Deb Haaland was sworn into Congress during a government shutdown in 2019. In her two years representing New Mexico on the national stage, she said she learned how to manage President Donald Trump.
After her confirmation in 2021 as President Joe Biden’s cabinet secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior, she focused on repairing morale in the multibillion-dollar agency in the aftermath of Trump’s first term.
Before holding public office, Haaland was a single working mother who sold homemade salsa and picked up custodial shifts at her child’s pre-school to help pay tuition.
She said her life experience as a member of the Laguna Pueblo and as the head of the federal agency tasked with overseeing the nation’s natural resources makes her the right choice to steer New Mexico into the future — and through the remainder of Trump’s second term.
“When I came back from doing my federal service, it was pretty clear that people were afraid of what Donald Trump would do. And I think all those fears have come to fruition,” Haaland told Source NM. “It’s expensive to be poor. I recognize that people are struggling here and I will really do my best to help New Mexicans to weather this storm.”
Source NM spoke with Haaland about her candidacy. She faces Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman in New Mexico’s June 2 Democratic primary. The conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.
What makes you the better choice for Democrats in the primary election?
I have the experience. I’ve already managed one of the largest departments in the federal government — it’s a workforce of 70,000 and an $18 billion annual budget. I did that for four years.
I was a member of Congress. I got five bills signed into law by President Trump. I implemented two of those bills after I passed them in the Department of the Interior.
I was a tribal administrator. I was an organizer here in New Mexico. I’ve traveled extensively to every under-represented community, practically, but certainly to every tribal community to register voters, get out the votes. I have seen more of New Mexico than a lot of folks.
When I travel, people talk about how expensive things are, so affordability is definitely a priority for many New Mexicans. But I’d have to say that health care is perhaps more pressing — it’s related to affordability, though.
If folks get kicked off of Medicaid and they live in Roy, New Mexico, they have to travel hundreds of miles to get health care, and gas is over $4 a gallon, it’s difficult for people to get the health care they need.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called multiple special legislative sessions to address the Trump administration’s budget cuts. How would you approach governing in the final years of his second term?
If I can help the attorney general hire more lawyers to sue the Trump administration more, then I will do it. The federal government has obligations to our state and I am not going to let them slide on those.
The state currently faces controversial land-use issues, including oil and gas drilling proposals and AI data centers. What approach should the state take with projects like these?
I’m going to highly scrutinize these projects. One of the reasons why is I come from Laguna Pueblo, where the Jackpile Mine was the largest open-pit uranium mine in the world. It made people sick. People died. My cousin lost the hearing in one of his ears. This was not a good thing in the long run, the way I see it. Our precious natural resources need to be safeguarded.
Data centers, in particular, are increasingly looking at building their own natural gas plants for power. How can the state square that with its clean energy goals?
That’s something I would absolutely work against. We need to reach our clean energy goals. That’s what we promised the state we’d do and that’s what people expect. I don’t want industries — because we’ve already seen it enough — looking at New Mexico like it’s some big piggy bank.
How do you think semi-open primaries will affect your campaign?
In other states where this has been the case, there may have been 5 to 8 percent of voters who show up. I’m 30 points ahead in the polls right now and it’s not just our poll, it’s a number of polls that have taken place. And 5 to 8 percent isn’t going to swing that number in either direction.
