New Mexico’s Deb Haaland talks about making history as the first Native American woman elected governor

Geoff Bennett:

As has been reported, yesterday’s elections brought a number of historic firsts. In New Hampshire, Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. In Colorado, Melat Kiros became the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress. And, in Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first black woman elected governor.

Among those making history is Deb Haaland, who will become the first Native American woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. Haaland previously served as Secretary of the Interior under President Biden and was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress.

Governor-elect Deb Haaland joins us now.

Congratulations on your victory and welcome back to “News Hour”.

Deb Haaland:

Thank you so much. THANKS.

Geoff Bennett:

You made history, of course, but voters also expect results. So how will you balance the symbolism of this victory with the responsibility now of governing a state that has faced persistent challenges? Many people face high costs of living and persistent problems with poverty, education and access to health care.

How do you plan to achieve tangible results in New Mexico?

Deb Haaland:

Absolutely. Thank you very much for the question and for inviting me.

And, of course, very proud to be the first Native American female governor in the history of our country. That wasn’t why I was running, of course. I have so much experience, having served at the highest level of government as Secretary of the Interior, where I managed a staff of 70,000, for an annual budget of $18 billion.

And yes, like the rest of the country, our state is facing deep cuts to Medicaid; 89,000 people could be kicked off Medicaid rolls early this year, losing their SNAP benefits. This is all a result of the Trump bill passed earlier this year.

And so, of course, we want to make sure that we step up our efforts, that the legislature and I continue to close the gaps that our governor has worked to close. We know prices are rising due to numerous tariffs and the war in Iran driving up gas prices. New Mexicans pay higher prices for everything.

So we want to put more money in the pockets of New Mexicans, improving the child tax credit, the working families tax credit, continuing to advance our clean energy, which we know will lower utility costs. So there’s a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we can do it.

Geoff Bennett:

Democrats had a strong election night across the country. How much of your victory do you think was a rejection of President Trump and his approach, and how much was it an endorsement of your own vision for New Mexico?

Deb Haaland:

Thank you so much.

Well, we currently have a Democratic governor here in New Mexico. Typically, every eight years, our governor is appointed at the end of that year. Every eight years, the seat goes to the Republicans.

And New Mexicans realized that yes, we need to continue on the trajectory that we’re on. We have universal child care. We have early childhood education for every child in New Mexico. And these are things that New Mexicans say have improved their lives.

So I want to make sure that we can improve these programs, expand them across the state, so that every family in New Mexico has the opportunity to participate. Universal child care is an economic driver throughout New Mexico. This creates jobs and helps parents know their children are safe while they are at work.

So it’s a win-win situation for our state and the people of New Mexico, and we will continue on this path.

Geoff Bennett:

Yes.

I wonder: What have you learned from your time in Washington, both in Congress and the Cabinet, about what’s right and wrong with government, and how does all of this shape your approach to governance?

Deb Haaland:

Well, I’ll tell you, I feel like I’m always doing the right thing when I listen to stakeholders, when I have people at the table whose lives would be affected by the decisions I make.

I did it when I was at the Interior Ministry and I will do it again. The most successful projects that we’ve gotten across the finish line, the transmission lines, the offshore wind projects, the protection of millions of acres of public lands across the country, have all been done with the idea that we need to get people to the table as soon as possible, that we need to act transparently.

So I intend to be transparent as governor of New Mexico. I plan to bring stakeholders together to tell us what they need and what is best for their communities. New Mexico is different everywhere you go. None of our communities are the same, Northeast, Northwest, North, South, Central New Mexico.

There are so many different communities with different needs. So we’re going to make sure we listen and we can do what’s best for our state.

Geoff Bennett:

Yes. I hear you when you say that you did not run for the sole purpose of making history. But you’ve already broken barriers, as we mentioned, the first Native American woman — among the first Native American women elected to Congress, the first Native American cabinet secretary.

Is this victory different, as governor?

Deb Haaland:

Well, I mean, look, this is my first successful statewide campaign. New Mexico is the fifth largest state, with hundreds and hundreds, thousands of miles of rural roads that we’ve traveled throughout this campaign. So I feel like I worked really, really hard for this win.

We raised money to hire organizers. We had them on the ground all over the state. We worked very hard and took nothing for granted. So, I think hard work still means something in our state and in our country, and I was really proud of the success we had.

Geoff Bennett:

Deb Haaland, Governor-elect of New Mexico, thank you again for speaking with us. We appreciate it. And congratulations.