We live in a state that is covered with major problems. When a voter goes into the voting booth he or she should have considered and decided which candidate would best help solve the state’s problems.
You know the problems, but here are examples. In 2025 New Mexico had the nation’s highest property crime rate and the nation’s second highest violent crime rate. a In 2024 New Mexico had the nation’s lowest rate of 4th grade reading proficiency (20%) and the nation’s lowest rate of 8th grade reading proficiency (19%).b That year our state also had the nation’s lowest rate of 4th grade math proficiency (23/%) and the nation’s lowest rate of 8th grade math proficiency (14%).c In 2026 New Mexico has the nation’s third highest poverty rate (18.4%) as a percentage of the population. Footnote:g
Unnecessary regulations slow economic growth and make doing business difficult. This reduces job availability and entrepreneurial willingness to invest in an enterprise in the state. New Mexico tied for dead last nationally for regulatory reform progress. h And, in terms of Economic Freedom in 2023, New Mexico ranked worse than any other state. i Does that affect job creation here in the state? In August of 2026 New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate was 48th out of the 50 states. f
And, of course, one can’t leave a list of New Mexico problems without mentioning healthcare. The state suffers from doctor deficiency. Doctors and medical institutions find it difficult here and leave the state. Footnte :d Their insurance is extremely expensive here because of unreasonably high tort litigation recoveries. The system is contorted in favor to tort-law-attorneys and against doctors and medical institutions. So, doctors leave the state and tort -law-attorneys flood in. Look at the billboards along our highways.
So which candidate is more likely to correct these problems?
New Mexico has been governed by progressives for several years, and Democrat Deb Haaland is the “progressive” candidate. Footnote:j She has called for raising the minimum wage. Footnote:k Will that help create more jobs here? As a member of Congress, she supported the Green New Deal. l She then opposed hydraulic fracturing on public lands. Footnote:n She later suggested that New Mexico would not be hurt by this because, she thought, most oil production in this state comes from private land. Footnote: n In fact, most oil production here comes from public lands. She supports New Mexico’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050. Footnote:o She supports a temporary statewide moratorium on large-scale data centers via executive order until the legislature adopts strong protections. Footnote:p She has proposed to address New Mexico’s education problem by paying educators more. Footenote:q
Haaland has been chairwoman of the state’s Democrat Party. She has been a congresswoman, and she was Secretary of Interior in the Biden administration. That is a noteworthy record, but she also has failed the New Mexico Bar Exam several times and she has accumulated two DWI’s.Footnote: r For this campaign she has raised nearly $20 million, but about 83% of her donors are not New Mexico residents, whereas most of her opponent’s donors come from New Mexico. Footnote:s
Gregg Hull, the Republican candidate, was Mayor of Rio Rancho for 12 years. According to the Albuquerque Journal, “during that time the median household income in Rio Rancho increased from about $54,000 per year in 2014 to nearly $90,000 annually as of this year – a significantly larger jump than the statewide average.” Footnote:t Hull has been endorsed by 30 sitting and former mayors including Democrat Ken Miyagishima, former Las Cruces Mayor. Footnote:u Hull has suggested a plan to phase out the state income tax for individuals (not businesses) but with fiscal guardrails.Footnote: v He wants to simplify the state’s gross receipts tax and end the “pyramiding” that affects small businesses doing business with each other. Footnote:w He supports malpractice reform to keep doctors in New Mexico plus interstate licensing compacts which would allow out-of-state doctors to provide service remotely to New Mexico residents. Footnote:x He opposes a statewide moratorium on data centers, but he would require local siting control, no use of potable water, and data centers would pay for their own power infrastructure. Footnote:y Hull emphasizes predictability and avoiding rules that discourage investment. He proposes to cut permitting delays. Hull proposes to tie funding for public education to measurable education improvement.Footnote: z
Sometimes in watching a debate between contending parties for an office, voters are able to judge the relative capacity of the candidates to address critical problems. New Mexico voters have been denied that opportunity. Deb Haaland, effectively, has declined to debate Gregg Hull – for instance on October 8th with KOB TV she was a “no show.” That’s sad!
It appears to us that Deb Haaland is the “more of the same” candidate, but New Mexico is in desperate need to take a different road. It appears to us that Gregg Hull is far more likely to move New Mexico forward than is Deb Haaland. Thus, El Rito Media endorses Gregg Hull for Governor of the State of New Mexico.
FOOT NOTES
a. https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-have-the-least-and-most-crime/
b. https://usafacts.org/answers/what-percentage-of-students-in-the-us-are-proficient-in-reading/
c. https://usafacts.org/answers/what-percentage-of-students-in-the-us-are-proficient-in-math/
d. https://www.patientlednm.org/2025/08/29/physician-retention-new-mexico-shortage-solutions/
e. https://www.abqjournal.com/news/journal-poll-majority-of-voters-report-difficulty-accessing-health-care-providers/446195
f. https://usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-labor-force-participation-rate-in-the-us/country/united-states/
g. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/poverty-rate-by-state#top-5-states-with-the-highest-poverty-rates/Poverty Rate by State 2026/
h. https://errorsofenchantment.com/overregulation-among-new-mexicos-numerous-economic-stumbling-blocks/
i. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-12/economic-freedom-of-north-america-2025-us-edition.pdf
j. https://web.archive.org/web/20201023022700/https://www.abqjournal.com/1505620/proud-progressive-haaland-seeks-2nd-term.html
k. https://debhaaland.com
l. https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-interior-nominee-deb-haaland-fracking-green-new-deal
https://www.energyindepth.org/oil-and-gas-emerges-as-dominant-issue-in-new-mexico-governors-race/
m. https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-interior-nominee-deb-haaland-fracking-green-new-deal
https://www.energyindepth.org/oil-and-gas-emerges-as-dominant-issue-in-new-mexico-governors-race/
n. https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/elections/democratic-primary-deb-haaland-talks-economy-crime-and-more-at-krqe-qa/amp/
o. https://debhaaland.com/2025/12/deb-haaland-campaign-toutscommunity-centered-solutions-at-climate-and-health-candidate-forum/https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/elections/democratic-primary-deb-haaland-talks-economy-crime-and-more-at-krqe-qa/amp/
p. https://www.abqjournal.com/news/deb-haaland-vows-to-impose-data-center-moratorium-via-executive-order-if-elected-governor/3123658
q. https://nmindepth.com/2026/haaland-highlights-health-care-education-and-wages-in-vision-for-new-mexico/
r. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/haaland-memoir-released-after-primary-election-charts-challenges-political-rise/article_d9de3287-1750-4e86-b0f8-fb41b2539566.html#comments
s. https://sourcenm.com/2026/10/14/new-mexico-dem-governor-nominee-haalands-fundraising-advantage-grows-heading-into-election-day/
t. https://www.abqjournal.com/news/gregg-hull-racks-up-the-miles-in-dogged-effort-to-break-through-in-a-blue-state/3143057
u. https://gregghull.com/endorsements/
v. https://gregghull.com/priorities/ https://www.abqjournal.com/election/governor-gregg-hull-r/3126880
w. https://www.abqjournal.com/election/governor-gregg-hull-r/3126880
x. https://gregghull.com/priorities/healthcare/
y. https://www.abqjournal.com/election/governor-gregg-hull-r/3126880
z. https://gregghull.com/priorities/education/
