NM Native Vote Endorsements

Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican and enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo, and made history as the first Native American Cabinet Secretary serving as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 2021 to 2025. She was also one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Haaland grew up in a military family, faced homelessness and financial insecurity as a single mother, and relied on SNAP food benefits and Planned Parenthood for healthcare while building a career in public service.

Haaland has deep roots in New Mexico community organizing, having chaired the New Mexico Democratic Party (2015-2017), served as tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo, and serving as the first woman on the board of the Laguna Development Corporation.

During Haaland’s tenure in Congress (2019-2021), she established herself as a steadfast progressive champion, voting yes on every major priority for working families and marginalized communities. She supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to strengthen labor unions, the American Rescue Plan to expand healthcare access and economic relief, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address systemic racism in law enforcement. Haaland consistently fought for civil rights by voting for the Equality Act protecting LGBTQ+ communities, the For the People Act to protect voting rights, and bipartisan background check legislation for gun safety. She co-sponsored transformative legislation including the Green New Deal to address climate justice, Medicare for All to guarantee healthcare as a human right, and the MORE Act to decriminalize marijuana and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

As the first Native American Cabinet Secretary leading the Department of the Interior (2021-2025), Haaland continued her progressive legacy by launching the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to address historical trauma, creating protections for 55 million acres of tribal lands, and prioritizing environmental justice for frontline communities. Her record demonstrates unwavering commitment to economic justice, racial equity, Indigenous sovereignty, and climate action—making her a proven leader who delivers for working families and our planet.

Haaland’s plans for Governor of New Mexico include expanding healthcare access through a public option, creating clean energy jobs, raising the minimum wage to $15, investing in public education and debt-free college, protecting women's reproductive rights, and addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

We highly recommend Deb Haaland in the Democratic Primary for governor, based on her deep roots in New Mexico, her work in Congress and as Secretary of Interior, and her detailed plans to improve healthcare, create living wage jobs, and increase educational access.

Amanda López Askin is the current Doña Ana County Clerk, a position she has held since 2018 when she was appointed by county commissioners just before the midterm elections. She has since won two elections to keep the seat in 2020 and 2024. She is also presently serving her second term as a board member on the New Mexico Counties Board of Directors. She is endorsed by current New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

Born and raised in Las Cruces by a hardworking single mother who relied on public housing assistance to provide a stable life for her children, López Askin became a therapist and dedicated herself to helping kids in foster care before entering public service. She holds a master's degree in marriage and family therapy and a PhD in educational leadership from New Mexico State University.

As County Clerk, López Askin has led one of New Mexico's most diverse counties through challenging elections, dealing with extremists, election deniers, and litigation—including a death threat from former Republican candidate Solomon Peña prior to his arrest for organizing drive-by shootings at Democratic politicians' homes. She has stated she is "battle-tested" and will bring her lived and professional experience to serve all New Mexicans.

López Askin’s priorities include protecting voting rights against federal overreach, ensuring elections remain safe and secure, providing transparency in campaign finance, and supporting New Mexico's businesses. She was also the only County Clerk to publicly support SB 264 during the 2026 State Legislative session which banned federal law enforcement agents from being on site at New Mexico polling locations.

We highly recommend Amanda López Askin for Secretary of State based on her experience running safe and secure elections, advocating for policies that improve access to voting, and her experience in tallying and auditing complicated elections.

Lori Martinez is running in the Democratic Primary for House District 37. The incumbent, Joanne Ferrary, chose not to run again.

Martinez grew up near Farmington before moving to Las Cruces in 1998 to attend New Mexico State University, where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Social Work. Following graduation, she worked at NMSU for 9 years before joining Ngage New Mexico, overseeing the Social Work Services program and Aggie Cupboard food pantry under Counseling and Campus Health. In March 2017, she joined Ngage New Mexico as Assistant Director and went on to become Executive Director in November 2017, a position she has held for 9 years. In 20+ years as a social worker in Southern New Mexico, she has focused on early intervention providing family therapy and social work services, early childhood education, mental health counseling, case management, program development, hunger/food insecurity services, and inpatient psychiatric services.

As a first-time candidate, Martinez has expressed interest in serving on the House Education Committee. Her career as a social worker has largely existed at the intersection of education and mental health, and she believes this is where she can be significantly effective. She describes herself as someone who knows how systems work and has spent her career pushing for changes to make them more user-friendly and accessible for clients and families.

Her policy priorities include affordability and the economy, in particular investing in small businesses and people, not just large corporations, as well as increasing access to healthcare providers and specialists and exploring a single-payer/universal health care system. She is also an advocate for paid family medical leave and has identified it as critical to ensure family health, workforce stability, and as a workforce recruitment tool. Martinez also supports legislator pay and accountability, so that New Mexico no longer limits service in the state legislature to only people who are wealthy or retired.

We recommend Lori Martinez for House District 37 based on her policy priorities and significant background in family stability, education, and healthcare.

