One of the state's tightest races is between Republican Yvette Herrell and Democrat Gabe Vasquez. The two are vying to head to Washington as the Congressional representative for the 2nd district, which includes Albuquerque's South Valley and much of southern New Mexico, in a rematch of a fight Rep. Vasquez barely won two years ago.
Rep. Vasquez is a Mexican-American representing a district which is more than 60% Hispanic. He and Herrell have clashed on issues of border security, fossil fuels and abortion. But he told KUNM especially among Hispanic communities the major concern is the economy.
"I know that our top priorities are pocketbook issues," he said.
After two years in office, he is campaigning on federal money that has come to the district to try to create jobs.
"Projects that are bringing wastewater projects to districts that are creating hundreds of jobs in rural communities that are working, really to put people back to work, to lower the cost of goods," he said.
The economy also informs his approach to climate and the environment, particularly oil and gas extraction. A lot of his district is in the Permian Basin oil patch and he said we cannot pretend the fossil fuel industry doesn’t fund a meaningful chunk of the state budget.
"And also provides meaningful jobs for welders and pipefitters and truckers and folks that need food on the table," he said.
He says he is for an "all of the above" approach to energy, while also wanting to hold energy companies responsible for things like methane emissions.
His opponent used to represent the district in Congress before Rep. Vasquez took her seat. Herrell's campaign said she did not have time for an interview with KUNM but she told KOB-TV on Wednesday that fossil fuel extraction is key to growing the economy.
"The very first thing we have to do, obviously, besides securing the border, is look at our energy independence," she said.
She has previously minimized the role of climate change in disasters like forest fires. The KOB-TV appearance was meant to be a debate with Rep. Vasquez, but his representatives said he was unable to make it due to scheduling conflicts, which Herrell has criticized as a "slap in the face" to voters. She used the appearance to call for tighter security on the border, which falls in that 2nd Congressional District.
"We have to know who's coming into our nation. We have the right pathway to get here and seek citizenship. Sadly, we're not following, you know, those guidelines and we have to do something to secure the border," she said.
She pointed to her endorsement by the national Border Patrol Council. She also called for a revisiting of a bill proposed by Republicans in Congress last year known as the Secure the Border Act.
"That is the most comprehensive border bill that has been introduced and really puts all the pieces of the puzzle together, enables us to help and fund the Border Patrol as we need to," she said.
That bill's proposals included making it harder for undocumented people to work, restricting asylum, defunding nonprofits helping migrants and building at least 900 miles of wall. House Democrats at the time called it unserious and inhumane with no path to law. Rep. Vasquez said that he has worked to pass legislation on the border but has been stymied at times by Republicans.
"I've introduced at least six of them now related to immigration and border security. We have conversations with the folks that represent Hispanic communities and Hispanic leaders in these different places before we write and draft legislation, and three of those bills are bipartisan," he said.
Both candidates' campaigns have been punctuated with aggressive TV spots. Herrell called Rep. Vasquez a repeat offender in an ad that mentioned a traffic warrant issued more than 20 years ago. Rep. Vasquez highlighted Herrell's statement after the overturning of Roe v Wade that she wished all abortion in New Mexico could have been eliminated. She told KOB-TV that she is pro-life but supports some exceptions.
"Since Roe v Wade was overturned. I do not support a national ban, because now policy regarding abortion has to be made at the state level," she said.
Earlier this year, Rep. Vasquez participated in the groundbreaking of a state-backed reproductive health clinic in Las Cruces. Herrell said she doesn't think taxpayer dollars should be used to fund elective abortions. Rep. Vasquez, meanwhile, said he thinks most of his district including Hispanic voters supports his stance.
"There are folks that are pro life or pro choice, but I think more than anything, Hispanics are pro freedom, especially those that have come to this country to seek out those freedoms that perhaps they they felt were limited in their countries of origin," he said.
The most recent polls put Rep. Vasquez nine or ten points ahead of Herrell, and he has outraised her by more than $2 million.
