A major vote in the U.S. House on Friday revealed exactly where New Mexico’s congressional Democrats stand when it comes to socialism — and the results were striking.
The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning socialism in all its forms, with 285 lawmakers voting yes and 86 Democrats joining Republicans in rejecting the ideology. The vote came after the election of self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor, a move that sparked nationwide debate about the mainstreaming of socialist politics.
While two of New Mexico’s representatives broke away from the far-left orbit, one stood firmly on the side of socialism — and another refused to take a stance.
Here’s how they voted:
- Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-2) — voted YES to condemn socialism
- Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-3) — voted NO, aligning with the socialist wing
- Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-1) — DID NOT VOTE
That makes Leger Fernandez the only member of New Mexico’s delegation who actively opposed condemning socialism, putting her directly in line with the Democrat Socialist movement spreading across parts of the country. Stansbury’s absence, meanwhile, kept her from joining the bipartisan majority that rejected socialism, while Vasquez broke with the far-left to support the resolution.
The text of the measure, introduced by Rep. María Salazar, R-Fla., leaves no ambiguity:
“Congress denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.”
The resolution recounts the catastrophic history of socialist regimes — from Cuba’s Castro dictatorship, to Mao’s China, to Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro — where centralized control led to famine, mass murder, and economic collapse.
Even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had endorsed socialist Zohran Mamdani days before the New York mayoral election, voted in favor.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., applauded the bipartisan rejection, warning: “It always leads to a destruction of liberties for people.”
He emphasized that socialism demands top-down control, adding, “We have a responsibility to defend the American core of capitalism, free markets and liberty [against] socialism, democratic socialism, communism, authoritarianism, fascism.”
Other Democrats echoed concerns about the direction of their party. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said embracing socialism is a political dead end:
“The answer is not the populism of Donald Trump or Zohran Mamdani — it’s about giving specific policy prescriptions.”
State Rep. Martin Zamora of Clovis, who is running against Leger Fernandez, wrote on social media following the vote that the congresswoman “does not represent the views of the good people of NM CD-3.”
What It Means for New Mexico
The vote draws a sharp line in New Mexico’s delegation:
- Vasquez sided with a broad bipartisan coalition condemning socialism, likely in an attempt to increase his reelection chances, despite being far-left and adopting socialist policies.
- Stansbury avoided taking a position.
- Leger Fernandez stood with the far left, rejecting the chance to denounce one of history’s most destructive ideologies.
So which New Mexico U.S. representative is openly aligned with socialism?
Teresa Leger Fernandez — and the vote makes it unmistakable — while Stansbury didn’t vote.
Fernandez is leading a committee in congress to allow trans males to participate in girls sports. now admittedly an affirmed socialist. in reality, most democrats are socialists now. gimme my freebies, right NM ? NM has saudi arabia oil, yet west virginia poverty. Only democrats could pull that feat off. look who you vote for NM. you will never wake up or move forward. a state proud to be last in everything.