KRQE News 13 projects Deb Haaland as winner of Democratic nomination for governor

KRQE News 13 projected Deb Haaland as the winner of the Democratic nomination for New Mexico governor shortly after polls closed in the 2026 primary election. Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo and 35th-generation New Mexican, defeated Sam Bregman, the only other candidate on the ballot. Haaland spent Election Day visiting voting sites and meeting constituents, with supporters expressing excitement about her potential historic win. Denicia Cadena, a voter, called Haaland’s potential governorship ‘incredible,’ emphasizing the need for more Indigenous leaders in New Mexico. Before her political career, Haaland served as a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo and on the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors. She ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014 before chairing the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. In 2018, Haaland became one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, and in 2020, President Joe Biden appointed her as Secretary of the Interior—the first Native American to hold a cabinet position in U.S. history. Haaland’s campaign focuses on expanding healthcare access for all New Mexicans and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. She opposes fracking on public lands but supports continued drilling in New Mexico. If elected, she would make history as the first Indigenous woman governor in the U.S.