical funding; and disaster relief efforts being cut off. The spot accuses Democrats of “grinding America to a halt in order to give illegal immigrants free health care,” urging voters to tell Democrats to “stop the shutdown.”

The line of attack is particularly pointed in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, where military families, veterans, and Border Patrol agents make up a large share of the population. With Holloman Air Force Base and a significant stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border within the district, critics argue Vasquez has put his constituents at direct risk by siding with Democrat leadership in Washington.

Republicans also point to the contradiction between Vasquez’s fiery criticism of “far-right Republicans” two years ago and his own role in forcing a shutdown today. 

The NRCC’s offensive signals how seriously Republicans view Vasquez as a vulnerable incumbent. His narrow 2022 victory flipped the seat blue, but the district remains competitive. With control of the House on the line in 2026, Republicans are betting that framing Vasquez as a politician who talks about “common sense” while voting for shutdown chaos could resonate with voters already weary of dysfunction in Washington.

For Vasquez, the challenge will be explaining why a government shutdown he once condemned as “nonsense” is suddenly acceptable when carried out by his own party.

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20 thoughts on “NRCC ad torches Vasquez, Dems as they shut down the government”

  1. Vasquez is out of the equation. There are enough house republicans to pass the CR. It’s our two moronic Senators that are to blame here.

  2. we have been placed in THE HEINRICH MANUVER where Martin votes to shut down govt. then the federal employees sit at home for weeks doing nothing, then get back pay for sitting at home. the troops work but dont get paid. all because Martin has to show ORANGE MAN BAD. what an absolute piece of crap he and Ben Ray are. these goons are destroying America.

  3. Clare Alexander May

    Note to the Entire City of Las Cruces:

    “You Voted for this piece of sh*t”.

    “You trusted this piece of sh*t’s work expierances in Juarez Mexico washing windshields for a Peso in front of the stirp clubs and at stop lights was the solution to all your woes”

    Dumbf**ks

  4. Never let Vasquez out of the equation. He needs to be forever tied to the mess the Democrats created. in D.C.

  5. No surprise that Vasquez out illegal aliens ahead of American citizens in voting to shut the government down.

  6. It was passed as a clean bill in the House. Heineylick and Ben Gay are responsible for it. But the 3 house members, Cartel Gabe, Wascally Wabbit, Leger-Hernandez, and Commie Queen, Stansbury voted no to the CR but the Republican majority in the House passed it. Leger-Hernandez got on TV and screamed the sky was falling but failed to mention the 1 trillion they want is for illegals! They have no allegiance to the US or its citizens

  7. until we can get the idiots in the Northern part of the state and dumbf—— in Las Crues to get their heads out of their a—-, nothing is gonna change.

  8. Supreme Chancellor

    If Gabe is worried about health care for illegals, then he should support deportations. Because there’s not enough doctors here to give adequate health care to anyone.

  9. This shutdown should enlighten the voters. The media maybe distorting the truth on who is truly responsible for the shutdown.

    I don’t want my tax dollars funding any illegals who are here illegally. There are to many citizens that need help especially the elderly and disabled.

    Thank you Biden, Obama, Clinton for your unethical behavior that puts Americans in harms way.

    Wake up voters, do your homework. This is not what America once was.

    Keller and MLG are just as irresponsible for failures in our State. Don’t let Keller have a third term. What he has destroyed will take decades to rebuild. Just as Trump is doing with Biden debacles.

  10. What a cheesy and pathetic ad. This may be true, but use real facts and evidence to present your position. This is what people will remember. The pointing fingers just keeps people bound and tied to their party. NRCC failed NM again in its attempt to win over any new potential members.

  11. Stephen Helmreich

    Illegal immigrants get no free medical care from the government. That is a lie.

    Also when the president won’t spend the money allocated by Congress, what’s the point of allocating any more? Make him spend the money that’s already been allocated.

  12. It’s not free, it is funded by hard-working American taxpayers…but illegals get the medical care. I know this for a fact.

  13. Leger-Fernandez’s husband or ex-husband a foreign national? If so, do her kids have dual citizenship? Just wondering.

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