A former treasurer for a New Mexico labor organization has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors say he used union funds for unauthorized personal expenses and hid the misuse through false and incomplete financial reports. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Max Jaramillo,

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. & New Mexico Political Report — A Gallup native is in line to become one of the country’s top health officials after President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Overton has deep academic and civic ties to

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is facing fresh scrutiny after a new Fox News Digital report raised serious questions about the New Mexico Democrat’s carefully crafted working-class image. Vasquez, who represents New Mexico’s competitive 2nd Congressional District, has repeatedly tried to cast himself as a humble, blue-collar candidate who understands families

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. & New Mexico Political Report— Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull says comments he made at an Aug. 11 Hobbs meet-and-greet about working with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on abortion are being taken “out of context,” though in a phone call with The Paper. he confirmed

Hull and HaalandThe sleepy '26 gubernatorial race is about to be jolted awake. Whether it returns to a coma-like condition may be dependent on the severity of the jolt. At the end of the month--August 30 to be precise--the ABQ Journal will release their first poll of the contest featuring

We could discuss endlessly why a state with the well-deserved nickname the "Land of Enchantment" has undergone one of the greatest periods of population stagnation in its over 400 year history. Instead let's focus on one aspect of that stagnation impacting our politics. That would be how folks here are

A major center-right advocacy group is launching a six-figure ad campaign in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District targeting Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez over his vote against legislation that included a ban on taxpayer funding for gender-transition procedures for minors. American Action Network, or AAN, announced the new New Mexico

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is suddenly getting attention from national Democrats with their eyes on 2028 — and she appears eager to position the state as the party’s new presidential testing ground. According to a new report from Politico, several potential 2028 Democrat presidential contenders have been reaching

A national higher education watchdog says the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque is falling badly short on free expression, viewpoint diversity and intellectual openness, giving the state’s flagship university credit for just three out of 20 measures in a new campus free speech report card. The American Council of Trustees and

When far-left Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez had one of his clearest opportunities to stand up for New Mexico’s long-suffering Downwinders, he didn’t. Instead, Vasquez joined his fellow Democrats and voted against the final H.R. 1 package that contained the historic expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) —

With more than $70 billion available to invest for the benefit of New Mexico, why doesn’t the State Investment Council just buy PNM instead of letting them sell to Blackstone, a private equity company? This story was originally published at New Mexico Political Report, a nonprofit news service covering politics

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.Democrat Elise Falanga Taylor is ending her campaign for New Mexico House District 23, saying she won’t let what she calls “vile tactics” from Republicans overshadow the issues at stake. Incumbent Rep. Alan Martinez, the House Minority Whip, denies he or his campaign had anything to

New Mexico has produced plenty of political scandal, but not every accusation belongs on a “most corrupt” list. This ranking is based on the hardest public record available: convictions, guilty pleas, no-contest pleas, prison sentences, dollar amounts, office held, and betrayal of public trust. And yes, because this is New

Corrupt ex-Democrat House leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton convicted on all federal counts Former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, once one of the most powerful Democrats in the state Legislature, was convicted Friday on all federal counts in a sprawling corruption case tied to millions of dollars meant

The Babylon Bee is taking New Mexico to court over a state law that requires warning labels on certain AI-generated political content, arguing the mandate threatens political satire by forcing comedians to explain the joke before readers can laugh. The Christian satire site filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against New

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, told hospital administrators at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center that Republican-backed federal Medicaid cuts won’t just hurt New Mexicans enrolled in the program — they’ll raise care and insurance costs for everyone else, too. Presbyterian Delivery System President Chad Aduddell told

Republican members of the New Mexico House’s Epstein-related special subcommittee are blasting the panel’s process after they say a reference to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland’s 2014 flight aboard an Epstein-connected aircraft was removed from the interim report without their knowledge or approval. Reps. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, and Bill Hall,

New Mexico Democrats are swapping candidates in a key State House race in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights where they have their target set on unseating one of the few Republicans representing a House or Senate district in Albuquerque. This story was originally published at New Mexico Political Report, a nonprofit news

By Kevin Hendricks and Julian Paras, The Paper. — U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat from New Mexico, toured Roadrunner Food Bank on Aug. 10, warning that federal cuts have stripped food assistance from more than 21,000 New Mexicans, about half of them children, since October. Stansbury said the drop

Guest commentary by Paul Gessing — Recently, Stephanie Schardin Clarke, New Mexico Secretary of Taxation and Revenue, wrote an article slamming Republican efforts to eliminate New Mexico’s personal income tax. She makes numerous points, but they boil down to two: 1) We simply should not cut taxes, especially for the

Corner to Corner by Columnist Diane D. Denish — Recently, I listened to the historical fiction novel The Frozen River, based on the life of Martha Ballard. Her life is chronicled in The Midwife’s Diary, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991. From 1785 to 1812, Ballard recorded the weather

