Far-left, anti-cop Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is attempting to rebrand himself as a champion of law enforcement as he heads into a high-stakes 2026 matchup against Republican Greg Cunningham, a Marine combat veteran and retired Albuquerque police detective.
But Vasquez’s latest pro-police messaging is already drawing scrutiny from critics who say the Democrat’s record tells a very different story.
In a Sunday guest column published in the Las Cruces Sun-News titled, “Police officers deserve our thanks, support and funding,” Vasquez claimed he recently met with officers at the Carlsbad Police Department to discuss public safety needs.
“Last week, I sat down with officers at the Carlsbad Police Department and thanked them for their service,” Vasquez wrote, adding that the conversation centered on whether officers have “enough funding to do their jobs.”
Vasquez also used the column to present himself as a consistent ally of law enforcement.
“I work very closely with law enforcement agencies across our district, and I will always stand with our law enforcement officers,” he wrote. “In addition to our thanks and admiration, they also need and deserve resources, investments, and funding.”
The congressman further claimed he has turned officer feedback into “over $3 million in direct investments in New Mexico’s public safety,” citing money for bulletproof vests, officer safety and retention, mental health and de-escalation training, and technology upgrades for law enforcement agencies.
But Republicans and law enforcement supporters are pointing to Vasquez’s past comments and votes, arguing his election-year rhetoric does not match his record.
In 2020, while serving as a Las Cruces city councilor, Vasquez attended a Black Lives Matter rally under a fake name and disguise, according to prior reporting. At the event, he told a local reporter, “It’s not just about defunding the police, it’s about defunding a system that privileges white people over everyone else.”
That quote has followed Vasquez for years, especially in a district where border security, fentanyl trafficking, crime, and support for local law enforcement remain top issues.
The contrast is especially stark now that Vasquez is facing Cunningham, who served as a Marine combat veteran and later as an Albuquerque police detective. Cunningham’s campaign is expected to lean heavily into the public safety issue, presenting the race as a choice between a former law enforcement officer and a radical Democrat whose past comments aligned him with the “defund the police” movement.
Vasquez’s Republican critics have also hammered him over federal public safety funding votes. The National Republican Congressional Committee has noted that Vasquez repeatedly voted to block Department of Homeland Security funding, arguing those votes would have affected agencies such as the Secret Service and TSA. Republicans have also cited his opposition to the Laken Riley Act and his support from left-wing groups such as MoveOn, Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL, and the Sierra Club.
In April, NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson blasted Vasquez’s law enforcement rhetoric as hollow.
“Dishonest Gabe Vasquez claims to appreciate law enforcement, but New Mexicans know the truth. Whether he’s voting to block Department of Homeland Security funding or trying to defund the police, Vasquez is, was, and always will be anti-cop,” Richardson said.
Another NRCC statement accused Vasquez of having “a long history of slandering law enforcement,” pointing to his past comments about ICE, including saying the agency needed “melting” and had “no regard” for immigrants’ “humanity.”
In his Sun-News op-ed, Vasquez tried to position himself as a defender of police funding and public safety, writing that officers “miss holidays, respond to the hardest calls, comfort families in crisis, and run toward the danger to keep the communities they swore to protect safe.”
He also criticized proposed cuts to High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas funding, writing, “you can’t say you stand with law enforcement officers working along the border and simultaneously back cuts to the tools they rely on to stop fentanyl from flowing into our communities.”
But the problem is not whether Vasquez can write a polished pro-police op-ed. It is whether voters believe his sudden law-and-order tone after years of progressive activism and anti-police rhetoric.
Vasquez concluded his column by writing, “Supporting law enforcement means honoring their sacrifice with action, and I will always stand with the brave men and women who serve our communities.”
His opponents are now asking voters to compare that claim with his own past words — especially his statement that the issue was “not just about defunding the police,” but about defunding an entire system.
As the race against Cunningham intensifies, Vasquez’s record on policing is likely to remain a central issue. For a vulnerable Democrat trying to sound tough on public safety, the question is whether New Mexicans will accept his new message or remember what he said when the “defund the police” movement was at its peak.