Leaders of the Zuni Pueblo have declared their support for former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.
New Mexico Political Report was the first to report the endorsement.
The Haaland campaign later revealed the endorsement in a press release, which featured a statement from Zuni Pueblo Governor Arden Kucate, describing Haaland, a former Interior Secretary during the Biden administration and an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo, as a longstanding and consistent ally of tribes.
“She continues to lead and is the only candidate we can trust in giving Tribes a consistent voice – before decisions are made. Deb will help build a state that lives up to our responsibilities to future generations,” Kucate said in the press release. The release touts Haaland as a strong supporter of tribal sovereignty who has labored hard to protect sacred sites, advocated for business initiatives and infrastructure improvements in Indian Country and sought to tackle violent crime against Native Americans, both as a member of Congress and later as the first Native American woman to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Biden Administration.
Haaland, 64, became the first candidate to launch her campaign earlier this year. Bernalillo County District Sam Bregman and former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagashima are also vying to be the Democratic nominee for governor. Current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is also a Democrat, is term-limited and unable to seek reelection.
On the Republican side, Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull is the only candidate to officially enter the race for his party’s nomination. However, Duke Rodriguez, a former New Mexico secretary of Human Services, state Rep. Mark Murphy, R-Roswell and Judith Nakumara, former chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, have also expressed interest in a possible campaign for governor.
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Zuni tribe has 8,430 enrolled tribal members who live on a reservation situated 35 miles south of Gallup. New Mexico is home to 19 pueblos and 23 tribes.
The Haaland campaign said the endorsement on Tuesday is the fourth that they have received from a pueblo in New Mexico, with the Jamez, Santo Domingo and Picuris Pueblos publicly backing Haaland. Other prominent Native Americans, like former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Patricia Michaels, a fashion designer from the Taos Pueblo and state Sens. Angel Charley D-Acoma and Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, have also stated their preference for Haaland.
If ultimately elected, Haaland would become the first Native American woman to serve as governor of a state. But despite the historic nature of Haaland’s candidacy, not all tribes have supported her, with the Sandia Pueblo and Jicarilla Apache Nation opting to instead endorse Bregman.
Given that Native Americans are a voting bloc that swings strongly towards Democrats, Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., who they ultimately get behind, can be important in a Democratic primary.
However, Sanderoff said the endorsements each tribe is making are receiving more publicity than usual, given that Haaland is Native American, and is widely expected to receive the most support, and the fact that Bregman is getting any support for tribes was unexpected by many.
“You know, in politics, perceptions and expectations mean a lot. And so there’s some people who would have assumed that the native vote would have been unified behind Deb Haaland. And in fact, the fact that Bregman got two relatively early endorsements is what really makes all this newsworthy,” he said.
The primary elections in New Mexico are on June 2.