DDHQ projects Deb Haaland’s victory in New Mexico — The Hill

In the United States, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) projects Democratic candidate Deb Haaland’s victory over Republican Gregg Hull in the New Mexico governor’s election. As The Hill reports, as of 10:33 p.m. Eastern Time, with 37% of votes counted, Haaland was leading her opponent by nearly 12 percentage points.

Historic significance

If she takes office, Haaland will become the first Indigenous woman to lead a U.S. state. She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo and in 2018 was one of the first two Indigenous people elected to the U.S. Congress.

Haaland will replace Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was unable to run because of term limits. Thus, the office of New Mexico governor will remain with the Democratic Party.

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Experience and campaign developments

Before joining Joe Biden’s administration in 2021, Haaland represented New Mexico’s 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives. As U.S. Secretary of the Interior, she was responsible for federal public lands and conservation initiatives, as well as investigations into abuses at Indigenous boarding schools.

Hull served three terms as mayor of Rio Rancho, the state’s third-largest city by population. He built his campaign around public safety, economic opportunity, and education reform. One of the central issues of the race was affordability: Haaland proposed raising the minimum wage, expanding tax credits for working families, and increasing housing construction. She also advocated expanding access to healthcare, protecting Medicaid, and strengthening the state’s universal child care program.