Daisy Maldonado is running for Doña Ana County Commission District 1. Maldonado grew up in Doña Ana County in a working-class family—her father was a mechanic for the City of El Paso and her mother was a caseworker at a state mental health facility. After losing her mother at age 22 to lupus complications, she refocused her life on public service, studying government and economics to understand the systems that determine who thrives and who struggles. She has spent more than a decade working alongside colonia residents and working families in Doña Ana County and Las Cruces.

Maldonado has dedicated 10+ years to community organizing and individual advocacy, helping residents navigate government systems to secure basic needs like roads, health clinics, street lights, and clean water. She has consistently shown up in government rooms to amplify voices of community members who have been left out of decision-making processes, serving as a bridge between community and government to ensure those most affected by policies have a real voice.

Her policy priorities focus on the basics that affect everyday life in District 1. She supports economic development that creates skilled, living-wage jobs in trades, agriculture, and infrastructure while keeping young people in Doña Ana County. Additionally, she is widely recognized for her ongoing focus on protecting water supplies for residents and farmers, demanding transparent water impact assessments before large development approvals, and prioritizing infrastructure investments for colonia communities.

Maldonado’s plans also include road maintenance based on safety and need rather than politics, comprehensive emergency response in rural areas, and closing the broadband gap. She also champions transparency and accountability, calling for meaningful community consultation processes that reach residents in their neighborhoods and language before votes are cast.

We highly recommend Daisy Maldonado for Dona Ana County Commission District 1 based on her experience working directly with the community and government on progressive policy changes for more than a decade.

Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican and enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo, and made history as the first Native American Cabinet Secretary serving as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 2021 to 2025. She was also one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Haaland grew up in a military family, faced homelessness and financial insecurity as a single mother, and relied on SNAP food benefits and Planned Parenthood for healthcare while building a career in public service.

Haaland has deep roots in New Mexico community organizing, having chaired the New Mexico Democratic Party (2015-2017), served as tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo, and serving as the first woman on the board of the Laguna Development Corporation.

During Haaland’s tenure in Congress (2019-2021), she established herself as a steadfast progressive champion, voting yes on every major priority for working families and marginalized communities. She supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to strengthen labor unions, the American Rescue Plan to expand healthcare access and economic relief, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address systemic racism in law enforcement. Haaland consistently fought for civil rights by voting for the Equality Act protecting LGBTQ+ communities, the For the People Act to protect voting rights, and bipartisan background check legislation for gun safety. She co-sponsored transformative legislation including the Green New Deal to address climate justice, Medicare for All to guarantee healthcare as a human right, and the MORE Act to decriminalize marijuana and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

As the first Native American Cabinet Secretary leading the Department of the Interior (2021-2025), Haaland continued her progressive legacy by launching the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to address historical trauma, creating protections for 55 million acres of tribal lands, and prioritizing environmental justice for frontline communities. Her record demonstrates unwavering commitment to economic justice, racial equity, Indigenous sovereignty, and climate action—making her a proven leader who delivers for working families and our planet.

Haaland’s plans for Governor of New Mexico include expanding healthcare access through a public option, creating clean energy jobs, raising the minimum wage to $15, investing in public education and debt-free college, protecting women's reproductive rights, and addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

We highly recommend Deb Haaland in the Democratic Primary for governor, based on her deep roots in New Mexico, her work in Congress and as Secretary of Interior, and her detailed plans to improve healthcare, create living wage jobs, and increase educational access.

Amanda López Askin is the current Doña Ana County Clerk, a position she has held since 2018 when she was appointed by county commissioners just before the midterm elections. She has since won two elections to keep the seat in 2020 and 2024. She is also presently serving her second term as a board member on the New Mexico Counties Board of Directors. She is endorsed by current New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

Born and raised in Las Cruces by a hardworking single mother who relied on public housing assistance to provide a stable life for her children, López Askin became a therapist and dedicated herself to helping kids in foster care before entering public service. She holds a master's degree in marriage and family therapy and a PhD in educational leadership from New Mexico State University.

As County Clerk, López Askin has led one of New Mexico's most diverse counties through challenging elections, dealing with extremists, election deniers, and litigation—including a death threat from former Republican candidate Solomon Peña prior to his arrest for organizing drive-by shootings at Democratic politicians' homes. She has stated she is "battle-tested" and will bring her lived and professional experience to serve all New Mexicans.

López Askin’s priorities include protecting voting rights against federal overreach, ensuring elections remain safe and secure, providing transparency in campaign finance, and supporting New Mexico's businesses. She was also the only County Clerk to publicly support SB 264 during the 2026 State Legislative session which banned federal law enforcement agents from being on site at New Mexico polling locations.

We highly recommend Amanda López Askin for Secretary of State based on her experience running safe and secure elections, advocating for policies that improve access to voting, and her experience in tallying and auditing complicated elections.