Ex-Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office deputy charged in DWI scheme

Paul Jessen Jr. was convicted in July in separate case for tipping off drug dealers to federal probe

BY MATTHEW REISEN AND COLLEEN HEILD / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS

November 6, 2026

A former Bernalillo County deputy, already facing federal prison for tipping off drug dealers, is now accused of taking bribes to let DWI offenders off the hook in one of the state’s largest public corruption scandals.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Paul Jessen Jr. on a charge of conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The 36-year-old is the second Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy to be implicated in the decadeslong scheme. Jessen’s attorney, Joel Meyers, couldn’t be reached for comment on the latest criminal case against him.

So far, Bernalillo County deputy Jeffrey Hammerel, nine Albuquerque police officers, attorneys Thomas Clear III and Rudolph Chavez and Clear’s paralegal Ricardo “Rick” Mendez have pleaded guilty to federal charges ranging from racketeering to extortion.

The indictment against Jessen alleged he worked with a “senior BCSO deputy” to take bribes from Clear to make sure his clients had their DWI cases dismissed — including receiving a Craftsman tool chest, Pit Boss smoker, flat-screen TV and free legal help.

The senior deputy, also called “co-conspirator 1” by federal prosecutors, is not identified in the indictment filed in U.S. District Court for New Mexico. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Tessa DuBerry would not say if the deputy is still with BCSO or give any other details.

DuBerry would also not say if former deputies Johann Jareno and Jeffry Bartram — both identified by Sheriff John Allen as being tied to the scheme — were being investigated as well.

Both Jareno and Bartram, like Hammerel, have been added to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office Brady-Giglio list, which names law enforcement personnel deemed untrustworthy to testify. Unlike Hammerel, neither has been charged.

“We cannot comment on whether specific individuals are under investigation. We also cannot confirm the identity or employment status of the co-conspirator referenced in the indictment,” DuBerry said in an email.

In response to questions, BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales said Paul Jessen was terminated by Allen on Sept. 17. In September 2024, when Jessen was first indicted in an unrelated federal case, Allen said he had previously considered Jessen an asset to the agency.

“Detective Jessen has been a great deputy for us,” Allen said at the time.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, Allen said, “I am aware of the federal investigation into Jessen and continue working closely with our federal partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office but will not comment further on federal investigations.”

Gonzales would not say if the agency is aware of the identity of the other BCSO deputy allegedly involved and if that person is still with the agency.

“We do not have any additional information to provide and any additional questions regarding this case will need to be directed to the FBI or the US Attorney’s Office,” she said.

When Hammerel pleaded guilty to the charges in his case, he told prosecutors he had participated in the scheme since 2017 and conspired with a “supervisory BCSO deputy” to do so. Hammerel resigned in February and, like others charged in the scheme, has yet to be sentenced in federal court.

The covert scheme first became public in January 2024 after FBI agents raided the homes of several Albuquerque Police Department officers, Clear’s law office and Mendez’s home. As the conspirators pleaded guilty, the breadth of the scheme widened to include BCSO and New Mexico State Police personnel.

Past Journal reporting found that more than a year before the scheme came to light, a tip was sent to BCSO accusing Hammerel of taking bribes. BCSO leadership sent the tip directly to Hammerel, then a 12-year BCSO veteran, but nothing became of it. Gonzales, the BCSO spokesperson, said at the time the tip “came well before the federal investigation became public, and no one involved could have known the magnitude of what was about to unfold.”

The indictment alleged that Jessen’s involvement in the DWI scheme occurred between March 2018 and January 2024. The indictment states that when Mendez offered Jessen a cash bribe, he refused to take it “and expressed concerns about being offered the cash” to a senior BCSO deputy.

Afterward, Jessen agreed to accept “items of value for his home” for letting his DWI cases get dismissed by skipping out on required court appearances. Between 2016, when Jessen joined BCSO’s DWI unit, and 2019, he had eight DWI cases involving Clear and all but one were dismissed.

“To ensure successful operation of the scheme, Mendez contacted persons in authority at BCSO, including Co-Conspirator 1 to ensure that participating Conspiring Officers, including Jessen, would fail to appear at required settings in exchange for either cash payments or gifts and other items of value,” according to the indictment.

In 2022, the indictment states, Clear gave Jessen “free legal representation while Jessen was under investigation for criminal charges unrelated to the conspiracy described herein.”

