Deb Haaland, the former congresswoman and Interior secretary, won the Democratic nomination for governor of New Mexico on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, setting her up to make history as the first Native American woman to lead a state.
Ms. Haaland defeated Sam Bregman, district attorney of New Mexico’s most populous county and father of the baseball all-star Alex Bregman, who ran as a tough-on-crime Democrat and turned the primary campaign into a surprisingly feisty affair.
One of New Mexico’s most prominent politicians, Ms. Haaland benefited from robust fund-raising, widespread name recognition and the historic nature of her candidacy. In her deep-blue state, where no Republicans hold executive office, Ms. Haaland is widely expected to prevail in the November general election.
Ms. Haaland launched her campaign in early 2025, less than a month after leaving the Biden administration, and became the immediate front-runner to succeed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who is term-limited.
During the race, Ms. Haaland touted her progressive bona fides — she was an early supporter of the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All” — and she leaned on her personal experiences battling addiction and raising children by herself to connect with working-class voters.
Ms. Haaland is poised to take charge of New Mexico at a consequential moment. The state is struggling to upgrade one of the nation’s worst performing education systems, while it grapples with high rates of violent crime and childhood poverty. At the same time, the oil-rich state is making millions of dollars off surging gas prices from the war in Iran, giving New Mexico leaders an opportunity to spend the surplus on social programs.
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