The New Mexico governor’s race could come down to how worried voters are about oil and gas.
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee, has a history of opposing fossil fuel production both in Congress and as former President Joe Biden’s Interior secretary. But she isn’t directly attacking the oil industry during her run for governor, saying she wants good-paying jobs and cleaner “extractive” industries.
Her opponent, Republican Gregg Hull, has vowed to unleash oil and gas. He said Haaland could still put a damper on oil production — and the state’s economy — even if she doesn’t fully rein in the industry’s growth. Hull said Haaland’s past statements about oil and gas make New Mexicans nervous.
The Cook Political Report lists the race as leaning Democratic. But Haaland’s record on fossil fuels could still be a vulnerability, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc. The state relies on the industry’s tax and royalty payments, which can account for 25 to 30 percent of general fund revenue.
“She could counter that argument by claiming that she’s not anti-gas and oil — however, she is concerned about environmental protection and would want to balance it,” Sanderoff said in an interview.
The winner of November’s general election will replace Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is term-limited. The winner also will inherit a New Mexico Legislature where Democrats have controlled both chambers since 2017.
This year, Haaland has shown the ability to drum up more money than her Republican opponent as they prepared for the June 2 primary.
She raised $12.8 million in her primary campaign and spent $10.8 million, leaving her with $1.9 million in cash on hand as of May 28, state records show. Hull raised $595,000 and spent $520,000, and had $75,000 in cash as of late May.
The winner in November will play an influential role in shaping oil and gas policy in New Mexico for years to come.
That’s because the governor appoints the heads of state agencies, so regulations can ebb and flow with elections. Under Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, the state rolled back rules on pits used to dispose of oil field wastewater, for instance. Lujan Grisham has pushed for state regulations on methane emissions from the oil industry, and the state is working on tougher bond requirementsfor oil and gas wells.
‘Everybody on edge’
Haaland, 65, is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. She was elected to a U.S. House seat from New Mexico in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. She opposed hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on public land and supported the Green New Deal — a package of environmental bills that never passed — while she was in Congress.
As Interior secretary, Haaland imposed a temporary halt on federal oil leasing and oversaw a smaller amount of public-land leasing than many previous administrations.
At the same time, the Interior Department processed more drilling permits under Biden and Haaland than it did during Trump’s first term.
New Mexico’s oil production roughly doubled during Biden’s presidency, from about 1.1 million barrels a day to 2.1 million barrels a day, according to federal data. The state produced 2.3 million barrels a day of oil in March.
Haaland’s campaign website for the governor’s race calls for promoting wind and solar power and plugging abandoned oil wells, but it doesn’t mention any limits on oil production.
She declined an interview request, but said in a written statement she plans to follow the same approach she took at Interior if she’s elected governor.
“I will bring balance to our energy policy and make sure New Mexicans are at the forefront of my decisions so we can lower costs, protect and create good-paying jobs, and diversify our economy,” she said in the statement. “I will work to ensure extractive industries move toward cleaner operations, clean up after themselves, and ensure they are good community partners.”
Hull, 59, is a businessman who served three terms as mayor of New Mexico’s third-largest city, Rio Rancho.
He said he’d work to streamline New Mexico’s oil and gas permitting if elected governor. And he said Haaland’s previous opposition to the oil industry is still cause for concern.
“Whenever you talk about diminishing, declining, or you know, flat out eliminating that industry in the state of New Mexico, it puts everybody on edge because it employs tens of thousands of people,” he said.
Hull acknowledged that the state currently tilts toward Democrats, though he did knock off two candidates to win the GOP primary.
And Missi Currier, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association’s president, told a crowd in May that it will be hard for a Republican to win the governor’s race in 2026.
Currier told POLITICO’s E&E News in a statement Thursday that the association will work with whomever is elected in November.
“Secretary Haaland’s record on energy policy raises important questions for New Mexico, where oil and natural gas production is not a side issue, but central to our economy, our state budget, and the services New Mexicans rely on every day,” the statement said. “The next governor will have a direct role in determining whether New Mexico remains a national energy leader or makes it harder to invest, produce, and create jobs here. “
Hull is leaning on his experience of promoting business and focusing on infrastructure problems during his tenure as mayor to help his gubernatorial bid.
Haaland, though, cruised to victory in the Democratic primary and far outspent her primary opponent, who was Sam Bregman, the district attorney of the state’s most populous county.
And New Mexico’s voters have elected other politicians, such as Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, who favor a shift away from oil and gas, said Gabriel Sanchez, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico.
“All those things make her the front-runner,” he said of Haaland.