At that time, Jessen had become a suspect in a separate federal corruption case, though he wasn’t charged for two more years.

Before his fall from grace, Jessen, who joined the sheriff’s office in 2012, was an award-winning detective working drug trafficking and other cases on an FBI task force.

In July, a jury convicted him of obstructing justice for tipping off a North Valley drug dealer that he was under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

His partner, Kyle Linker, pleaded guilty to also participating in the scheme. The two were also convicted of attempting to cover up their actions once the DEA suspected they had leaked confidential information to the targets.

The dealer they protected, Rod White, was a star witness against Jessen, who denied any wrongdoing in court papers and didn’t testify during a four-day federal trial. Jessen’s sentencing in that case is set for Dec. 15.

This marks the first time in the 3-year-old DWI corruption investigation that federal prosecutors sought a grand jury indictment against a target.

Federal prosecutors had previously secured guilty pleas before announcing such cases.

Jessen is set for a Nov. 18 initial appearance in federal court.

Project Jupiter opponent elected Doña Ana County commissioner

BY ALGERNON D’AMMASSA / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

November 5, 2026

LAS CRUCES — Doña Ana County voters elected two new county commissioners in Tuesday’s election, including a prominent Project Jupiter opponent who drew the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a senior national figure in progressive politics.

Daisy Maldonado, the former director of the Empowerment Congress of Doña Ana County, a local community organization, was an early voice challenging the hyperscale AI-training data center in Santa Teresa, questioning developers at town halls and commission meetings about the project’s demand for water, potential air emissions and other environmental costs.

She later said she was inspired to run for an open seat on the board after commissioners voted to approve a record $165 billion industrial revenue bond and other incentives for the project on a tight deadline, even though terms of the agreement were still under negotiation. Running as a Democrat, Maldonado elevated the need for local communities to be at the center of decisions about industrial development where they live.

It’s a position that caught on as data center development boomed nationwide and community opposition grew during 2026. According to Data Centers on the Ballot, a data dashboard tracking nearly 50 ballot measures in 12 states, voters called for moratoriums on development or local regulations in at least 38 elections.

Democrat Deb Haaland, elected Tuesday as New Mexico’s next governor, said Wednesday that she would order a moratorium on “large-scale data centers” on day one of her administration with the expectation of “the Legislature passing a set of guardrails, if you will, accountability measures for that industry making sure we protect our water, our land and our air.”

In neighboring Texas, where a major data center for Meta is under development across the state line from the New Mexico community of Chaparral, voters elected Democrat Gina Hinojosa as governor — the first Democrat to win the office in 35 years. Hinojosa called for an immediate moratorium on data center development while the state implements local protections.

“I don’t think people’s health should be sacrificed so the county can make money,” Maldonado told the Journal near the beginning of her campaign this year. “These billion-dollar companies are set to make billions on the backs of county residents.”

Maldonado’s presence on the dais will introduce a sharply critical voice when the commission hears updates from the data center’s developers, considers amendments to the IRB or finds the project in breach of the IRB. Last month, commissioners notified Project Jupiter of a “potential breach” over a recently proposed power purchase agreement with El Paso Electric.

According to unofficial results reported Wednesday, Maldonado won 60% of 13,807 votes cast in county District 1, compared to 40% for Republican candidate Samantha Barncastle Salopek. The current commissioner for the district, Democrat Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez, opted not to run for a second four-year term.

The district encompasses the town of Mesilla, part of Las Cruces and areas to the city’s west and south, including colonias and agricultural communities such as La Mesa, San Miguel and Mesquite.

On her campaign Facebook page Wednesday, Maldonado thanked her supporters and volunteers and wrote, “This is a win for all of us, a victory for the people, the voices, and the communities that deserve to be heard and represented.”

Former lawmaker elected commissioner

Tuesday’s election also saw the ouster of Commissioner Susie Kimble, an independent appointed to represent District 3 in February. The district sits east of Interstate 10 adjacent to Otero County.

Former state Rep. Willie Madrid, a Democrat from Chaparral, swept into office with 60% of the 11,902 votes cast in the district, according to unofficial results. He did so without participating in candidate forums with his opponents. His campaign finance reports indicated no fundraising or spending.

Kimble, a Las Cruces resident who drew 38% of the vote, filled a seat vacated by Commissioner Shannon Reynolds’ resignation in 2025. Her months in office were dominated by the aftermath of Project Jupiter and the abrupt departure of County Manager Scott Andrews following a sweeping special audit of the county’s management, governance and workplace culture.