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is escalating his fight with the U.S. Department of Justice over Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch files, filing a federal lawsuit that seeks access to unredacted investigative records tied to Epstein’s alleged crimes in New Mexico. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for

By a one vote margin, 50-49, the United States Senate voted early Saturday morning to approve President Donald Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney and acting attorney general, to be the permanent Attorney General of the United States. Todd’s nomination was opposed by every Democrat and two

New Mexicans in Albuquerque’s Westside and most of southern New Mexico are getting an early taste this week of the political ads set to take over the airwaves and digital devices through November. The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) said this week they are launching a new ad campaign

Meta has been ordered to pay $567 million into a New Mexico abatement fund after a judge found the company’s platforms contributed to the youth mental health crisis in the state, marking another major blow to Big Tech in a growing wave of child safety litigation. The order, reported by

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — New Mexico’s congressional delegation, led by Sen. Martin Heinrich, demands answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after military GPS jamming allegedly caused a medical plane crash, killing four crew members and igniting a 32,000-acre wildfire that cost taxpayers $37.7 million. Just before midnight May

Commentary by Stephanie Shardin Clarke — Recently, some New Mexico lawmakers urged Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to call a special session and eliminate New Mexico’s personal income tax outright. On its face, it sounds fair — especially to New Mexico’s working families. Don’t be fooled: it’s the lowest-earning New Mexicans

By Kevin Hendicks and Jesse Jones, The Paper. — The Survivors’ Truth Commission — formally the House Special Investigatory Committee — presented its interim report Wednesday at the State Capitol, outlining its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Stanley and hearing survivor testimony. The report details how Epstein operated

A taxpayer-funded New Mexico House special committee created to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s activities at Zorro Ranch has released its long-awaited interim report — and after months of work, a large outside legal team, 20 subpoenas, and access to more than 100,000 records, the panel produced virtually nothing New Mexicans did

By Kevin Hendricks New Mexico’s top prosecutor is taking the U.S. Department of Justice to federal court, accusing the agency of blocking access to unredacted Epstein investigative files the state says it needs to finish a criminal probe of Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the complaint

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez has hitched his reelection campaign to a full-blown radical anti-ICE activist in a new left-wing video attacking Republican congressional candidate Greg Cunningham, a former Marine, police officer, and undercover detective. The video, posted directly by Vasquez on X and credited to Courier New Mexico, features Ben

Former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton’s federal corruption trial opened this week with a stunning defense: she may have taken money that did not belong to her, but her attorney argued she did not steal from taxpayers. Stapleton, once one of the most powerful Democrats in the

By Kevin Hendricks The Survivors’ Truth Commission — formally the House Special Investigatory Committee — meets Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 1 p.m. in State Capitol Room 307 to present an interim report and walk through its mission investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Stanley. The revised Aug. 3 agenda calls

Federal agents carrying out a drug trafficking raid near Albuquerque reportedly discovered far more than narcotics and weapons inside a South Valley home: they also found dozens of snakes, including some of the most dangerous venomous reptiles in the world. According to a report from People, citing KOAT Action News

By Kevin Hendricks New Mexico’s attorney general says he’ll take the U.S. Department of Justice to federal court if it doesn’t hand over records tied to his fentanyl investigation by Aug. 17 — records DOJ says his office never had a legal right to request in the first place. The

A Las Cruces man with a prior felony conviction has been charged in federal court after authorities say he fired multiple rounds at the front entrance of a Catholic church, later allegedly telling investigators he carried out the act because of his religious beliefs and because he believed he was

UPDATE: The ABQ City Council Monday evening said the panel has "dismissed" the proposed increase in the gross receipts tax. Affordability is the buzzword for the '26 campaign but that falls on deaf ears among some members of the ABQ City Council. Two councilors in particular, Council President Klarissa Peña,

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s campaign appears to be in full-blown manufactured fundraising panic mode, sending a barrage of increasingly dramatic emails warning supporters that Democrats could “throw in the towel,” “kiss their chances” of taking the Senate goodbye, and even claiming survey data could become “invalid” if recipients do

Commentary by Robert Lujan, Albuquerque — As a decade long Local 214 executive board member, I worked to elect Democrats alongside the larger brotherhood I proudly support as they push for permitting reform. My brothers in the trades need common sense leadership at the federal and local levels… now. Commentary

Democrat Deb Haaland’s campaign is sounding the alarm after a Republican-backed poll showed New Mexico’s race for governor far closer than many political insiders expected. In a fundraising email sent Thursday afternoon, Haaland told supporters she had “just got our newest poll,” calling it “a tough one.” “It shows us

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. & New Mexico Political Report — State Senate Republicans want New Mexico’s Epstein Truth Commission to put two of the state’s most prominent Democrats under oath — gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury — and they’re warning the commission’s credibility is on

