Senate District 40

Martin Heinrich is running for re-election to the US Senate. He has held the position since 2013, and serves as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and previously as chairman of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittee. 

Previously, Heinrich represented New Mexico's 1st Congressional District from 2009-13 and also served as an Albuquerque City Councilor, and Council President, from 2004-08. He has also run his own public affairs firm, led a nonprofit focused on educating young people on the environment and science, served on the executive committee of the Sierra Club's Rio Grande Chapter, and was appointed by NM Governor Bill Richardson to be the state's Natural Resources Trustee. 

Heinrich’s priorities include land conservation and protecting agriculture, ranching, and food systems, investing in infrastructure via rebuilding roads/bridges, expanding access to clean drinking water, and increasing high-speed internet access, protecting civil liberties and individual freedoms, expanding education, healthcare, and wellness programs, and leading efforts to grow jobs and the economy via renewable and clean energy.

His track record includes championing reproductive rights and healthcare – he advanced legislation protecting access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), contraception, and abortion, and co-sponsored Medicare-For-All legislation in 2017. He is a strong supporter of civil rights and was an original cosponsor of 2009 legislation to repeal the ban on gay marriage. Heinrich has advocated for and passed common sense gun safety laws, expanded health care access for veterans in both urban and rural areas, and led efforts to expand and invest in mental/behavioral services including specifically addressing the opioid/fentanyl public health crisis. 

Heinrich is also well known for his work supporting clean/renewable energy jobs and protecting the environment and public lands. He co-sponsored the Green New Deal in 2019, which would establish net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and led efforts to establish Columbine-Hondo Wilderness in the Carson National Forest, the creation of the Rio Grande Del Norte and Organ Mountains Desert-Peaks National Monuments, creating the Sabinoso Wilderness, expanded public access to the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Passed the Great American Outdoors Act to address billions of dollars of deferred maintenance on public lands, and designating White Sands as a National Park.

Martin Heinrich is being challenged by Nella Domenici. Domenici is the daughter of former US Senator Pete Domenici, who served from 1973 to 2009. Previously, she worked as CFO for Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and has also worked for Citadel and Credit Suisse. Domenici’s stated priorities include increasing oil and gas extraction while reducing regulations, spending more on border security and law enforcement, and lowering taxes. Additionally, on the topic of reproductive health, while she has labeled herself as moderate via TV ads, Domenici has donated close to $20K to extreme anti-abortion candidates, including Yvette Herrell and Mark Ronchetti in New Mexico, Adam Laxalt in Nevada, and her former Bridgewater CEO Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania. 

We highly recommend Martin Heinrich for US Senate based on his clear and consistent record of protecting civil and individual rights, investing in infrastructure, spurring sustainable economic growth and renewable/clean energy jobs, and championing public lands and the environment, which are essential to New Mexico’s heritage, traditions, and economy. 
 

Melanie Stansbury is running for re-election to New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. She has held the position since 2021, and serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Before serving in Congress, Stansbury served in the NM State Legislature as House District 28 Representative from 2019-21. Previously, she worked as a STEM Educator and researcher on land and water issues across New Mexico, and as a staffer for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the White House Office of Management and Budget. She is a graduate of Cornell University, Saint Mary's College of California, and Cibola High School. 

Stansbury’s priorities include addressing the climate crisis through renewable energy and protection of natural resources, economic opportunity via fair wages, workplace protections, and supporting small businesses, increased access to healthcare including Medicaid expansion and protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and investing in public education including early childhood programs, higher education, and workforce development. 

Her track record includes: passing legislation promoting renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, working to increase funding for public education and early childhood programs, supporting bills expanding Medicaid coverage and protecting healthcare access for vulnerable populations, collaborating with local businesses and organizations to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

Melanie Stansbury is being challenged by Steve Jones. Jones describes himself as a graduate of the University of Houston, certified Public Accountant, retired Army Medic, and has also worked as a CFO and investor in the energy sector. His stated priorities are to improve the economy by lowering taxes and reducing government spending, spend more on border security, and protect the 2nd Amendment by promoting education and training while opposing any legislative or regulatory action. 

We highly recommend Melanie Stansbury for US Congressional District 1 based on her unique blend of scientific expertise and policy experience, and her track record on climate action, economic opportunity, healthcare access, education, and her close alignment with New Mexican values.
 

Teresa Leger Fernandez is running for re-election to New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District. She has held the position since 2021, and serves on the House Rules Committee, House Committee on Natural Resources, House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and is Vice Chair of the Congressional Democratic Women’s Caucus and a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Previously, Fernandez was Founder & Primary Counsel at Leger Law & Strategy where her focus areas included impact litigation, community project financing, civil and voting rights, and tribal law. Prior to that, she worked as a General Counsel for Nordhaus Law, specializing in representing Native American sovereign entities and their business and social development entities. She has also served as a Clinton and Obama presidential appointee, White House Fellow on housing issues, Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and as an acequia commission in Northern NM. Fernandez is a graduate of Yale University, received her law degree from Stanford Law School, and was born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico, 

Fernandez’ priorities include supporting local economies by improving access to education and job training programs, protecting and expanding access to affordable healthcare, particularly in rural areas, addressing the opioid epidemic by investing in mental/behavioral health programs, and building sustainable economic growth through investments in renewable energy, infrastructure, and small businesses. 