Although Kimble is not an opponent of the data center, she has been a consistent critic of Project Jupiter’s community outreach and its transparency to county leadership.

Democrat Julia Brown, a former county commissioner and county manager who ran for the seat as a write-in candidate, drew 2% of the unofficial vote count.

Mike Johnson Begs God to Rapture Him Immediately

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In the aftermath of the Republicans’ catastrophic rout in the midterm elections, on Wednesday morning House Speaker Mike Johnson begged God to “rapture him up” immediately.

“I don’t want to be in the minority,” he prayed, choking back tears. “I’m a Republican. We hate minorities.”

In another post-election development, an embittered Elon Musk angrily put Ken Paxton on eBay.

The billionaire was hoping to recoup some of his $190 million purchase of Paxton, but in the Texan’s first hours on eBay the bidding for him stalled at six dollars.

Musk refused to answer reporters’ questions about the eBay fiasco as he boarded a rocket for Mars.

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, losing Senate candidate Darline Graham took her 47% of the vote in stride, telling reporters, “Forty-seven is a lot higher than I can count to.”

While the president attributed sweeping losses to the fact that he was not on the ballot, others in his party dismissed his explanation and pinned blame squarely on him.

By Tim BalkMichael , Levenson and Emily Davies for The New York Times

November 4, 2026

As results came in Tuesday night showing that Republicans were taking sweeping losses in the midterm elections, President Trump quickly sought to deflect blame, declaring that the drubbing happened because he was not on the ballot.

“I wasn’t on the ticket,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday night before polls had closed in parts of the country. “And because I wasn’t on the ticket, we couldn’t get enough people out to vote.”

Almost as quickly, Republicans began to point their fingers back at the president.

They said their party’s loss of control of both the House and Senate, its worst midterm showing in decades, was the direct result of a series of choices the president had made in the year leading up to the election.

They cited Mr. Trump’s tariff policies. They pointed to his decision to take the country to an unpopular war in Iran that drove up prices. And they questioned his political instincts, arguing that he had imperiled his party’s chances by supporting weak candidates and going on an unconvincing tour in the final weeks of the campaign.

“Trump has almost dared Americans to vote against him,” said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist in Michigan, adding that the president had closed the midterm campaign on a “greatest hits tour on every annoying thing that could be done to aggravate the American people.”

Mr. Roe said Mr. Trump’s analysis of the results was “ridiculous,” adding a profanity, and said the president was “the engineer of the Republican collapse.”

The recriminations opened a new and difficult chapter for Republicans, who faced defeat in states where they had decades-long winning streaks. Some Republicans defended Mr. Trump, while others urged the party to move on from him, raising questions about how much influence the president will have in his party during his final two years in office.

By Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, had a diagnosis for his party’s midterm failures — and it was not that Mr. Trump was not on the ballot.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Mr. Vance, who is considering a run for president in 2028 and initially cautioned Mr. Trump against military intervention in Iran, wrote on social media. He added that “everyone knows why we lost” and that “any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”

Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican from a battleground district who did not run for re-election, dismissed Mr. Trump’s analysis of his party’s defeats as “nonsense.”

“This is all about him,” Mr. Bacon said.

The “No. 1 reason” for Republicans’ showing was the president’s unpopularity, Mr. Bacon argued, followed by the president’s decision to back what the congressman said were feeble candidates in key Senate races: Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued G.O.P. nominee in Texas, and Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina, a political novice who has filled the seat of her brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and then ran for a full term to replace him.

“We lost the Senate race in South Carolina for Pete’s sake,” Mr. Bacon said. “He pushed bad people forward.”

Brinker Harding, the Republican who was thumped in the Nebraska district that Mr. Bacon has represented for the last decade, said he would not comment on Mr. Trump’s assertion that Republicans lost because he wasn’t on ballot. But he offered his own list of reasons.

“Gas prices are high,” Mr. Harding said. “The tariffs have been an issue.”

Republican leaders had a muted reaction to their party’s grim night.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, issued a 177-word statement that celebrated what he said were Republicans’ successes during the first two years of Mr. Trump’s second term.

“Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism,” he said. He did not cite any causes for his party’s dismal showing.

The House speaker, Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who saw his party swept out of House control and will lose his gavel by next year, was more forceful in his defense of the president, saying that Democrats “truly do have Trump derangement syndrome.”

