This Fall, Southern New Mexicans will choose who will represent them in the U.S. Congress. The state’s second Congressional district is poised to be a hotspot for debates surrounding immigration and border policy, plus issues including climate change, oil drilling, and public safety.
Both Congressional District 2 candidates from last election cycle are uncontested in each of their respective primaries, paving the way for a rematch of the 2022 race.
At his campaign kickoff in Las Cruces, Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez cited a package of bills he introduced as his response to the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, and said he’s optimistic about the future of the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
“There’s a lot of really important national issues, but I want the people of the 2nd District of New Mexico to know that everything that I do in Washington, DC, is to improve their quality of life,” he said. “When you have a representative that shows up, that listens, that understands the issues that we’re facing, we can make this place a better place to live for all of our families. And so that’s my mission.”
Meanwhile, Republican challenger and former Congresswoman Yvette Herrell is preparing for a tight race. In 2022, Vasquez won the district by a margin of just over 1,000 votes, but Herrell believes this time around will be different.
“Over the last number of months, I’ve just been traveling all over the district, visiting with obviously new voters that are new in the district that I didn’t get a chance to meet last cycle, just listening to what New Mexicans have to say,” she said. “We need to get rid of politics and start thinking about the people that are trusting us to go up there, and make decisions. It’s [about] relationships. We’ve got to build relationships with people, and again, I can’t stress that enough. It has to be people over politics.”
And Herrell has supporters within the local party that echo this sentiment. Henry Young is the chair of the Doña Ana County Republican Party, as well as the executive director of the Gospel Rescue Mission in Las Cruces. He said that he’d like to see more political compromise at the national level.
“We can’t survive as a nation, as a state, or anything if we continue to be hardheaded. Because we’re all U.S. citizens and we need to work for the country rather than personal interests,” Young said. “What should happen is that people should look at the issue and vote based on the issues alone. Personality is secondary to the issue, or should be. And what I see is a lot of mudslinging, which I don’t like, and it needs to be issue driven rather than party or person.”
Vasquez also has plenty of supporters within his local party, including Carrie Hamblen. A Democratic New Mexico Senator herself and the President of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce, Hamblen said she sees a lot of voter apathy, especially in the younger generations, but hopes that the youth still make their voices heard in the upcoming elections.
“I understand the frustration that people may have with politics in Washington, DC. However, I would encourage people to continue to be part of the political process and to vote. And if they don’t see somebody with their values, to support somebody who does. But I feel that Gabe truly represents New Mexico.”
Hamblen went on to say that she feels Vasquez is the best candidate due to the congressman’s accessibility to the local communities, especially in rural areas of the state.
“Your legislators, your congressmen, your senators, should be somebody that you can approach in a store and have a conversation about. Gabe is one of those people. And if you want to continue that access to your legislators, both in the federal level and in the local level, continue to support those folks that are in office now.”
As both parties fight for a Congressional majority in Washington, both campaigns are ramping up fundraising efforts, with Herrell’s campaign’s raising over $1.6 million, while Vasquez’s team raised just over $2.6 million in that same time period. That’s according to data from the Federal Election Commission, from January of 2023 to March of 2024.
With the general election drawing closer, the future trajectory of Southern New Mexico rests in the hands of voters, drawing from debates that will likely resonate at the national level.
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