Two Democratic leaders seek reelection in competitive races in New Mexico

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is seeking a second term in New Mexico’s swing district along the U.S.-Mexico border, in a rematch against the Republican he ousted in 2022.

GOP challenger Yvette Herrell waged her fourth consecutive campaign for Congress in the majority-Latino district that stretches from the border to Albuquerque.

In 2021, democratic state lawmakers redrew congressional boundaries to divvy up a politically conservative, oil-producing region among three districts.

Vasquez, a former Las Cruces city councilor, has invoked his knowledge of the border region and its economy as the U.S.-born son of immigrants from Mexico. His campaign has proposed safeguards against cartels that smuggle drugs or migrants, and a humanitarian approach to asylum-seekers and support for abortion rights.

Herrell, a real estate agent and former state legislator, campaigned this year alongside Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in favor of hard-line immigration enforcement policies. She has denounced oversight of the border under President Biden while advocating for a return to efforts by former President Donald Trump to expand the border wall and to enforce requirements that asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

The district still includes portions of the oil-rich Permian Basin, and Herrell has cast herself as a staunch advocate for the energy industry in the No. 2 state for petroleum production after Texas. Vasquez unsuccessfully proposed creation of a compensation fund for uninsured medical costs related to air pollution and heat-related illness, in a bill geared toward oilfield workers.

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On abortion access, Herrell has downplayed Congress’ role and says she’ll defer to state law after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. She previously supported legislation in Congress to restrict abortion access.

New Mexico abortion laws are among the most liberal in the nation. Vasquez supports initiatives in Congress to uphold abortion rights.

During her term in Congress, Herrell joined Republicans on Jan. 6, 2021, in rejecting the certification of Biden’s election victory in Arizona and Pennsylvania. She also voted against a bipartisan 2021 law that invested billions in America’s infrastructure.

The district’s voting age population is roughly 56% Latino — with centuries-old ties to Mexican and Spanish settlement — and 5% Native American, traversing the Mescalero Apache Reservation, four pueblo communities, outlying portions of the Navajo Nation and land holdings of the Oklahoma-based Fort Sill Apache Tribe.

Meanwhile in a hard-fought race, incumbent U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is seeking a third term against Republican nominee Nella Domenici, the daughter of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete V. Domenici.

Nella Domenici, a former executive at hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, said she would bring her business know-how to bear on efforts to tame inflation and expand economic opportunity. She characterizes the U.S.-Mexico border as a crisis of crime and drugs, and has advocated for expanding alternatives to traditional public schools.

Meanwhile Heinrich has touted his work on infrastructure and energy spending that expanded New Mexico’s national security installations including Los Alamos National Laboratory. He’s been an advocate for gun safety regulations and voiced support for an overhaul of Senate filibuster rules that can be easily used to hinder or block votes.

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The Senate candidates clashed on abortion rights as New Mexico increasingly serves as a destination for care for patients traveling from nearby states where the procedure is banned. Heinrich supports an expansion of federal abortion guarantees, while Domenici has emphasized state rights and said she’ll focus on efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies through education and birth control.

Domenici said she’d vote for Trump, though she didn’t mention him much while campaigning. Trump lost the 2020 vote in New Mexico by an 11% margin. Domenici’s father was the last New Mexico Republican to serve in the Senate, retiring after six terms in 2009.