By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made his second New Mexico visit Monday evening in support of Republican Greg Cunningham, where he led a fundraiser in Las Cruces in the final stretch of the closely watched 2nd Congressional District race.
Johnson last visited New Mexico in late August to stump for Cunningham, a retired Marine and Albuquerque detective who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) for the state’s southernmost congressional district. Johnson stood alongside Cunningham at a rally in Albuquerque and said he and President Donald Trump agree that Cunningham is “straight out of central casting.”
The speaker’s Monday visit, this time in a closed-door fundraiser, comes on the heels of an Albuquerque Journal poll released Monday that found Vasquez, who is seeking re-election to his third term, with a narrow lead but one within the margin of error.
The poll found 48% of likely New Mexico voters said they would vote for Vasquez, while 44% said they would for Cunningham, with a 5-percentage-point margin of error.
Josiah Ward, a spokesperson for Cunningham, told Source NM in a text message Monday that the slim margin shows that Vasquez has “stalled and Greg is closing the gap.”
“This is a margin of error race and Greg has the momentum because New Mexico voters know Gabe Vasquez has sold out our district,” he said. “That’s why Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is in Las Cruces today campaigning with us.”
Vasquez held a news conference earlier Monday in anticipation of the fundraiser. He said Johnson came to Las Cruces to fundraise because “MAGA wealthy elites” think they can buy the seat for Cunningham.
“It’s clear that Mike Johnson wants to help buy Greg’s ticket to Mar-a-Lago,” Vasquez said. “I’ve been in Congress for four years now, and I can tell you, once Trump picks you and buys your seat, you owe him his complete and total loyalty.”
Trump also earlier this month released a nearly two-minute video endorsing Cunningham and railing against “radical left Democrat” Vasquez.
New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District race is regularly one of the closest in the country and is one of 13 congressional districts in the nation that voted for Trump in 2024 while also electing a Democrat.
National political observers at the Cook Political Report have rated the race as “leaning” toward Democrats this year.
The race has drawn interest from campaign donors and interest groups across the country. According to Federal Elections Commission Records, Vasquez has raised approximately $3.8 million this election cycle. Cunningham has raised a little over $1.5 million.
Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.