ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Democratic U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland has a more than a 2-to-1 money advantage over her Republican opponent for her central New Mexico seat.
According to the last federal campaign finance reports released last week, the first-term Albuquerque Democrat raised $205,663 from mid-May to June 30. She has more than $352,053 cash-on-hand but has already burned through $850,000 in her bid for re-election.
Retired police officer and Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes reported raising $40,792 during the same time period. She reported having $145,363 following her GOP primary victory.
Garcia Holmes finished ahead of attorney Jared Vander Dussen of Albuquerque and businessman Brett Kokinadis in June.
Garcia Holmes was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018 and had served as the chief of staff for former Attorney General Gary King, a Democrat.
She has touted her decades-long career in law enforcement, which included investigating violent crimes against women and children.
Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo and is one of the nation’s first Native American women in Congress.
Since taking office in 2019, Haaland has positioned herself as one of Congress’s more progressive members. In May, she endorsed attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez in a crowded Democratic primary for northern New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District seat.
She also was an earlier backer of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Haaland has been an outspoken advocate for Washington’s NFL team to change its name and has applauded moves by elected officials in New Mexico to removed monuments to Spanish conquistadors.
___
Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
Please read our comment policy before commenting.