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.