Her track record includes sponsoring or co-sponsoring legislation to return water rights and management to the Pueblo of Zuni, improve emergency obstetric services and training for rural areas, get unhoused disabled veterans into housing built exclusively for them on veteran land, and increase access to mental/behavioral programs for the opioid/fentanyl public health crisis. Additionally, Fernandez has advocated for a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and clean energy jobs, Medicare for All, and to ban the sale of weapons of war including semi-automatic rifles. She also supports the DREAM Act, comprehensive immigration reform, and has advanced legislation to reinforce Native American communities in access to credit/finance as well as investing in Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to increase homeownership for tribal communities in rural areas.

Teresa Leger Fernandez is being challenged by Sharon E. Clahchischilliage. Clahchischilliage is a member of the NM Public Education Commission and served in the NM Legislature as the House District 4 representative from 2013-18. She has also worked as a special education teacher and for the Navajo Nation, and was nominated/appointed by George W. Bush and Heather Wilson to executive branch roles. While there is limited information on her priorities and proposed policy, her website states that she is focused on private lands issues, agriculture, and education. 

We highly recommend Teresa Leger Fernandez for US Congressional District 3 based on her close collaboration with our state’s tribes, nations, and pueblos, commitment to public service, and track record of investing in education, expanding healthcare access, and creating economic opportunities for all New Mexican families.
 

Amina Everett is running in the General Election for Senate District 40 against incumbent Republican Craig Brandt. Everett moved to New Mexico after retiring from the Illinois state government where she was an administrator for programs in the areas of conservation and social services, including emergency food assistance and medical care. Her leadership and volunteer experience in Rio Rancho includes completing the Rio Rancho Citizens Police Academy, serving as a board member of Rebuilding Together Sandoval County, member of the Rio Rancho Players Community Theater, and as Treasurer of the Rio Rancho Northwest Mesa NAACP. Everett grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated with a BA in Psychology and MBA from the University of North Carolina.

Everett’s passion to run for Senate District 40 comes from her experience growing up in St. Louis, MO, where she watched her parents work hard to support their family of six, and where she and her younger brother shared the challenge of being the first students of color to integrate an all-white elementary school. Her priorities include reproductive freedom, access to healthcare, quality of life, public safety, and public infrastructure.

She supports increasing the state’s minimum wage to $15/hr and ensuring cost of living increases are built into all job/wage levels. Additionally, she supports reproductive freedom and increasing access to free and affordable healthcare in both city and rural areas. Everett is also in favor of modernizing the legislature, continuing to increase access to voting and elections, and enhancing environmental protections for working families, including a one mile or more setback to protect children who live near oil and gas production facilities. She also supports the development of renewable energy and green businesses.

Everett is running against Republican incumbent Craig W Brandt. Brandt has held the position since 2013 and serves as the Minority Whip. His vote record over the last decade has demonstrated his misalignment with New Mexican values. Brant has regularly voted against increases in funding for educational programs, reproductive rights and abortion access, increases to the minimum wage, expanded healthcare coverage and access,and environmental protections. He has also consistently spread misinformation about immigration and other disinformation narratives on his social media profiles.

We recommend Amina Everett for Senate District 40 based on her stated priorities, experience navigating government and policy, and her leadership/volunteer work in the community.

Frank Smith Jr. is challenging Republican incumbent Alan Martinez in the General Election for House District 23. Smith currently owns a small business providing rental equipment for first responders. His past experience also includes working in the automotive industry, as owner/manager of a brew pub, and serving honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps where he enlisted and rose to become a Sergeant and then Marine Drill Instructor. He also volunteers as a member of the NM Veterans and Military Families Caucus advocating on behalf of Active-Duty Military Members, Veterans, and their families. Smith is a graduate of Manzano High School, UNM, and earned a law degree from the Santa Clara School of Law.

Smith is motivated to run for House District 23 by his personal experience in the legislature lobbying for a veteran suicide prevention bill, and seeing the current representative skip a hearing because of party politics. His policy priorities include economic growth through creating jobs, employing skills training programs, and support of small businesses and educational opportunities through increasing funding to public schools. Smith will also support public safety initiatives that are comprehensive of community policing and mental health resources as well as increasing access to health care through ensuring access in rural communities, protecting reproductive rights, and healthcare workforce development.

