AP declares Democrat Deb Haaland as first female, Native American governor in US - by Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
Deb Haaland, a former U.S. interior secretary who previously represented New Mexico in Congress, made history Tuesday night as the first Native American woman in the nation to be elected governor.
The Associated Press declared Haaland the winner in the race with an estimated 41% of the vote counted.
Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, watched results come in at the Route 66 Casino Hotel in Albuquerque along with supporters, fellow candidates and Democratic Party of New Mexico officials after polls closed at 7 p.m. Unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office reported she had earned 57% of the vote by 8:49 p.m. in her contest against Republican Gregg Hull, the former mayor of Rio Rancho.
Haaland soundly defeated her primary opponent, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, in the June primary election and handily outfundraised Hull. Her campaign finance reports often contained so many donors that the documents, which were routinely thousands of pages, at times crashed the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website.
While Haaland and Hull ran a relatively cordial contest, Hull criticized her for backing out of a televised debate before Election Day. Haaland at the time said that KOB-TV’s preferred date conflicted with a prior obligation she made to meet with farmers in southern New Mexico.
Haaland, who served in President Joe Biden’s cabinet, on the campaign trail often vowed to be a staunch opponent of President Donald Trump. She campaigned on boosting affordability, creating a public option healthcare plan and overhauling the state’s troubled child welfare agency.
In September, she pledged to sign an executive order immediately upon taking office that would enact a statewide moratorium on new large-scale data center projects until the Legislature can pass a bill that places guardrails on the developments.
Haaland is set to replace Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is term-limited after first winning election to the seat in 2018. Haaland previously succeeded Lujan Grisham when she was elected to U.S. Congress to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, and became one of the first of two Native American women elected to that political body.
Land commissioner-elect Juan Sanchez wants ‘strong guardrails’ for data centers – Bryce Dix, KUNM News
Democrat Juan de Jesus Sanchez III has won the Land Commissioner race – a seat that oversees 9 million surface acres and 13 million mineral acres of land that generate crucial revenue for public schools, universities, hospitals, and other public institutions.
Sanchez won the race over Republican Michael Perry with 60.3% of the vote, according to unofficial results from AP.
His win comes amid mounting pressures from the White House that have sparked questions about the use of public lands – like state trust land – for data centers, particularly in rural areas. Recent polling suggests American views of data centers on both sides of the political aisle have become increasingly pessimistic.
In a September interview, KUNM asked Sanchez what it would take for him to approve a data center on New Mexico’s trust lands.
“My stance is that we need to be putting in strong guardrails around data centers,” Sanchez said. “For me to even consider a data center on state trust land, which is really not high on the priorities, there are a lot of different guardrails that I have to reach.”
He said that includes getting at least 50% of its power from renewable energy from the outset and other things like project labor agreements.
Notably, outgoing public lands commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richards has twice rejected a proposed gas pipeline to power the massive Project Jupiter data center complex in Doña Ana County.
In response, developers are mulling over trucking-in natural gas as a way to skirt delays while the pipeline is redirected elsewhere.
Following his Democratic primary win in June, Sanchez has been widely criticized for accepting donations from large oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Devon Energy.
Fossil fuel companies like these provide the State Land Office with a lion’s share of its revenue.
That’s despite his Republican challenger, Michael Perry, raking in over $250,000 in donations from oil and gas-connected companies and individuals, according to an analysis by New Mexico In-Depth.
The land office also collects much smaller royalty payments from grazing allotments and mining.
US Rep. Leger Fernández reelected to New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District - By Matt Mondschein, Source New Mexico
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) has won reelection in her campaign for the 3rd Congressional District against state Rep. Martin Zamora (R-Clovis).
In an interview at state Democrats’ election night party in Albuquerque, Leger Fernández told Source NM that corruption under Republican leadership “has been beyond belief, and Americans are sick of that,” and added that “there has been a lack of respect for our laws, lack of respect for immigrants, lack of respect for Latinos.”
With the House and potentially the Senate under Democratic control, Leger Fernández said congressional Democrats can now determine what legislation reaches the floor and check the Trump administration. “We have the gavel to hold Trump accountable,” she told Source NM. “We can start looking at the corruption that we know is there.”
Leger Fernández added that her water settlement bill, which would develop and maintain water infrastructure for New Mexico Tribes and Pueblos, now has life under new leadership. “I know that under Democrat leadership, I’ll be able to put those on the floor and get them passed,” she said. “Those water rights settlements benefit the tribes. They benefit the sick kids. That will be one of my priority legislative tasks.”
Montoya re-elected to State Treasurer and pledges to continue her advocacy - By Megan Kamerick, KUNM News
Democratic incumbent Laura Montoya has won re-election to State Treasurer. The office now manages 24 billion dollars worth of assets.
Montoya defeated challenger James Ellison with 60% of the vote in unofficial results from AP.
Montoya grew up in New Mexico and served for two terms as Sandoval County treasurer before being elected State Treasurer in 2022. During her term, assets under her management grew by 10 billion dollars. The treasurer also sits on the board of New Mexico’s State Investment Council, which oversees one of the country’s largest sovereign wealth funds.
Montoya has been outspoken as state treasurer, advocating for policies such as baby bonds and mandatory financial literacy in high schools. In her victory speech, she pledged to continue creating opportunities for people left behind.
"Whether we're expanding financial education, supporting individuals with disabilities, or advancing conversations around general racial wealth and baby bonds, our work must always be about creating a better future for the next generation," she told supporters.
Her opponent, Ellison, argued such advocacy is for lawmakers and criticized what he said was a lack of attention to core details in the treasurer’s office.
This post is being updated. Check back for the latest results.
