'I'm ready to be on the campaign trail': Deb Haaland talks Trump, timing after launching gubernatorial bid

SANTA FE — Deb Haaland said Wednesday she’s prepared to push back against President Donald Trump’s policies, even as she fine-tunes her campaign priorities in her bid to become New Mexico’s next governor.

In her first round of interviews since officially launching her campaign on Tuesday, Haaland steered clear of saying specifically what she would do differently than current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who will be term-limited next year.

“We’re two different people,” she said of the governor, while adding she respects the work lawmakers are doing during this year’s 60-day legislative session. “Our paths have been different.”

Haaland, who would become the first Native American female governor in U.S. history if elected next year, plans to start a 19-city listening tour on Thursday in Albuquerque. She said she has received many campaign volunteer offers since making her official campaign announcement.

“I just feel really certain that this momentum is a symbol that communities are ready to move forward,” she said. “People are struggling out there.”

Haaland served nearly four years as U.S. Interior secretary under Joe Biden before stepping down last month. Her gubernatorial announcement this week received national press coverage.

Her campaign said Wednesday she had already received more than $686,000 in campaign contributions from more than 13,000 donors. The first mandatory filing report for the race will be due in April.

The Haaland campaign also posted a link on its website to merchandise for sale, including T-shirts, bandanas, stickers and $32 baseball caps.

Haaland has not yet released a list of policy stances by issue, but said Wednesday she planned to visit with law enforcement officials about crime issues facing the state.

“I suspect we’ll be traveling around the state a lot over the next 15 months,” she said. “I really, really truly want to listen to New Mexicans and hear how they see their own future.”

While Haaland became the first candidate in the 2026 race with her announcement this week, not all responses to her campaign have been positive.

New Mexico Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Barela said Haaland would represent “more of the same” for New Mexico, citing what she described as Haaland’s liberal voting record as a member of Congress and her efforts to limit oil and gas drilling as Interior secretary.

“Deb Haaland’s track record screams Washington insider, not New Mexico advocate,” Barela said in a statement.

Haaland did not refer to her past support for climate change-related proposals in her campaign launch video, including banning hydraulic fracturing by oil and gas operators, though she did cite her past struggles as a single mother.

During the Wednesday interview, Haaland said cost-of-living issues would be a central focus of her campaign.

She also expressed concern about numerous federal contractors in New Mexico who could be impacted by the Trump administration effort to make the federal government more efficient.

“Democratic governors can be the front line to hold this president accountable for all that chaos and cruelty he is sending out across the country,” Haaland said.

When asked about her decision to launch a campaign for governor more than a year before the 2026 primary election, Haaland cited a sense of urgency.

She also said her “heart has always been in New Mexico,” even while working in Washington, D.C.

“I was ready to launch,” she said. “I’m ready to be on the campaign trail and I’m ready to talk about the things that are important to New Mexicans.”