The three Republicans running to be New Mexico’s next governor participated in a debate Friday morning, though two of them spent more time criticizing former U.S. Interior Secretary and Democratic candidate Deb Haaland than competing for their party’s nomination.
Two recent polls conducted by the Albuquerque Journal and Emerson College Polling/KRQE News 13 put former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull ahead of the pack in the Republican race against communications professional Doug Turner and former state cabinet secretary-turned cannabis CEO Duke Rodriguez. Both polls found many Republican voters remain undecided ahead of the June 2 primary election.
During the course of the debate, the three candidates often agreed on policies, such as reducing or eliminating taxation, boosting public safety and reforming education. One of the morning’s only deviations occurred when Hull and Rodriguez both rejected the use of labels such as MAGA to describe their Republican campaigns — Turner told the audience watching on YouTube and C-SPAN that he had “no apologies” to make for voting for President Donald Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Instead of going after each other’s policies, Turner and Rodriguez often drew contrasts between themselves and Haaland.
Turner said she has been “irresponsible” in promising voters that she’ll actively work against the Trump administration. Rodriguez said Haaland is “clearly” going to win the Democratic nomination against Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and that Republicans needed to unite behind a candidate who had a chance at defeating her in the Nov. 3 general election.
In addition to discussing the November election, the candidates responded to questions from journalists and audience members about working with a Democrat-majority Legislature Legislature, government spending and a private equity firm’s proposal to take over the state’s largest electric provider.
Running while Dems control the Roundhouse When asked how any of the three could win in November, considering that Republicans haven’t won election to a statewide seat in a decade, each candidate took a slightly different angle with their optimism.
Turner said he was “encouraged” by the fact that New Mexico has had plenty of Republican governors in recent memory, citing the Gary Johnson (1995-2003) and Susana Martinez (2011-2019) administrations.
Rodriguez said the advent of New Mexico’s new semi-open primaries, which for the first time allow independents to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary elections, will play an important role for a candidate like him who is representing “the middle.” Independents, also known as “decline to state” voters, represent an increasingly large voting block in New Mexico.
“Neither party can win on their own,” Rodriguez said.
Hull, Rio Rancho’s longest-serving mayor, said he saw himself as the perfect candidate to work across the aisle, since municipal offices are non-partisan by definition.
“You work with everybody across the political spectrum to solve problems on the ground level,” he said.
Government spending All three candidates advocated for “reining in” government spending. Rodriguez has a pending lawsuit against the state over its universal childcare program, which he alleges was instituted unlawfully. Both Hull and Turner said the program needs tweaking.
Turner said it needs “means testing” to make sure it prioritizes families who need it the most.
“There are people who can absolutely afford childcare and they need to pay for it,” he said.
Hull said he looked forward to a court decision on Rodriguez’s lawsuit so the next governor would have clarity on which portions of the program, if any, are on shaky legal ground.
“I think we have to look at that program very closely,” he said. “It looks like we snapped a football without any receivers downfield. There’s a lot of infrastructure that’s not in place.”
Public safety Candidates fielded multiple questions on boosting public safety and reducing violent crime across the state.
Hull touted Rio Rancho’s reputation on public safety and crime, adding that he believes law enforcement agencies have to participate in “community policing.” He said three of his children and four of his grandchildren have left New Mexico and when he asks if they’d ever move back, they cite concerns over education and crime.
“If people don’t feel safe in their communities…they’re going to go someplace where they do feel safe,” he said.
Turner said that addressing issues of child well-being and education are vital steps in addressing crime.
“We were 50th [in education] when Johnson was governor and we are 50th today,” he said. “Juvenile criminals typically grow up to be adult criminals.”
Rodriguez, who cited his background growing up in project housing and on food stamps, said state leaders need to address root cause problems, including poverty, addiction and mental health, if they want to see better public safety outcomes.
Private equity’s bid for PNMTurner was the lone candidate to endorse private equity firm Blackstone Infrastructure’s controversial bid to acquire PNM’s parent company. The deal, which is pending before state regulators, has become a hot-button issue as critics and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez raise questions about whether transactions between the companies have violated state law.
Turner said PNM clearly lacks the funding it needs to meet rising energy demands and that he sees upsides to the rapid cash infusion private equity would bring to the table.
“I think this is a good deal for New Mexicans. Blackstone is a fiduciary of billions and billions of dollars and it has interest to its own investors to make sure that the assets that it acquires are profitable,” he said. “I think it’s going to go through. I think it’s good for the state.”
Hull didn’t endorse or oppose the proposed acquisition, but said that if it goes through, state leaders need to make sure it does not adversely affect New Mexican ratepayers.
Rodriguez similarly didn’t take a stance for or against the proposal, but said that New Mexico officials often lack “the horsepower or the brainpower” to negotiate strong deals in cases like this. He likened it to Project Jupiter, the massive AI data center campus under construction in Doña Ana County, which he has previously said should provide public benefits such as water desalination plants in the arid region.
“It’s our duty to extract the most value out of that,” he said.
