Vasquez ducks multiple NM debate invites, demands debate in El Paso

Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is accusing Republican challenger Greg Cunningham of avoiding southern New Mexico voters for not accepting a proposed Univision debate — even as Cunningham says he has already accepted three televised debate invitations and Vasquez has publicly confirmed only one of them.

The dispute has become the latest flashpoint in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District race, where Cunningham is pushing for more head-to-head appearances and arguing that voters deserve to see the candidates directly defend their records and policy positions.

Cunningham announced Sept. 11 that he had accepted debates from KRQE Channel 13, KOB 4 and KOAT 7, with the latter co-hosted by the Albuquerque Journal and KKOB radio. His campaign said Vasquez had not confirmed the KOB or KOAT forums. Vasquez and Cunningham are both confirmed for the KRQE debate scheduled for Oct. 16.

“Voters in this district deserve to hear from Gabe and myself, on the same stage, on the same night,” Cunningham said. “I’ve said yes to all three of these debates. The Congressman hasn’t.”

Cunningham went further, accusing Vasquez of repeating what happened in 2024.

“He dodged the voters in 2024, and he’s running the same play in 2026,” Cunningham said. “Kicking the can down the road until the calendar runs out isn’t a scheduling problem. It’s a strategy that demonstrates weakness.”

There is documented history behind that criticism, although the circumstances were disputed at the time. KOB reported in 2024 that after months of scheduling disagreements between Vasquez and Republican Yvette Herrell, the station selected a debate date. Vasquez’s campaign declined, Herrell accepted, and KOB instead conducted a one-on-one interview with Herrell.

Rather than announcing acceptance of the two additional New Mexico debates Cunningham has accepted, Vasquez has shifted attention to another proposed forum.

“I am calling on @cunninghamfornm to do the right thing – accept the Univision debate and stop leaving out southern New Mexicans,” Vasquez wrote Sept. 18.

His campaign says the Spanish-language event would be hosted by Univision and reach voters throughout southern New Mexico through the El Paso media market. Vasquez’s campaign has accused Cunningham of “staying silent” on the invitation. Vasquez was born in El Paso and raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

There is an important distinction regarding location.

The Univision outlet serving the market is based in El Paso, Texas, outside New Mexico and outside NM-02. But the material released by Vasquez’s campaign does not establish that the debate itself would physically take place in an El Paso studio. It describes the event as a Univision-hosted debate serving the El Paso media market.

Vasquez is pressing Cunningham to participate in a debate hosted by a Texas-based television outlet serving southern New Mexico, not that a Texas venue has yet been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Cunningham has accepted three debates involving major New Mexico news organizations.

The debate dispute comes as Cunningham increasingly focuses his campaign on Vasquez’s past statements and congressional votes, particularly on crime, policing, taxes and immigration.

Cunningham, a former Albuquerque police detective and Marine veteran, has accused Vasquez of trying to portray himself as a moderate despite earlier comments surrounding the “defund the police” movement. KOAT reported that Cunningham has made law enforcement, crime and border security central themes of his campaign.

Vasquez’s earlier record gives Cunningham material to use.

During the 2020 policing debate, Vasquez discussed reallocating law-enforcement funding and said he was willing to consider eliminating police budget positions or line items deemed unnecessary. Reporting has also documented his comments during that period supporting broader arguments about shifting resources away from policing.

Vasquez now rejects the characterization that he supports defunding police, and his congressional record includes several votes and initiatives supporting law-enforcement funding.

In January, Vasquez voted for an appropriations package containing more than $4 billion for state and local law enforcement, and in September he joined Republican Rep. David Kustoff in demanding that the Justice Department release congressionally approved funding for the Regional Information Sharing Systems program.

That evolution is exactly the type of record Cunningham argues should be tested in multiple televised debates.

Vasquez’s vote on the sweeping federal tax-and-spending package known as H.R. 1 is another issue likely to surface on a debate stage.

Vasquez voted no when the House approved the final version on July 3, 2025. The legislation passed 218-214.

Among its provisions was the federal tax deduction promoted as “No Tax on Tips.” The legislation also contained a separate overtime deduction along with numerous other tax, spending, Medicaid and federal-policy changes.

Republicans therefore accurately note that Vasquez voted against the legislation containing the tip-tax provision, although it was not a standalone vote solely on tips.

Cunningham has similarly sought to contrast himself with Vasquez on immigration and border enforcement. Vasquez advocates what he calls a “New American Immigration Plan,” emphasizing border technology and legal pathways, while Cunningham has emphasized tougher enforcement, cartel activity and support for law enforcement.

Those disagreements give the candidates substantial material for direct questioning.

For now, however, only one debate involving both men is publicly confirmed: KRQE on Oct. 16.

Cunningham says he is prepared to appear at three New Mexico debates and has challenged Vasquez to do the same.

Vasquez, rather than confirming the two remaining forums, is challenging Cunningham to add the Univision event serving the El Paso television market.

“Show up,” Cunningham said in his original statement. “New Mexico is watching.”

Whether voters ultimately get one face-to-face debate, several, or all four proposed forums now depends on which additional invitations the two campaigns agree to accept.