Deb Haaland jumped into the New Mexico gubernatorial election last month as the early favorite, but her path to victory is far from certain.
The former Interior secretary launched her campaign more than a year and a half before Election Day and is the only major candidate in the race, after Sen. Martin Heinrich, perhaps her strongest competition for the Democratic nomination, said he wouldn’t run.
While the Democratic primary and general election are both likely to be competitive — and New Mexico has a long-standing pattern of flipping the party of the governor every eight years — Haaland has a clear edge, at least at this point.
Still, Haaland will have to grapple with questions about her record while in Congress and in the Biden administration, particularly on energy issues, and Republicans eager to turn back the state’s blue wave.