But election results across the country showed that Democrats had drawn voters to their side, even in reliably Republican states like Kansas, Iowa and Texas.

On Fox News, Mr. Trump said some voters simply “didn’t like the candidates.”

“Some of the candidates that I endorsed fought me,” Mr. Trump said, adding that his base voters “didn’t like that they fought me.”

In Iowa, the Trump-endorsed Senate nominee, Representative Ashley Hinson, sought to overcome the political headwinds posed by the economy by calling for an end to the Iran war and criticizing the president’s tariff policies. The Trump-endorsed Senate nominee in Michigan, former Representative Mike Rogers, took a similar approach.

Both Republicans fell. But Mr. Paxton, Mr. Trump’s choice in Texas, appeared to lose by an even wider margin after seeking little space from the president.

Dick Wadhams, a Republican consultant in Colorado, said Mr. Trump’s comments were “ironic.” Most of the candidates who lost key Senate races in conservative states, Mr. Wadhams said, were recruited by or endorsed by the president.

Voters in those states, Mr. Wadhams said, were making a statement against Mr. Trump.

“This was not a pro-Democratic vote,” Mr. Wadhams said. “This was an anti-Trump vote.”

In Ohio, supporters of Senator Jon Husted, a Republican who fell to the Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown, traced the party’s losses to the president

“We pushed the envelope too far,” Luis Gio, a 59-year-old court translator, said at the Husted watch party, pointing disapprovingly to the president’s construction projects in Washington. “The White House ballroom. I mean, why push things like that when the country needs more important things?”

And in Oklahoma City, Mayor David Holt, a Republican, wrote on social media that his party was “morally and intellectually bankrupt,” adding, “It is now time to make America good again,” a twist on Mr. Trump’s signature slogan.

He said his party’s performance was a singular failing of the president.

“I can’t think of a midterm that is more directly tied to a single person and their utter failure,” Mr. Holt, who worked in the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview. “It feels like an entire country coming together and saying: Enough.”

Craig Shirley, who was a White House aide under Ronald Reagan and has written books about him and Mr. Trump, called the midterms a “black eye for the Republican Party.”

He said he believed that Republicans would continue to rally around Mr. Trump and his policies on border security and taxes. But he said the war in Iran had clearly taken a toll on Republican candidates.

“Absent the war, the results would have been a lot different,” he said. “A lot of people like Trump, but they don’t like this damn war and what it’s done to inflation and gasoline prices and diesel prices.”

Jon Fleischman, the former executive director of California Republican Party, said that in the end the president was on the ballot, in a sense. Voters were angry about the economy under Mr. Trump and fed up with the war in Iran, Mr. Fleischman said.

“They can’t show their frustration directly to the president,” he said, “so they shared their frustration with the president’s party.”

Pentagon confident U.S. will be ready for 2027 war with China by 2035

Officials cite historically proven American strategy of entering wars completely unprepared

[From The Duffel Blog]

THE PENTAGON — Pentagon officials expressed optimism this week that the United States will be fully prepared to fight its anticipated 2027 war with China by 2035, citing steady progress toward rebuilding depleted munitions stockpiles, repairing warships and alienating every remaining American ally.

“We’re in excellent shape,” said a senior defense official. “Our projections show we’ll have everything we need to fight the 2027 war with China by 2035, possibly 2034 if Congress approves the supplemental.”

The official emphasized that entering a major conflict at a severe disadvantage was consistent with historically proven American methods of achieving victory.

“Look, America loves an underdog story,” he said. “We’re on track to exhaust our munitions stockpiles, drydock our entire naval fleet, and alienate all our allies by January. Historically, that’s how America wins wars.”

Pentagon officials also disclosed details of confidential negotiations with their Chinese counterparts, noting that both sides remained open to starting the conflict with an invasion of Taiwan or something with a little more historical significance.

“We’re calling it the Marco Rubio Bridge Incident,” explained one official. “We’ll send an entire brigade combat team into China looking for a missing private and simply refuse to leave once we find him.”

Officials acknowledged that the soldier would probably turn up back at the barracks before the invasion began, but insisted historical accuracy was essential to the operation.

“The Chinese have been very cooperative,” the official added. “They’ve even offered to provide the missing private.”

President Donald Trump thanked Beijing for the offer but insisted the United States already had a suitable candidate.

