SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez won reelection Tuesday 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.
Separately, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich won reelection to a third term in New Mexico, defeating Republican nominee Nella Domenici — the daughter of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete V. Domenici — in her first bid for public office.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic state lawmakers redrew congressional boundaries in 2021 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, 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 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.
In a post on the social platform X, Herrell expressed both disappointment and gratitude.
“The results tonight weren’t what we hoped for, but I’m so grateful to the incredible people of #NM02 for their support over the years,” Herrell said of voters in the state's 2nd Congressional District.
Vasquez became the first Democrat to win reelection since the 1970s to a seat that holds special significance for Republicans in New Mexico, amid a larger battle for majority control of Congress.
“In New Mexico it’s (the) Republican stronghold,” said Gabriel Sanchez, director of the University of New Mexico Center for Social Policy, in comments to KRQE. "This is their one chance to have representation in Congress out of the delegation for New Mexico. ... I think if he retains the seat now he will be hard to take out because as incumbents get longer traction it’s very hard to defeat them.”
The House district still includes portions of the oil-rich Permian Basin, and Herrell campaigned as a staunch advocate for the energy industry in the No. 2 state for petroleum production after Texas. Vasquez cast himself as an ally of oilfield workers, unsuccessfully proposing creation of a compensation fund for uninsured medical costs related to air pollution and heat-related illness in the industry.
On abortion access, Herrell has downplayed Congress’ role and says she would 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 Senate race, Heinrich won over voters while highlighting his work on infrastructure, energy policy and an expansion of national security spending at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He’s been an advocate for gun safety and voiced support for an overhaul of Senate filibuster rules that can be easily used to hinder or block votes.
Domenici, a former executive at hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, failed to gain traction while touting her business know-how and concerns about crime, inflation and public education.
She characterized the U.S.-Mexico border as a crisis of crime and drugs, and advocated for expanding alternatives to traditional public schools.
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 emphasized state rights and said she'd 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.
He was the longest serving New Mexico senator, who chaired powerful Senate budget and energy committees.
Morgan Lee, The Associated Press