Decades in the making, Deb Haaland’s political rise spurs both inspiration and scrutiny

SAN FELIPE PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — As the sun peeked over the Sandia Mountains, Deb Haaland was at a familiar spot, the tribal community where she used to work, waving at motorists and encouraging them to stop and vote in New Mexico’s primary.

It was the final day of voting earlier this week, and Haaland was embracing friends and former colleagues at San Felipe Pueblo where she was once a tribal administrator. She talked food, family and handcrafted silver jewelry with Pueblo women who have watched her political ascent with pride and are hoping to see her become the first Native woman to become a governor in the U.S.

Before the day was over, Haaland, who is a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, secured the Democratic nomination for New Mexico governor. Through her time in Congress and as U.S. Interior secretary, she has broken historical barriers. She’s now on the cusp of achieving another milestone, if she can defeat Republican Gregg Hull in November.

The odds are in Haaland’s favor, given the state’s leftward tilt over the last decade. But Hull, a former three-time mayor, says New Mexico needs a regime shift after years of Democratic rule to tackle longstanding problems such as dismal educational outcomes, high crime and poverty.

An energy state

The next governor will inherit longstanding challenges and navigate policies rolled out by the Trump administration. Haaland mentioned President Donald Trump immediately in her primary victory speech Tuesday night and has blamed him for making life more expensive for New Mexicans by cutting key federal safety net programs.

In a memoir set for release this month, she said Trump’s reelection motivated her to run for governor, a position she sees as the “first line of defense against the worst policies coming out of this administration.”

Hull made no mention of Trump in his speech. He took aim at Haaland’s past opposition to the oil and gas industry, which bankrolls everything from education to free childcare in New Mexico, the No. 2 producer of oil in the U.S. behind Texas.

Haaland has said the revenue would factor into her affordability agenda and credited the industry for providing good-paying jobs. A supporter of the Green New Deal that called for shifting the economy away from fossil fuels, Haaland was often grilled during congressional hearings about her views on drilling.

“It’s a choice between an energy policy that’s built on common sense and not one that’s built on ideologies,” Hull said Tuesday night. “New Mexico is an energy state.”

Vying for the Native vote

Haaland said the country is long overdue for a female Native governor. Oklahoma is the only state that has elected a tribal citizen as governor and did so twice, in the early 1950s with Democrat Johnston Murray and now with Republican Kevin Stitt.

“I feel so strongly that representation matters,” Haaland said. “I mean, that’s what got me into politics in the first place, is because I wanted more Native people to vote.”

Hull said he respects that Haaland served as one of the first two Native American women in Congress and was the first Native American to be a U.S. Cabinet secretary. But he said Democratic policies have failed New Mexico.

Before a cheering crowd at Hull’s election night party, David Bearshield, who is Cheyanne and Arapaho, wrapped Hull and his wife each with a Pendleton blanket in a symbol of support and a reminder that Native people are not politically monolithic.

Some Native voters and tribal governments prefer more conservative candidates, especially when it comes to energy development, Bearshield said. He pointed to an ongoing fight beyond the borders of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, where some Navajos oppose a moratorium on oil and gas drilling that Haaland imposed as Interior secretary.

“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Bearshield said. “Those people don’t have to be in poverty.”

Recruiting Native leaders

Advocacy groups see Haaland’s candidacy as a fresh opportunity to raise the profile of tribes and ensure they’re part of the decision-making process. But Haaland is familiar with both the increased visibility and scrutiny that come with representing often overlooked communities, said Jordan James Harvill with the advocacy group Advance Native Political Leadership.

“The weight on her is the weight to solve 500 years of colonization,” he said. “It’s just because there’s been so few of us.”

Harvill’s group has been working to change that, building up a presence on county commissions and in statehouses with the recruitment of more than 1,000 Native Americans interested in serving their communities. The group also was part of a coalition that pressed the Biden administration to tap Haaland as Interior secretary.

On primary night, mariachi melodies and hoop dancers set the tone at Albuquerque’s historic Old Town plaza where campaign staff and supporters celebrated a decisive primary victory by “Auntie Deb,” as she’s affectionately known in some corners of Indian Country.

When Haaland took the stage in beaded earrings and red cowboy boots to accept the nomination, Ann Chavez Barudin of Santo Domingo Pueblo watched from the crowd. She saw herself, her mother and her daughters reflected in the candidate.

“It’s emotional. It’s powerful,” Chavez Barudin said. “I didn’t think I would ever see this day happen.”