“We’ve got a former Marine living rent-free at the Naval Observatory,” Trump said. “All he does is fuck things up, and apparently the couch, too. Beautiful couch. I’m calling him back to active duty, sending him into China, and declaring him missing before he even lands.”

Trump said Chinese officials had already offered to return the Marine.

“I told them, ‘You send him back, that’s an act of war.'”

Despite the administration’s confidence, Pentagon planners warned that Russia, China, and Iran were rapidly expanding their military arsenals while American stockpiles remained depleted by ongoing operations in the Middle East.

“They’re years ahead of us,” said a senior defense official. “If we wait until 2035 to fight the 2027 war, they’ll already be preparing for 2045, and we’re not ready for that until 2065.”

The official expressed frustration with Congress and the defense industry over their failure to replenish American weapons inventories following months of fighting with Iran.

“We’ve had an entire year to buy more missiles, and all we got was this stupid T-shirt.”

The shirt read, “Peace Through Lethality.“

Pentagon officials said they were working closely with defense contractors to accelerate production, though several programs remained on schedule to deliver their first operational weapons systems shortly after the wars they were designed to fight.

“We’re not worried about that,” one official said. “By 2035, we’re confident the 2027 war will be going well enough that somebody will still need the equipment.”

At press time, Vice President JD Vance had been spotted sporting a fresh high-and-tight and taking intensive Mandarin lessons, developments the White House insisted were entirely unrelated to ongoing negotiations with China.

ABQ’s Lillie Kolich advances on ‘The Voice’

BY ELIZABETH SECOR / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

November 4, 2026

New Mexico native Lillie Kolich has advanced to the live shows on the singing competition “The Voice.”

On Monday night’s episode, Kolich advanced into the top 12 in the long-running NBC reality series, with a 13th finalist being voted on by America.

After surviving the show’s Battle Rounds earlier this season as part of Queen Latifah’s team, she advanced to the first-ever “Cut Week.”

Each coach — Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, Riley Green and Queen Latifah — sent two artists directly to the live shows based on previous performances.

The remaining five artists from each team performed individually, and coaches picked one more singer from the group to advance. Queen Latifah chose Kolich.

Kolich secured her spot on Team Queen with her rendition of “Friday I’m in Love” by The Cure.

In a statement to the Journal, Kolich said, “I’m ready to keep showing America who I am and what I bring to the table!”

Live rounds for “The Voice” begin 9 p.m. Monday.

Record fentanyl bust nets state Justice Department paralegal

Federal agents say they seized a record 44 kilograms of fentanyl powder from an Albuquerque home linked to a recently hired state DOJ employee

BY COLLEEN HEILD / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

November 4, 2026

A 45-year-old newly hired paralegal at the state Department of Justice is facing federal drug trafficking and firearms charges after federal agents seized what was touted as the state’s largest seizure of fentanyl powder.

The arrest of Angel Ramirez at her Albuquerque home Thursday wasn’t announced until Tuesday, after she appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Fashing in Albuquerque.

“Today we’re announcing the largest seizure of fentanyl powder in New Mexico in (Drug Enforcement Administration) history,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a prerecorded statement.

Flanked by members of a federal Homeland Security Task Force, Ellison called the arrest and seizure a “tremendous accomplishment” for the agents involved. They work for the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and the Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police.

“We’re not here to take a victory lap; far from it,” Ellison said. The significant seizure “tells us just how serious the drug trafficking problem is in New Mexico.”

Ramirez, according to Ellison’s office, is alleged to have leveraged her government employment, “clean criminal history, and internal access to the justice system to create a veneer of legitimacy while her residence operated as a distribution hub for narcotics, drug proceeds and firearms.”

Details weren’t disclosed in court records filed so far in the case. A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Ramirez was hired Oct. 13 — two weeks before her arrest — and was “immediately terminated from her position” upon her arrest.

“We have received no communication from federal law enforcement regarding this matter and have no indication that the circumstances that led to her arrest were in any way connected to her employment with the office,” said Chelsea Pitvorec, the state DOJ’s deputy communication director.

After a 45-minute hearing Tuesday morning that included testimony from a DEA agent, Fashing ordered Ramirez held in federal custody pending resolution of the case, according to court records. Her defense attorney wasn’t immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Agents who executed a search warrant of Ramirez’s Northwest Albuquerque home Oct. 29 found about 44 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 7 kilograms of fentanyl pills, heroin and about 29 firearms and ammunition.