Frank Smith Jr. is challenging the Republican Incumbent, Alan Martinez, who has served in the position since 2022. Martinez has repeatedly voted against policies that serve New Mexican families, including voting against funds for Ruidoso wildfire and flood relief victims in the summer 2024 special session. In the 2024 regular session, he voted against Paid Family Medical Leave, prohibiting firearms at polling locations, establishing clean energy standards, reducing State Income Tax Rates, and establishing a waiting period for firearm purchases. In the 2023 session, he voted against establishing state protections for abortion and gender affirming care, appropriating funds for environmental and cultural preservation, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, the voting rights act, and establishing negligently leaving a firearm accessible to a minor as a crime.

We recommend Frank Smith Jr. for House District 23 based on his stated priorities, work experience, and track record of advocating for veterans in the round house.

Kathleen Cates is running for re-election in the General Election for House District 44. She has served in the legislature since 2023, and is currently a member of the Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources, Health & Human Services, and House Enrolling & Engrossing committee.

Cates works as a Real Estate Broker, and previously worked in the nonprofit sector as CEO and President of LifeROOTS for 10 years, and prior to that in a manager role at Goodwill Industries, as well as running her own business.

She is motivated to run for re-election for House District 44 by a passion for using her background in policy and operations to protect civil rights, support working families, and fix policies and processes that hinder small businesses and homeowners. Her stated priorities include increasing investment in education and child care, affordable housing, diversifying the state’s economy with a focus on hospitality/tourism, film, and clean energy, protecting LGBTQ+ New Mexicans and New Mexicans with a disability, and she also supports modernizing the legislature with salaries and paid staff as well as moving to instant runoff/ranked choice voting.

Cates’ record includes co-sponsoring bills investing in affordable housing (SB216), requiring menstrual products in public schools (HB134), and increased apprenticeships in the trades including expanding into electric vehicles, health care and teaching (HB5). She also voted in favor of Paid Family Medical Leave, protections for abortion and gender affirming healthcare (SB13), requiring health insurance companies to reimburse for mental health coverage (SB273), establishing state clean energy standards (HB41), and the New Mexico Voting Rights Act.

We highly recommend Kathleen Cates for House District 44 based on her stated positions and track record of supporting human rights, responsible economic development, and New Mexican families.

Michelle Sandoval is running for the open seat in the General Election for House District 57. Born and raised in Rio Rancho, Sandoval currently works as a Professional Staff Assistant to Production Support Services, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and previously worked as Senior Administrative Assistant at the Sandoval County Treasurer’s Office and as Teller Supervisor at Bank of the West. Sandoval has a history of organizing and civic engagement, including founding the Eco-Warrior organization, which engages high school students in community clean-up projects. She is a graduate of Cleveland High School and the University of New Mexico. 

Sandoval’s priorities include investing in affordable housing and down payment initiatives, reinforcing education/public schools by supporting teacher development and promoting early childhood programs, ensuring affordable healthcare by protecting and expanding Medicaid, reducing prescription drug costs and expanding community health clinics, and driving sustainable economic growth across the state by supporting small businesses and promoting renewable energy initiatives and clean energy jobs. Additionally, she supports Paid Family Medical leave, and would focus on public safety by funding overloaded courts to ensure consistency and accountability, increased mental health and drug treatment programs, and supporting diversion and reentry programs to stop repeat offenders.

Sandoval also supports professionalizing the legislature, and points to her own experience as a young mother taking on the demands of work, family, and being in an elected office without compensation. As a younger candidate, Sandoval seeks to increase youth engagement and encourage more young people to vote and become engaged with the political process. 

Michelle Sandoval is being challenged by Catherine Cullen for House District 57. Cullen works as a realtor and served eight years as a member of the Rio Rancho School Board. She is running on a platform that includes “tough-on-crime” policies with mandatory sentencing requirements, increased penalties, and expanded law enforcement. She also has stated that she does not support Paid Family Medical Leave or increasing minimum wage. She also does not support expanding regulations to protect air, land, and water in the state. 

We highly recommend Michelle Sandoval for House District 57 based on her commitment to affordable housing, safe and accessible healthcare, and diversifying New Mexico’s economy to lift all families up. 
 

Luke Jungmann is running against incumbent Joshua Hernandez in the General Election for House District 60. He works as a Senior Software Engineer for Mapware, and previously worked as a Software Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. He was born and raised in New Mexico, and is a graduate of Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico Tech, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Jungmann is motivated to run for House District 60 based on his experience in student government in high school and dedication to public service. After seeing Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson expelled from the Tennessee Legislature for attempting to pass common sense gun reform he was moved to action, became active in local Democratic meetings, and subsequently decided to run for office.

Jungmann’s priorities include focusing on enshrining the right to access abortion care in New Mexico’s constitution and ensuring the right to privacy of anyone who might have to travel to the state to ensure that care as well. Additionally, he supports a Just Transition and increased renewable energy and clean energy jobs, as well as incentivising modernization of building methods to help people save money and energy. He also supports making healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone in the state and attracting more healthcare workers to New Mexico to ensure quality medical care.

We highly recommend Luke Jungmann for House District 60 based on his drive to ensure safe and affordable healthcare for every New Mexican, address the climate crisis and spur clean energy jobs, and his support for teachers and education.