Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and now candidate for New Mexico governor in the 2026 Deb Haaland speaks to a packed house Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens in Los Alamos. After addressing the audience, Haaland invited everyone present to line up for an opportunity to speak to her one by one and have a photo taken with them. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Deb Haaland, center, with Sandy Tobin, left, and Joyce Nickols, right. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Democratic Party of Los Alamos County Chair Andrea Determan speaks prior to Deb Haaland’s arrival at Cottonwood on the Greens Sunday afternoon. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
The meeting room continues to fill Sunday afternoon prior to Deb Haaland’s arrival. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Deb Haaland speaks during Sunday afternoon’s event. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Cynthia Wheeler of Santa Fe, head of 285ALL, left, speaks with Deb Haaland. Wheeler is a community activist whose group has concerns about transportation of nuclear material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Waiting to greet Deb Haaland Sunday afternoon, are, from left, former Los Alamos County Councilor Denise Derkacs, Amy Storey, Kyle Wheeler, Mike Wheeler and Pat Beck. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard introduces Deb Haaland Sunday afternoon in Los Alamos. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Jeannie Gibson speaks with Deb Haaland at Sunday’s meet and greet. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Ann LePage chats with Deb Haaland at Sunday afternoon’s meet and greet. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
HAALAND CAMPAIGN NEWS RELEASE
On Sunday, Deb Haaland held a meet and greet at Cottonwood on the Greens in Los Alamos on the 16th stop of her 19-stop launch tour around the state. Haaland spoke to attendees about supporting schools and teachers, climate issues, and advocating for federal employees amidst mass layoffs.
“The system isn’t working for us. And it hasn’t been. But together, we can change that. That’s why I’m running to be your next governor,” said Haaland. “I’ve challenged the system in every position I served in, and I’ve delivered.”
Haaland was joined by more than 200 community members from around the area. Thousands of New Mexicans have attended events with Haaland since she announced her campaign in early February.
Haaland launched her campaign with a video highlighting her commitment to lowering costs, addressing crime, and promoting healthy communities. Since then, more than 80 local leaders and organizations have endorsed Haaland for governor. This coming weekend, she will complete her listening tour with stops in Carlsbad, Roswell, and Ruidoso.
DEB HAALAND COURTESY BIO
Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, a small businesswoman, a working mother who’s lived paycheck to paycheck, a former congresswoman, and for the past four years, the United States Secretary of the Interior.
Like many New Mexicans, Deb has faced challenges, like homelessness and financial insecurity. Deb helped pay for her child’s preschool by volunteering at the school for discounted tuition. She relied on food stamps to put food on the table and Planned Parenthood for essential care. But like so many New Mexicans, struggle made her fierce. Deb’s resilience enabled her to achieve over three decades of sobriety and build a remarkable career in public service.
Deb was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior with strong bipartisan support and is the first Native American cabinet secretary in our nation’s history. As Secretary, she led nearly 70,000 federal employees and worked tirelessly for New Mexicans, securing and supporting thousands of New Mexico jobs, historic local clean energy development, and overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in the state. She played a pivotal role in protecting 13.5 million acres of land in New Mexico, partnering with rural communities and Tribal Nations to preserve natural resources for fishing, ranching, recreation, and more. As someone who grew up in a rural community, Deb partnered with New Mexico’s rural towns and villages to secure clean water and address their biggest challenges.
While raising her child, Somah, as a single mom, Deb picked up catering gigs and ran her own small business producing and canning salsa. As a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo and member of the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, Deb successfully advocated for changes that supported small businesses while protecting our land and water. She wanted to make a difference for working New Mexicans like her and started to get involved in registering people to vote. In 2018, Deb made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress.
In Congress, Deb prioritized issues important to New Mexicans, including creating local clean energy jobs, securing billions for small businesses and restaurants during the pandemic, expanding access to broadband, addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and protecting thousands of acres of New Mexico’s land. She was known for working across the aisle to deliver for New Mexico, securing more bipartisan cosponsors for her legislation than all House freshmen in 2019, and introducing six bills signed into law by President Donald Trump—among the most of any member of the House that Congress.
Growing up in a military family, Deb attended 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque. At age 28, she began her journey toward a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico and later a J.D. from UNM Law School.