“I could not be more proud to be elected to Congress by my fellow New Mexicans. Whether you voted for me or not, I will fight my heart out for you, because public service is a sacred responsibility that I will never take for granted.” Following his election to Congress in November 2022, Gabe Vasquez Tweeted (11/9/22):
BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE
Vasquez is a first-generation American who grew up in the borderlands with his mother who worked hard to support the family. She showed him the value of hard work + the struggle to achieve the American Dream. As the first in his family to be born in the United States, Vasquez worked to make a positive difference in his community + in the lives of others. Growing up, Vasquez lived on both sides of the border + spent much of his time in his grandfather’s TV repair shop in the Chaveña neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez. He saw firsthand the important cross-border connections + relationships that support families + businesses in New Mexico.
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Vasquez served as executive director of the Las Cruces Hispano Chamber of Commerce, represented Sen. Martin Heinrich as his Southwest district representative, worked in public lands conservation + as a policy advocate promoting child welfare + family wellbeing at the federal level.
In 2017, Vasquez was elected to the Las Cruces City Council, defeating the chair of the local Tea Party with over 70% of the vote. In this role, he delivered millions of dollars in investment to create + improve parks, updated the district’s infrastructure, promoted policy that created thousands of jobs + helped craft a comprehensive development plan focused on lifting families out of poverty.
Vasquez defeated first-term incumbent Yvette Herrell in 2022 in his first bid for Congress. He won by a narrow margin of .7% - just 1300 votes - in this Biden +6 district. He raised $3,671,959 for that race which was $754,118 less than Herrell raised.
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ON THE ISSUES
An indication of Rep. Vasquez’s priorities is found in the Gabe for Congress Website supporting his 2022 race: “Gabe is running for Congress to be a champion for working families + to build an economy that benefits everyone. Gabe will do this by creating high-quality, good-paying jobs, helping New Mexico families deal with the rising cost of living, ensuring all New Mexicans have access to affordable + high-quality health care, combating climate change + conserving public lands + natural resources to capitalize on the district’s growing outdoor recreation economy… the work doesn’t stop until all New Mexicans have meaningful opportunities to raise happy, healthy families + pass on their traditions to future generations. ..”
Other of Vasquez’s positions include:
• Support for policies that cut taxes on working families while lowering the cost of healthcare, childcare + utilities
• Encourages transition to clean energy like wind + solar.
• Opposition to attempts by Republicans to ban access to abortion, birth control, or to prevent women from having the right to choose.
• Support for immigration reform to protect DREAMERS + provide hard-working families with a permanent path to citizenship, while ensuring a safe + secure border.
• Supports investment in veterans and veterans’ services especially in rural New Mexico + Native American communities.
• Supports police reform, not police defunding.
• Understands and upholds tribal sovereignty; respects + honors the government-to-government relationship that exists between New Mexico’s Native American communities + the federal government
POLITICS IN NEW MEXICO
Democrats control both of New Mexico’s Senate seats + all three of the state’s seats in the House of Representatives. The current governor is Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham. She was re-elected in 2022 with 52.4% of the vote. Both the State Senate + the State House are controlled by Democrats. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D) will run for re-election in 2024.
The district serves the southern half of New Mexico including Los Cruces, Roswell + the southern quarter of Albuquerque. It is the fifth largest district in the nation + is the largest that does not cover an entire state. The district’s residents are 55% Hispanic + 5.5% Native American. District 02 had historically been a Republican stronghold, but redistricting has made it competitive, moving from Trump+12 to Biden+6.
COMMITTEES + CAUCUSES
• Armed Services
• Agriculture
• New Democrat Coalition
• Hispanic Caucus