Eric Castaneda, DEA special agent in charge of the El Paso region, which includes New Mexico, said during the prerecorded statement that he was proud of the agents involved, whom he said “remain deeply committed to protecting and serving the city of Albuquerque.”

Ramirez’s arrest was the first announcement of a major DEA drug trafficking investigation since the Journal reported in June that the agency had allowed massive amounts of fentanyl pills to reach Albuquerque and other New Mexico communities during wiretap investigations dating back to 2023. The practice of allowing the drug to move on the streets while building larger trafficking cases has been called “fentanyl walking.”

Torrez and his office are currently investigating the revelations, first disclosed by a DEA agent in Albuquerque who said he was chastised by his supervisors for trying to stop two suspected fentanyl traffickers whose communications were being monitored via secret DEA wiretaps.

Ramirez was identified in court documents as a paralegal who had also previously worked for state prosecutor offices in New Mexico. She is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

If convicted, she faces 15 years to life in prison.

Powdered fentanyl is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine and made into pills to resemble other prescription opioids.

The bust fol lows another record-breaking New Mexico fentanyl seizure of several million fentanyl pills in late April 2025. That seizure was part of the DEA’s investigation into an alleged five-state trafficking organization supplied by a Mexican cartel.

The “fentanyl walking,” which occurred in that investigation as well, has led to national media reports and congressional and federal watchdog inquiries into the DEA’s practices. Those are still continuing.

The practice has been defended as an important method to trace links and upper echelons of drug trafficking organizations. But critics — who have included Torrez and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — say the release of the lethal drug to the streets has recklessly jeopardized public safety in a state that has had the country’s highest rate of drug overdose deaths in recent years.

Several months ago, Torrez, at the governor’s urging, launched a possible criminal investigation into the DEA’s policies and practices related to “fentanyl walking,” but has since been at odds with Ellison’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico over the federal agency’s refusal to turn over requested records.

Asked whether DEA agents “walked” fentanyl or used wiretaps during the Ramirez investigation, Ellison’s office had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Can Deb Haaland change New Mexico’s trajectory?

Former Interior secretary’s election as the first Native American woman to lead a state comes with major challenges and expectations

By James Bennett, managing editor of the Albuquerque Journal

November 4, 2026

Deb Haaland has made history. And along the way, she has answered plenty of doubters and skeptics in political and media circles.

The former U.S. Interior secretary and congresswoman has been elected governor. She will become the first Native American woman in history to lead a state.

More than half of New Mexico is celebrating her victory, awaiting her Jan. 1 inaugural in Santa Fe. For the others, there’s worry about four more years of the same policies as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that featured low national and regional rankings in everything from education to public safety.

Regardless, it is a remarkable achievement for Haaland, who entered the race as the clear Democratic frontrunner, with national name recognition, a place in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet and two terms in Congress on her resume.

Haaland amassed a $20 million campaign war chest. She won the general election against former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, but she needed cash to paint her own picture for voters in waves of TV advertising since Labor Day.

First came a contentious Democratic primary against Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who questioned her judgment, challenged her willingness to debate and ultimately declined to endorse her after losing the nomination.

Bregman repeatedly accused Haaland of avoiding a traditional debate. At one campaign event, with Haaland sitting nearby, he reminded the audience that he had been waiting 167 days to debate her.

The two eventually participated in a Q&A on New Mexico PBS. But their differences extended well beyond the format of campaign events.

After Haaland’s campaign published information about properties associated with Bregman’s family, he accused her of endangering their safety. He called the episode an “epic failure of judgment.”

Bregman nevertheless lost the Democratic nomination by a substantial margin. Haaland won 72.3% of the vote.

The debate that never happened The pressure intensified during the general election against Republican Hull.

Haaland’s decision not to participate in a televised debate became one of the campaign’s most persistent talking points. She led in the polls and really had no clear reason to debate from a competitive standpoint.

As debate issues swirled, skeptics pointed to her contentious exchanges with Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley during congressional oversight hearings as evidence that she struggled with aggressive questioning.

Hull argued that voters deserved an opportunity to see the candidates answer questions side by side.

“If you want this job, show up for the job interview,” Hull wrote in a public exchange over debate scheduling.

Haaland countered that her campaign had offered multiple dates and that Hull had rejected them. Her campaign said it had reserved eight potential dates for a debate.

The two candidates never reached an agreement.

That left voters without a traditional general election debate between the major-party candidates for governor, an unusual development in New Mexico politics.

