New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe. Courtesy photo
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
What might have been a battle between two Democratic heavyweights for governor of New Mexico is shaping up as no contest at all.
Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland looked almost gubernatorial Tuesday as she attended opening-day ceremonies of the New Mexico Legislature. She was perhaps the most recognizable face at the Capitol after her four years in the Biden administration.
If Haaland is going to run for governor, she will make her move in a few months. The Democratic primary is in June 2026. Serious contenders will allow themselves more than a year to raise money and devise a strategy to carry the vote-rich Albuquerque metro area.
With Haaland in New Mexico’s hub of politicking, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich sounded as if he’s staying in Washington rather than preparing to campaign for governor. Heinrich made his most definitive statement to date after President Trump’s inauguration Monday.
“In the long four years ahead, I will do my part to fight for working families, our democracy, and the values that are core to both, while holding President Trump accountable for the hurt he inflicts,” Heinrich said.
He sounds like a senator committed to staying put. Trump is one good reason for Heinrich to keep doing his work in the Senate. Self-awareness is another.
Heinrich only 11 weeks ago won reelection to another six-year term in the Senate. He was cagey during his Senate campaign about whether he would run for governor.
With Trump tossing around executive orders like so much confetti, Heinrich knows he’d face condemnation if he shifted his attention to a gubernatorial campaign.
There’s another factor weighing against Heinrich. He would stand a good chance of losing to Haaland in a primary for governor.
An obvious reason is Haaland would be a formidable candidate. She was one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Less than three years later, in 2021, she became the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary.
She’s been in the big league of politics. The pressures of running for governor wouldn’t be more intimidating than a partisan confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate.
Haaland’s presence at the state Capitol didn’t obscure a notable absence.
For a few days at least, there will be taxation without representation for residents of New Mexico House District 6. They can blame the commissioners of Cibola and McKinley counties, who put cronyism above the law.
The House of Representatives went into session Tuesday with 69 of the 70 seats filled. District 6 had no lawmaker.
Seven of the eight commissioners in Cibola and McKinley counties nominated former state Rep. Harry Garcia to fill a vacancy in District 6. After the seat opened in November, Garcia suddenly attested he lived in a trailer park he owns in District 6 rather than in his spacious home miles away in House District 69.
Skeptics protested. They said Garcia, a 75-year-old Democrat, had not left the comforts of his house for a trailer park.
County politicians nonetheless remained helpful to Garcia, a former state representative in District 69.
Led by Chairperson Christine Lowery, Cibola County’s five commissioners voted unanimously to nominate Garcia to fill the vacancy in District 6. Lowery said dual residency is common in rural New Mexico. She ignored the real issue: Garcia doesn’t live in the district he hoped to represent.
Two of the three commissioners in McKinley County also nominated Garcia to fill the vacancy. Only Commissioner Danielle Notah had the good sense to oppose Garcia’s candidacy.
Mindful of doubts about where Garcia lives, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham refused to appoint him until his residency was investigated by the state attorney general’s staff.
The agents released a report last week saying Garcia does not reside in the trailer park. Garcia was groggy from a night of sleep in his house when an agent arrived at his door in District 69.
As of press time Tuesday, neither the McKinley nor Cibola commissioners had scheduled meetings to nominate someone other than Garcia. Members said they were awaiting official requests from the governor for new nominees.
Commissioner Ralph Lucero of Cibola County said a special meeting of his board might be possible as soon as Friday night. New Mexico’s public meetings law requires a 72-hour notice.
Lucero said Cibola’s legal department and the secretary of state’s staff advised the commissioners Garcia had changed his voter registration record to claim he lived in the trailer park. “I accepted that to mean he was a resident of the district,” Lucero said.
Garcia wasn’t able to pull off a residential shell game to return to power. The downside is the 30,000 residents of House District 6 will have to wait for a voice at the Capitol.