NYT says Deb Haaland’s ‘coronation’ is in trouble

What was once expected to be a quiet march to the Democrat nomination for governor has suddenly become national news, with even the The New York Times now acknowledging that Joe Biden’s former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is facing a far more difficult path than many in New Mexico’s political establishment anticipated.

In a Friday feature on the race, the Times framed Haaland’s gubernatorial bid as a would-be “coronation” that has been disrupted by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who entered the race despite widespread assumptions that Haaland would clear the Democrat field.

“I don’t think we should have coronations in a democracy,” Bregman told the Times in a direct rebuke of the notion that Haaland should simply inherit the nomination.

The article underscores how what many insiders believed would be a straightforward race has instead become a competitive and increasingly contentious primary battle, elevating New Mexico’s gubernatorial contest into the national spotlight.

The Times notes that Haaland entered the race as a “political celebrity” in Democrat New Mexico and “might have expected a cakewalk” after launching her campaign. But Bregman’s challenge has complicated that narrative, forcing Haaland to defend her record and campaign more aggressively than many expected.

Though Haaland maintains advantages in fundraising and polling, the Times reported that “enough voters remain undecided to keep Mr. Bregman’s hopes alive.” Political analyst Gabriel Sanchez of the University of New Mexico told the paper the race remains “still up for grabs.”

The Times also observed that Haaland appears to be presenting herself as “the traditional safe choice candidate,” while Bregman is pitching himself as the anti-establishment alternative.

Bregman has used that contrast to sharpen his attacks, portraying the Democrat establishment as “weak, ineffective and complicit” in broader national dysfunction. He has also centered his campaign on crime and law-and-order messaging, branding himself in the Times’ words as a “swaggering lawman who is unafraid to lock up wrongdoers.”

Meanwhile, Haaland’s campaign has found itself confronting scrutiny that extends beyond typical primary politics.

The Times highlighted Bregman’s efforts to press Haaland over her appearance in Justice Department files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, Haaland’s name appears in records showing she was listed as a passenger on a jet chartered by one of Epstein’s companies during her 2014 lieutenant governor campaign.

Bregman told the Times, “Everybody in New Mexico deserves to know the truth of what happened out there.”

Haaland denied wrongdoing, saying she had no idea Epstein was involved and never met him. She dismissed the attack line, telling the Times: “If I rode on the Epstein plane, then Sam Bregman is a real cowboy… He ain’t no real cowboy. I didn’t ride on Epstein’s plane.”

The Times further noted that Haaland is under “perhaps unanticipated scrutiny” over her record, with critics arguing that despite holding “some significant titles,” she has not sufficiently delivered results.

In perhaps the most telling acknowledgment of the race’s competitiveness, Haaland herself pushed back on claims she has the race sewn up.

“I do not have it in the bag,” she told the Times. “I never say that. I will work until 7 o’clock on June 2 when the polls close.”

For a race many expected to be over before it began, that statement alone may be the clearest sign yet that Haaland’s “coronation” has become anything but certain.