Across the country, including in oil and gas producing states like New Mexico and Colorado, affordability and energy costs are becoming defining political issues ahead of the 2026 midterms.

That makes New Mexico’s governors race a major test case, where the contest is increasingly becoming a debate over affordability, state revenues, and the future of the oil and natural gas industry – putting former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s federal record and positions against domestic energy production under renewed scrutiny.

As Politico highlights:

“Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee, has a history of opposing fossil fuel production both in Congress and as former President Joe Biden’s Interior secretary. But she isn’t directly attacking the oil industry during her run for governor, saying she wants good-paying jobs and cleaner “extractive” industries.” 

The delicate balance Haaland is attempting to strike highlights that the industry is no small issue in New Mexico. Oil and natural gas are a central pillar of the state economy, the state budget, public education, early childhood programs, and the social services citizens literally rely on every day.

As Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., told Politico:

“The state relies on the industry’s tax and royalty payments, which can account for 25 to 30 percent of general fund revenue.” 

Haaland’s opponent Greg Hull is already leaning into that contrast, pledging to streamline permitting and warning that Haaland’s past statements and federal record make New Mexicans nervous:

“Whenever you talk about diminishing, declining, or you know, flat out eliminating that industry in the state of New Mexico, it puts everybody on edge because it employs tens of thousands of people.”

And as Missi Currier, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association’s president puts it:

“Secretary Haaland’s record on energy policy raises important questions for New Mexico, where oil and natural gas production is not a side issue, but central to our economy, our state budget, and the services New Mexicans rely on every day. The next governor will have a direct role in determining whether New Mexico remains a national energy leader or makes it harder to invest, produce, and create jobs here.”

Haaland Is Running From Her Own Record

As EID has documented, Haaland’s record is littered with examples of policies that made energy less affordable.

Before joining the Biden administration, Haaland opposed fracking on public lands and supported the Green New Deal. As Interior Secretary, she helped oversee one of the most restrictive federal leasing agendas in modern history, despite 54 percent of New Mexico’s oil production occurring on federal lands.

Haaland helped implement a series of policies that collectively made federal oil and gas development more difficult and more expensive—including pausing leasing, offering significantly less acreage for lease sales, increasing royalty rates, raising bonding requirements, imposing new fees and maintaining a steady backlog of Approved Permits to Drill (APDs).

In fact, the amount of new acreage leased under Haaland’s leadership from 2022 to 2024 was only 5,834 acres or about 7 percent of the new acreage in New Mexico in 2021 – a carryover from the Trump administration.

Moreover, Haaland’s decision to withdraw roughly 336,000 acres of public lands and federal mineral estate around Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil and gas leasing and mining claims for 20 years triggered massive local opposition, including from Navajo leaders:

“The Chapters recognize the detrimental economic impact to the Navajo allottees should a buffer zone of any size be imposed around Chaco Canyon. If a buffer zone is adopted, the Navajo allottees who rely on the income realized from oil and gas royalties will be pushed into greater poverty.”

The Activist Network Questions Are Not Going Away

Haaland’s record is also complicated by questions about activist influence during her time at Interior.

Pueblo Action Alliance, a New Mexico based environmental organization that employed Haaland’s daughter in recent years, has a long record of opposing federal energy leasing in New Mexico. Press reports connected the group to a 2021 riot at the Department of the Interior that resulted in injuries to security personnel, including one officer being hospitalized, along with 55 arrests.

In 2023 those concerns prompted House Natural Resources Committee Republicans to seek records related to Haaland’s interactions with Pueblo Action Alliance, her daughter Somah Haaland, Chaco-related decisions, and oil and gas leasing issues. The committee criticized Interior’s response to the records request, calling it inadequate in 2024:

“For example, significant gaps in the production regarding ex parte communications among Secretary Haaland, her family, DOI, and the PAA exist. The insufficient productions and refusal from Secretary Haaland and DOI to substantively reply to the Committee’s requests exacerbate concerns about the relationship between Secretary Haaland and the PAA.”

BOTTOM LINE: Throughout the campaign, Haaland has emphasized “balance” and support for good-paying jobs. But New Mexicans also have nearly four years of her record as Interior Secretary to evaluate. With oil and natural gas providing billions in state revenue and funding essential public services in the state, voters will ultimately decide whether her campaign rhetoric aligns with the policies she previously pursued – or whether they prefer a different vision for New Mexico’s energy future.