By Kevin Hendricks — For some New Mexico Republicans, Wednesday morning came with a headache.
“That’s a really bad hangover,” said state Sen. Jay Block, a Republican from Rio Rancho, of waking up to Democrat Deb Haaland as governor-elect.
Block has a bleak forecast for the next four years. “I think it’s going to look like Biff’s ‘Back to the Future II,’” he said, referring to the sequel’s alternate timeline where the villain, Biff Tannen, runs a lawless Hill Valley from his own casino.
“I think it’s going to be a scary place to be,” Block said. He predicted rising crime, schools ranked “dead last,” a bloated state government and independent oil and gas operators leaving the state. He also said he is concerned that Haaland would keep welcoming violent criminals who are in the country illegally.
A different relationship
Block credited outgoing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, for working across the aisle late in her second term.
“She worked across the aisle on several issues where her party didn’t support her,” Block said. “And we appreciated that.”
He wished she had done it sooner, he said, “but it is what it is.”
“I really had a good relationship with the governor,” Block said. “Politically, we disagreed on several things, but we were able to work together.”
He’s less sure about Haaland. “I just don’t know who’s going to be on her staff and what their agenda is going to be,” he said.
The money question
Block questioned how Haaland will pay for her agenda, which includes a higher minimum wage, a bigger child tax credit and expanded health care subsidies.
“I want to know how she is going to fund all these other programs,” he said.
He also said Haaland’s pledge to ban oil and gas operations on public lands was concerning. “That’s scary,” he said.
The mandate question
Democrats won most of Tuesday’s races, flipping two seats, keeping control of the state House and sweeping the statewide offices.
That’s the outcome Block worried about. With Democrats in charge of the governor’s office and both chambers, he expects Haaland to head into the session “thinking that she’s got a mandate to go very, very far left.”
“I hope she reaches out to us,” Block said.
A Sandoval County exception?
Block said Sandoval County bucks the statewide trend, crediting “what Rio Rancho has done under Republican leadership.” Before the election, he predicted Republicans would win the races for assessor, sheriff and probate judge, and keep the District 3 County Commission seat in Republican hands.
Voters had other plans. Democrats won all four races. Frank Smith Jr.’s 334-vote win in District 3 flipped the commission to a Democratic majority. Former Sheriff John Paul Trujillo beat Republican Victor Rodriguez, even though Democratic Sheriff Jesse James Casaus had endorsed Rodriguez in July. Hull lost his home county by about 2 points.
Republicans held one Rio Rancho seat. State Rep. Josh Hernandez won reelection in District 60 by 405 votes.
The road back
No Republican has won a statewide race in New Mexico since Judith Nakamura won a seat on the state Supreme Court in 2016.
To change that, Block said Republicans need to turn out conservative-leaning independents and Democrats, not just their own base. “People have got to be tired of where the state is,” he said.
Block also brushed off the state GOP’s recent infighting during the 2026 election cycle where an insider challenge resulted in a court removing the state party chair and failures by the party to qualify primary candidates in several statewide offices. “We like to argue within our party,” he said. “It shows that Republicans have some critical thinking and independence.”
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