Pat Davis, The Paper. & New Mexico Political Report— A Sandia Pueblo plan to claim control over about 10,000 acres of national forest, wilderness and public recreation areas on the western slope of the Sandia Mountains – known as the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area – will not be

New Mexico Democrats have officially chosen Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard as their new lieutenant governor nominee, ending weeks of internal party maneuvering after Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver abruptly left the race. Garcia Richard announced Thursday morning that the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee had

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is facing new scrutiny after a report revealed his social media accounts posted New Mexico district content while he was actually traveling to Alaska on a privately sponsored backpacking trip tied to a conservation dark money group led by a Democratic mega-donor. The Santa Fe New

The weeks-long inter party fight to choose a lieutenant governor nominee ended just where the state Democrat Party’s gubernatorial nominee wanted it. With 477 votes cast from the party’s 500 State Central Committee members, outgoing Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard bested State Senator Harold Pope 53%-46%. The Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket

The New Mexico Court of Appeals denied an appeal by former New Mexico Republican Party treasurer and perennial candidate Kimberly Skaggs to be released from jail pending trial following her arrest for th the fatal hit-and-run death of a bicyclist in Doña Ana County. A district court judge had ordered

A controversial national Muslim advocacy group with a long history of alleged terror ties is praising Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester after the Catholic prelate issued a statement supporting a proposed mosque and community center in Albuquerque’s North Valley. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, released a statement

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) faces a lawsuit following the July incident of a 15-year-old U.S. citizen traveling alone toward the Mexican border. The state agency maintains that its decision to pursue reunification with the youth’s mother took legal precedence, while

All three of New Mexico’s Democrat members of the U.S. House voted against a bill to restrict congressional stock trading, even as public frustration grows over lawmakers profiting while in office. The House passed H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, on July 22 by a vote of 232-198. Every

If they're going to move the New Mexico presidential primary to February 15, 2008 instead of holding it late in the nominating cycle in June, how about a favorite son candidate (or is it favorite daughter now)? As the fourth state to go up to bat under a Democratic National

A 22-year-old former military man is behind bars after investigators say he stabbed his naked roommate more than two dozen times while the man slept inside an RV in Anthony, New Mexico. Alejandro Mustafat was arrested July 15 and booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center following the July

The Trump administration told a federal judge earlier this month that the Trump administration had deliberately canceled grants in “Blue States” who had awarded their electoral votes to Kamala Harris and/or “has two Democratic-caucusing Senators.” A number of grants to New Mexico energy projects were included, the government now admits.

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. New Mexico could leapfrog nearly every other state in choosing the next Democratic presidential nominee. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted Friday to recommend New Mexico as the fourth state to vote in the 2028 primary calendar, putting Hispanic, Native American and border-state voters

New Mexico’s troubled Children, Youth and Families Department is facing new outrage after a 15-year-old American citizen from Doña Ana County was reportedly removed from foster care, driven across state lines, and dropped off at an El Paso border crossing to reunite with his estranged mother in Mexico despite past

Sen. PopeThe race for lieutenant governor is revealing a much more aggressive left wing in the state Democratic party with important implications for economic policy should Deb Haaland become the next governor. The race for the number two spot features two leading hopefuls--term-limited State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard and

Gregg HullThe Gregg Hull ship has sprung another dangerous leak with DC pundits bailing out amid a developing financial crisis for the Republican gubernatorial nominee. The Cook Political Report has rerated his race with Democratic nominee Deb Haaland, taking it from "Likely Democratic" to "Solid Democratic." That is only going

Hull & HaalandThere will be no early start for Gregg Hull. The '26 GOP gubernatorial nominee is stuck in neutral following the first month of the campaign, lacking the financial muscle to engage Democrat Deb Haaland whose well-oiled money machine has already churned out over $13 million with more to

Haaland & Garcia RichardThere's little doubt that outgoing State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is highly likely to become the Democratic party's lieutenant governor nominee after securing the endorsement of gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland but things could still get messy. (Haaland video here.)Notably, the state Democratic party will not conduct

With Primary '26 in the books, we're taking a blogging break so posts will be occasional. To be notified via email whenever we add a post, subscribe to the blog by using the link on the right or at this link. Thanks for your continued interest. Now a final look

Deb Haaland blew the doors off Tuesday night, crafting a 72 to 28 percent landslide over rival Sam Bregman and securing the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. She now enters the general election campaign as the odds-on favorite against freshly-minted Republican nominee and former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull. All statewide

Our live, continuous Election Night coverage begins at 6:30 PM with complete results and in-depth analysis on KANW 89.1 FM and the live stream on KANW.COM. We look forward to having you with us as we continue this New Mexico public radio tradition.The executive editor of the ABQ Journal is