The skeptics weren’t shy

Some criticism was substantive, some insulting.

Republican state Sen. Jay Block, a Hull supporter, offered perhaps the most memorable assessment of Haaland’s qualifications.

“My dog would make a better governor than Deb Haaland, by far,” he told a New Mexico newspaper.

Republican state Rep. John Block also ridiculed Haaland after circulating a video of her struggling with prepared remarks about education.

“Deb can’t form a coherent sentence,” he wrote, questioning her ability to lead New Mexico.

Journal Opinion columnist Jeff Tucker wrote a column headlined “Knownothing Haaland needs to answer some questions, herself.”

The former Opinion editor and editorial board member raised questions about Haaland’s judgment and whether she was sufficiently accountable for the actions of her campaign staff.

“If she can’t manage her own campaign staff, how can she manage the vast apparatus of state government?” Tucker asked.

Those criticisms ranged from legitimate questions about transparency and accountability to personal ridicule.

In the end, they had little impact on the candidate voters selected to lead New Mexico.

A historic milestone, enormous expectations

Haaland’s victory carries particular significance in a region where Native American communities have shaped the culture, traditions and history for centuries, even as they struggled for political representation and voting rights.

A member of Laguna Pueblo, Haaland has now broken another barrier in a political career filled with firsts. Her personal journey is equally challenging.

She raised a daughter as a single mother, relied on food assistance during difficult financial times and earned a law degree before entering national politics.

In 2018, she became one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. In 2021, she became the first Native American Cabinet secretary in American history.

But historic achievements bring expectations, and Haaland inherits a state facing challenges that have frustrated governors of both political parties.

The harder work begins

New Mexico continues to struggle with childhood poverty, disappointing educational outcomes, public safety concerns and an economy heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues.

Haaland campaigned on helping working families, improving education, expanding economic opportunity and making New Mexico more affordable.

Now she must translate those promises into measurable results in the Journal’s Data Scoreboard. Make no mistake, the Journal will be watching for improvement.

The state ranks low in every measure of the Journal’s newly developed New Mexico Data Scoreboard, which we introduced to readers Oct. 24. The Scoreboard measures the state’s progress in six primary categories: quality of life, economy, safety, healthcare, education and population.

Success would mean more children learning to read proficiently, more families moving out of poverty through employment and higher wages, safer communities and more opportunities for young people to build careers without leaving New Mexico.

It also means working at the Roundhouse with Republicans as well as Democrats, listening to business leaders and local governments, and answering difficult questions from the public and the press.

The scrutiny that accompanied her campaign will not disappear when she takes office. Nor should it.

Governors must defend their decisions, acknowledge mistakes and demonstrate that their policies are producing results.

Haaland has spent much of her political career breaking barriers and overcoming doubts about what she could accomplish.

Now she faces a different kind of challenge.

History will remember that Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman elected governor of an American state.

What New Mexicans will remember four years from now depends on what she accomplishes with the opportunity.

New Mexico voters approve legislative pay

Constitutional Amendment 4 will allow lawmakers to earn salaries beginning in 2029

BY RYAN BOETEL FOR THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

November 4, 2026

For the first time in state history, New Mexico lawmakers will soon collect an annual salary.

Late Tuesday, Constitutional Amendment 4 had received sufficient “yes” votes for adoption.

The amendment allows legislators beginning in 2029 to collect a salary limited to the median household income in New Mexico — which is currently about $68,000. New Mexico lawmakers currently are paid a per diem and mileage reimbursement, and they earn a pension after either five or 10 years of service, depending on age.

Supporters of the amendment argued that it will open up the possibility of everyday New Mexicans serving in the Roundhouse, which meets for 30- and 60-day sessions on alternating years and also holds committee meetings in the interim.

“A lot of folks were expecting this to be closer than it is right now,” Angie Poss, a spokeswoman for the amendment’s campaign, said late Tuesday. “That’s a testament to the campaign that we ran.”

A political action committee supporting the amendment raised a little more than $3 million for the campaign. Opponents raised about $650,000, according to Ballotpedia.

“We’re trying to be a 21st century Legislature with 19th century rules,” Poss said. “Working parents, young parents and small business owners” should be able to serve.

The other statewide amendments and general obligation questions passed with ease.

Constitutional Amendment 1 will require the governor to provide a veto message for all bills that are vetoed in whole or in part. All bills the governor doesn’t take action on will become law.

