By Kevin Hendricks
A familiar name in Albuquerque politics is back on the scene after announcing his campaign to run for New Mexico’s second congressional district in 2026.
After a failed run at Albuquerque Mayor in 2021, Eddy Aragon said he is running for Gabe Vasquez’s seat in the United States Congress next year. Aragon is the owner of radio station KIVA-AM 1600 and host of “The Rock of Talk” news/talk show. He ran for Albuquerque’s highest office in 2021, finishing third with 18% of the vote, as Mayor Tim Keller won reelection with 56%.
Aragon toyed with running for mayor of New Mexico’s biggest city again but announced in March that he would not challenge for the position.
According to Aragon’s campaign team, Aragon “predicted that a nonpartisan mayoral race with a low threshold to obtain public campaign funding – combined with a two-term incumbent – would draw a large field of candidates. “
This prediction proved true with 11 candidates, including Keller, registered to run for Albuquerque mayor.
“In a large field of candidates, advantage goes to the incumbent based on name recognition alone,” Aragon’s campaign said.
Now, Aragon said he is focused on solving statewide problems like immigration, crime and education.
In a campaign press release, Aragon said that while the Trump administration decreased illegal immigration by over 95%, New Mexico continues to suffer due to the Biden administration’s allowance of more than 10 million illegal entries into the U.S.
“The record-setting fentanyl bust by DEA agents two weeks ago in Albuquerque proves that New Mexico has been invaded and permeated by violent drug gangs from south of the border,” Aragon said. “Meanwhile, the Mexican-raised incumbent congressman from our border district, Gabe Vasquez, has called Homeland Security’s effort to deport illegal criminals a ‘reality TV game.’ Mr. Vasquez has never even tried to keep New Mexico safe, and he never will.”
Aragon also said he will work to boost New Mexico’s economy and education system.
“We rank 47th in income and dead last in education,” Aragon said. “There’s no excuse for that. We’re a hard-working, family-oriented people in a state with abundant resources for a technology-led economy. We can – we must – do better.”
Aragon is the first Republican to announce a campaign for NM-2. The district voted for Donald Trump as president in 2024 but split the ticket to elect Vasquez, a Democrat.
That was the first time voters in the swing district had sent a Democrat to Congress for a second consecutive term. Vasquez beat Republican Yvette Herrell by less than five percentage points in 2024 and eked out a win against Herrell in 2022 by 1,200 votes, just a difference of 0.7%.
According to Aragon’s campaign, NM-2 is one of only 13 congressional districts nationwide that in 2024 elected Trump but also a Democratic congressperson.
“This suggests that despite redistricting that favored Democrats, the district is winnable by a strong Republican candidate.”
“We do not view Gabe Vasquez as a strong incumbent,” Aragon’s team said. “Mr. Vasquez is hamstrung by the Democratic Party being on the unpopular side of several issues that voters view as important, such as illegal immigration and border control.”
The 50-year-old Aragon said he is an eleventh-generation New Mexican who grew up in NM-2 on Albuquerque’s west side. His mother, Frances, grew up in the district in Albuquerque’s South Valley.