LAS CRUCES — U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez and his challenger Greg Cunningham vied for votes Wednesday at New Mexico State University’s Domenici Conference, which returned this week following an eight-year hiatus.
Republican Cunningham leaned heavily on law and order in his remarks, while Democrat Vasquez explained his plans for immigration reform, supporting the working class and resisting President Donald Trump.
“We’ve been conditioned to accept where we are,” Cunningham said. “We’ve been conditioned to believe that we’re poor, that our schools just aren’t good, that our streets just aren’t safe, that we just accept that as New Mexico. And I’m here to tell you, no, it does not have to be this way.”
Cunningham said he would address “chaos” and help rebuild trust, providing the example of an Albuquerque Walmart: “If the people that are stealing are held accountable, we will not have to lock everything up for everybody else. I mean, it really is that simple.”
Vasquez cautioned against disciplining those who are innocent, particularly when it comes to immigration.
“My opponent said that when people get picked up that are not the targets, that are not the violent offenders, that he is willing to accept that as ‘collateral damage,’ ” Vasquez said, referring to comments Cunningham made earlier this year.
“And when you see the deaths of American citizens in places like Minneapolis, and when you see that in detention centers all across our district … that’s completely wrong. We need to use local law enforcement resources, state law enforcement resources, to protect local communities.”
Nearly 700 people registered for the conference — named for longtime former New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici — which hosted legislators, policy experts, ambassadors and political candidates addressing a wide range of topics. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján gave Wednesday’s keynote address; Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull and Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Stephanie Garcia Richard also spoke.
Republicans are hoping to bolster their narrow House majority by flipping the 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from the Albuquerque area to the U.S.-Mexico border.
It is likely to be the closest congressional race in New Mexico; although Democratic state lawmakers redrew the district to make it bluer after the 2020 census, Trump narrowly carried it in 2024 even as Vasquez won a second term.
Vasquez, who was raised in the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez area, highlighted his family’s story.
”I have the privilege to be the first … in my entire family lineage to be born on U.S. soil,” he said. “And one of the reasons I am staying here is because I am so damn proud of it.”
He described his “New American Immigration Plan,” advocating for modernized technology at the border rather than mass deportation and border wall construction.
”One of the things that we’re seeing that breaks my heart is this mass deportation machine … that’s impacting communities in our own district,” Vasquez said.
“A lot of farmworkers, a lot of hardworking poor folks who are being separated from their families. I don’t believe that’s the right approach to immigration reform in this country.”
Cunningham spoke at length about his background in law enforcement — he served in the U.S. Marine Corps before working 20 years for the Albuquerque Police Department.
He credited his transition to politics to a call from the National Republican Congressional Committee asking him to run for the seat one year ago.
Julia Gentin/The New Mexican
“About three hours after I took that call, Charlie Kirk was assassinated,” Cunningham said. “Charlie Kirk was coming to our church. … I listened to him speak. He was one of the first men that challenged me to stand and get involved in my community.”
Corey Gonzalez, a small business administration major at NMSU, asked Cunningham what he believed contributed to New Mexico having one of the highest rates in the nation of people killed by police.
“Officers show incredible restraint on a daily basis,” Cunningham replied. “I can tell you this firsthand. There were many, many instances while I was in the police department that I knew I had the possibility to pull the trigger, and I would be OK legally.”
Vasquez and Cunningham offered contrasting takes on changes to Medicaid made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a Republican tax and spending bill passed last year which is expected to lower Medicaid and food assistance enrollment due in large part to new work and eligibility verification requirements.
Cunningham argued the bill doesn’t cut Medicaid — overall spending “is actually set to be increased by 47% over the next 10 years.”
“I want to make sure that the people that are receiving those benefits are eligible for those benefits,” he said. “Right now, Medicaid, over the last 10 years, fraud has been over $1 trillion. That’s every taxpayer in this room.”
Vasquez decried the bill, saying 20,000 people in New Mexico — half of them children — had already lost food assistance, and 80,000 are expected to lose healthcare coverage soon.
“You’re going to get a Republican whose going to somehow justify these cuts because he cannot oppose the president. … I’ll do everything in my damn power to [restore that money],” Vasquez said. “That’s the difference.”
Julia Gentin is a reporter for The Las Cruces New Mexican, The Santa Fe New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. She covers the Southern New Mexico region. Learn more about Report for America at reportforamerica.org.