Constitutional Amendment 2 removes the requirement that school elections be separate from partisan elections.

Constitutional Amendment 3 will create nominating committees that will provide lists of nominees to the governor for appointment of nonstudent members of boards of regents of state universities, and student members will be appointed from a list provided by an elected student governing body. Nonstudent regents can not have changed their political party registration in the 12 months before appointment.

The general obligation questions also received strong support.

Bond Question 1 will provide $21.6 million at senior centers facilities; Bond Question 2 will provide $19.3 million for schools and libraries; Bond Question 3 will provide $352.2 million of higher education and special and tribal school bonds for capital improvements.

The largest project funded with Bond Question 3 is $116 million for a new University of New Mexico School of Medicine facility that will replace Fitz Hall, which is nearly 60 years old. The project has already received $520 million in state funds and $60 million from UNM.

UNM officials said the new medical school will allow the university to nearly double the number of healthcare workers who graduate each year.

Deb Haaland set to become first Native American woman governor in US history

BY DAN BOYD, NAKAYLA MCCLELLAND AND KYLIE GARCIA / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS

November 4, 2026

Deb Haaland’s unlikely political journey from grassroots organizer to nationally recognized figure will make its next stop at the Governor’s Office.

Haaland, a Democrat and former congresswoman, made history Tuesday by defeating Republican Gregg Hull to become the first Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history.

The Associated Press declared Haaland the projected winner less than two hours after polls closed.

Speaking to a packed crowd of supporters chanting “Deb, Deb, Deb!” at the Route 66 Casino Hotel on Laguna Pueblo land west of Albuquerque, Haaland thanked her campaign staff and congratulated Hull on his campaign.

But she also took a subtle jab at President Donald Trump’s call to rename New Mexico as “New America” — a proposal many Republican candidates in the state had repudiated.

“New Mexico’s brightest days are ahead of us, because I believe in a New Mexico that works for all New Mexicans,” Haaland said.

Haaland also talked about her family’s history in New Mexico, which included her grandmother being forced to attend a boarding home for Native American children.

But Haaland also pledged to push a plan to establish universal healthcare in New Mexico and vowed to put reading coaches in schools statewide.

“Tonight isn’t just about history — it’s about our future,” Haaland also said.

Haaland’s victory ends a 40-plus-year trend of New Mexico alternating between Democratic and Republican governors.

Before Haaland, the last Democrat to win election as New Mexico governor with a fellow Democrat in office was Toney Anaya in 1982.

Haaland will be sworn into office on New Year’s Day, and she faces a quick turnaround to assemble a Cabinet and prepare a budget recommendation before the 60-day legislative session begins in January.

The former U.S. interior secretary under President Joe Biden, Haaland raised a record-shattering $20.5 million for her gubernatorial campaign, with thousands of donations pouring in from around the country.

She vowed to protect New Mexico residents against Trump’s policies, while also pledging to maintain outgoing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s first-of-its-kind universal childcare initiative.

However, the Democratic nominee also faced criticism for not appearing at a televised debate with Hull — the first time gubernatorial candidates in New Mexico haven’t debated in 20 years.

Haaland insisted she had tried to find a compromise date for the event.

As for Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor relied on his municipal experience on the campaign trail while unveiling plans to make New Mexico more economically competitive.

Specifically, he called for a phased-in repeal of New Mexico’s personal income tax code, citing the need to return some of the state’s oil-fueled budget windfall to taxpayers.

During a Tuesday afternoon interview outside an Albuquerque polling site, Hull said he felt good about the race while acknowledging his underdog status in a blue state.

“We want to win. We put it all on the field, so we’re feeling really strong, and we put up a good fight,” Hull said. “We’re kind of the underdog in all of this, but the fact remains that we put up a good fight, and I think we’re in a good position for tonight.”

Hull held his election night party at an Albuquerque hotel and initially declined to concede, telling supporters to “keep the faith.”

“We concede nothing until we see every vote come in and every vote is counted,” Hull said late Tuesday evening, citing voters waiting in lines at several polling sites on Albuquerque’s West Side.

“So it’s just way too early to be calling this race right now, until we hear the voices of everybody that are out there that want to cast a vote in this race,” Hull added.

This year’s race for governor was open since Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, was barred under the state Constitution from seeking reelection for a third consecutive term.

Lujan Grisham did not play a prominent role in the race to determine her successor, though the outgoing governor appeared at a recent Haaland campaign rally in Portales.