(Moore, ABQ Journal)Catch the stream of our KANW Election Eve Special today at 5 PM right here. There are the election results, and then there are the expectations that come with them. In the case of Deb Haaland, the outcome is widely expected to be a cause for celebration. However,

Amy BarelaChaos again engulfed the New Mexico Republican Party Wednesday as the GOP chair was removed from office by a state district court order. The ruling was a grim reminder to the party faithful of the steep climb ahead if they hope to rebuild a state GOP that has become

Katharine ClarkHard-hitting trial lawyer attacks on Dem Secretary of State candidate and Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark have been vociferous enough to generate reader questions as well as pushing out a theory behind those hits spearheaded by ABQ state Sen Katy Duhigg and her brother David Duhigg, both prominent

Missi CurrierWhile prominent players in the state's prosperous oil and gas business involve themselves in the Republican gubernatorial primary, the leader of their top industry group is throwing in the towel, declaring that a Republican cannot win in November and that the focus should switch to defeating progressive Deb Haaland

Journal editor & BregmanDeb Haaland's cancellation of a town hall appearance sponsored by the Albuquerque Journal prompted an emotional and harsh reaction from the newspaper's executive editor, who decried Haaland's refusal to answer questions as "terrifying" and warned that "we are going to be investigating her."The paper also ripped into

AG TorrezDemocratic Attorney General Raul Torrez has an easy path to re-election. He faces no primary opponent and no general election threat from Republican injury attorney Sam Kane of Las Cruces.That easy path isn't stopping Torrez, who served as BernCo District Attorney before becoming AG in 2023, from aggressively fund-raising.

Michael Perry (NYT)He's got them worried. That would be Republican state land commission candidate Michael Perry, the retired game warden of Roswell who has been flagged as perhaps the only statewide GOP candidate who may have a shot at upsetting a Democratic rival in November. The worry is spreading fast

Deb Haaland has made history by already raising a staggering $11 million for her gubernatorial bid. The contrast of that achievement with her lack of personal wealth is startling but may finally be changing. Haaland has authored a memoir tiled A Voice Like Mine that will be released following the

Independent voters are making a bit of history this election. We say a "bit" because even though this is the first time they are allowed to vote in the major party primaries, their expected impact and the attention being paid to them by the campaigns is negligible. That's because 10

Hull, Turner & RodriguezSometimes it seems no one really wants the Republican gubernatorial nomination. The campaign has been meek, underfunded and led by political unknowns laboring under the shadow of likely Democratic nominee Deb Haaland whose fund-raising machine could quickly consign the Republican nominee to the showers.The latest money reports

What a little money in the bank will do. Just ask Deb Haaland. In the latest campaign finance report covering April 7 through May 4 Haaland reported raising $869,000 and bringing her total for the campaign to just shy of $12 million. That's only about $1.5 million less than MLG

Hull, Turner and RodriguezGregg Hull is claiming that he now has the momentum in the chase for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and there are plenty of reasons to believe him.Hull scored an easy win (57 percent) at the March GOP preprimary convention, has led his two opponents convincingly in two

`Let’s catch up on more of that very early polling of the statewide races from the ABQ Journal and look for clues for the election outcome as well as future state policy. Most obviously, the race for the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination has essentially become non-competitive. Featuring outgoing Secretary of

Talk about a picture telling a thousand words. But what are the words to describe our fun-loving Governor fully embracing her diminutive stature and showing off a custom made jockey uniform at this past weekend's Kentucky Derby?We haven't had a caption contest in ages but this cries out for one

It's getting personal. For months Sam Bregman and Deb Haaland have approached each other gingerly, delivering soft jabs but with the gloves snugly over their fists. Now the gloves are coming off as Bregman grows increasingly frustrated with the course of the campaign and front-runner Haaland's multi-million dollar machine goes

Hull, Turner and RodriguezThe establishment candidate is establishing himself. So it goes in the muddled race for the '26 GOP gubernatorial nomination as former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull takes 30 percent of the vote in the ABQ Journal poll with Doug Turner at 21 percent and Duke Rodriguez at

Rep. Gail ArmstrongPolitical and academic circles were abuzz with speculation in February that billionaire businesswoman Meg Whitman was interested in becoming the next president of the University of New Mexico. We broke the story of her apparent interest on our February 4 blog but it was left unconfirmed. Now it

The president once boasted of New Mexico "Hispanics love me!" And for a time he did quite well with that critical voting block. Today? Not so much.The respectable six point Trump loss in Blue New Mexico in '24 is starting to seem like a distant memory. Polling today shows that

The least Trumpy of the three GOP governor candidates is not shy about cozying up to the president and his pals as the campaign enters its final frantic weeks and still with no clear front-runner.ABQ businessman Doug Turner, a longtime moderate, raised Republican eyebrows with his response when he was