Deb Haaland Wins New Mexico Democratic Primary, Putting Her on Track to Become First Native American Woman Governor

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland won the Democratic nomination for governor of New Mexico in Tuesday's primary, a decisive victory that positions her to make history as the first Native American woman elected governor of any U.S. state.

Haaland, a former congresswoman who became the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department when President Joe Biden tapped her to run the Interior Department, routed Albuquerque-area prosecutor Sam Bregman, taking roughly 72% of the vote to his 28%, according to results from the New Mexico Secretary of State. The margin left little doubt about the strength of her standing among Democratic voters in a state she once represented in Congress.

A member of the Pueblo of Laguna, Haaland built her campaign around what she called "a better New Mexico," emphasizing health care, education and the state's economy. She selected Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the current secretary of state, as her running mate. If elected in November, Haaland would succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

Haaland enters the general election as the clear front-runner. New Mexico has trended reliably Democratic in recent cycles, and no Republican currently holds statewide office there. She will face Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, who captured the Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday night and will try to break the GOP's losing streak in statewide contests.

Haaland's rise has carried particular resonance in Indian Country, where supporters have framed her career as proof that the highest levels of American government can finally include leaders who understand the history and needs of Native communities. Her tenure at Interior — overseeing public lands, tribal affairs and the nation's response to the legacy of federal boarding schools — gave her a national profile that few candidates for a state office can match.

She first made history in 2018, when she and Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids became the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Her subsequent confirmation as interior secretary in 2021 placed a tribal citizen in charge of the very agency that for generations administered federal policy toward Native peoples, a symbolism that was not lost on her supporters or on the communities affected by that history.

Republicans, who have struggled to win statewide in New Mexico for years, are expected to attack Haaland's record at Interior, particularly her stewardship of energy policy on public lands in a state where oil and gas revenue is a major engine of the budget. Hull, the Rio Rancho mayor, has cast himself as a pragmatic manager focused on crime and the economy. But Haaland begins the race with significant advantages in money, name recognition and the state's Democratic lean.

The contest now shifts to a five-month general-election campaign in which Haaland will look to convert her primary dominance into a milestone win — one that would put a Laguna Pueblo woman in the governor's mansion of a state where Native Americans make up roughly a tenth of the population.