UNM men’s cross country claims its first No. 1 ranking after defeating defending champion Oklahoma State

JOURNAL STAFF REPORT

September 30, 2026

The Lobos cross country squad is officially the king of the mountain.

After a dominant performance Saturday in Stillwater that saw UNM topple top-ranked Oklahoma State, New Mexico Men’s Cross Country rose to No. 1 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll for the first time in program history.

UNM joins a small group of just eight programs that have ascended to the apex of Division I cross country on both the men’s and women’s sides in the modern era (1995–present) — Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, Northern Arizona, Oregon and Stanford are the only other programs to do so in the last three decades.

The Lobo women first reached No. 1 in the nation in the first regular-season poll of the 2015 season, going on to win national titles in 2015 and 2017 and finishing in the Top 10 in the nation in nine of the next 10 seasons.

The UNM men have now ranked among the Top 10 in the nation for 13 polls in a row dating back to the 2024 season – the women have been in the Top 10 for the last 14. Prior to 2024, the men had only ranked inside the Top 10 seven times in their history and never ranked higher than No. 5.

Flood watches expand as rains drench New Mexico

Hurricane Polo moisture and a strong monsoon flow are bringing torrential rain, road closures and flooding concerns across the state

BY NAKAYLA MCCLELLAND / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

September 30, 2026

Widespread rain that has numerous communities in fear of flash flooding with evacuation orders already in effect in south-central New Mexico will continue through the week, marking an especially wet month following a stretch of record-breaking heat in August.

September will round out the month with continued deluges scattered through the state as moisture from Hurricane Polo — a powerful tropical cyclone that formed in the eastern Pacific about 10 days ago — have begun to sweep through the state.

“We’ve just had a strong monsoon flow with disturbances embedded in the flow moving us through the area,” National Weather Service meteorologist David Craft said Tuesday._“It’s been happening off and on for the last couple weeks now and this is a continuation of that flow that’s been enhanced by the hurricane remnant moisture coming up.”

Multiple counties and cities statewide are under a flash flood watch, Craft said, especially in places where roads and soil have already been heavily saturated from prior rainfall.

Other areas, such as Upper Canyon residents in Ruidoso, were under evacuation because of weather conditions. _ Doña Ana County issued an evacuation notice to residents after a dam showed signs of potential failure.

“Heavy rain forecast has increased the landslide risk in Upper Canyon beyond Main and Fox Road,” the village of Ruidoso wrote on social media. “Landslide can occur suddenly and may be deadly.”

Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and Valencia counties were the areas of highest concern for the meteorologist early Tuesday morning. Low-water crossings and burn scars are especially vulnerable to flooding.

Eastern New Mexico is projected to be hit the most with torrential rains, particularly in areas such as Clovis and Tucumcari. Precipitation amounts are estimated to range between 2 and 3 inches.

Thursday may offer a break from the downpour, according to Craft.

“We’ll finally get some dry weather come Thursday, so we’ll get a chance to lick our wounds and clean up from whatever flooding problems we’ve had,” he said.

Friday and Saturday may yield precipitation from lingering storms, though Craft said the southeastern portion of the state would primarily see the remaining rain.

Temperatures remain below average through the week. By Thursday, weather will begin to warm up and northern New Mexico may see near-average temperatures.

Craft said temperatures are estimated to be near-average statewide next week. In the meantime, metro areas statewide are projected to hit the low 60s with a high in the low 70s. Mountain areas will be roughly 10 degrees lower.

State and city officials have been on high alert as they monitor the situation for the public. “After the significant rainfall we received last week, the ground remains extremely saturated and many of our playa lakes are at capacity,” Clovis Police Chief Trevor Thorn said in a social media post.

“It may not take much additional rain for streets and low-lying areas to flood. Public Works is preparing to barricade streets that are known to experience flooding if conditions warrant.”

Clovis has been hit particularly hard by the deluge, which has dropped roughly 10 inches of rain and damaged multiple homes and businesses. Ian Massey, a lineman working for the Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, died while attempting to repair a utility pole that fell out of place because of the rain.

Socorro — which is projected to receive 3 to 4 inches of rain — faces increased concerns over potential flooding and county officials urged residents to shelter in place as many roads were impassable.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District said the flooding has caused “tremendous strain” on irrigation and drainage infrastructure in the area.

Closures

Multiple roads and sites were closed Tuesday. All northbound lanes of Interstate 25 near Hatch were closed Tuesday.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park was closed Tuesday and will remain closed today after a “major road collapse” on CR 7900, the park wrote on social media. Trails, the visitor center and the loop road will remain closed.

It is unclear when the area will reopen, though the park said the earliest would be Thursday.

Multiple roads statewide have been closed due to standing water, according to road advisory website NMRoads. At least four roads in southern New Mexico were closed Tuesday, though that number could change as the downpour continues.

Curbside trash collection is temporarily paused for Bernalillo County residents after Waste Management landfills were closed due to weather conditions.

It is unknown when curbside collection will resume. Residents are urged to look for updates on the Waste Management website. Albuquerque residents may also face delays for trash collection. The Cerro Colorado Landfill was closed Tuesday due to unsafe facility conditions, according to Solid Waste Management Department spokesperson Alex Bukoski.

“Customers who have not received service by dusk on their regularly scheduled collection day will be serviced the following day as conditions allow,” he said in a news release. “In some cases, residents may be delayed by more than one day if excessively rainy conditions continue to impact safety and operations at the Cerro Colorado Landfill.”

Backed-up toilet appointed new Secretary of the Army

Pentagon says clogged fixture brings “continuity, stability and ability to swallow enormous amounts of shit”

[From The Duffelblog]

THE PENTAGON — Following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Pentagon officials announced that a backed-up toilet from the third floor of the Pentagon had been selected to lead the service.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell introduced the nominee in a prerecorded video.

“As always, we were looking for a leader who reflects the values of today’s Department of War,” Parnell said. “Someone dependable, resilient and capable of swallowing whatever gets dumped on them.”

He gestured toward the stained Kohler 1.28 gallon-per-flush toilet from bathroom 3E880.

“Meet your next Secretary of the Army.”

Pentagon officials said the toilet emerged as an early favorite because of its extensive experience dealing with shit from senior leadership.

“It takes whatever Pete gives it, holds it quietly, and then eventually overflows onto everybody nearby,” Parnell said. “That’s basically the job description.”

The appointment comes during a period of unusual leadership turnover across the Army.

Driscoll resigned after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Earlier this year, Hegseth forced Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to retire, while Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, also filed retirement papers.

Critics have raised concerns that removing so many senior leaders could disrupt Army modernization and readiness.

Parnell dismissed those concerns.

“We’ve flushed plenty of people this year,” he said. “The Army is still here.”

Officials said several other candidates were considered, including a broken calculator from the G-6, a moldy yogurt container from the Pentagon refrigerator, and a folding chair that had been sitting outside Hegseth’s office since February.

“All were highly qualified,” Parnell said. “Unfortunately, most of them were already serving as special government employees.”

Parnell was also reportedly considered for the job. Hegseth has told associates that Parnell would be his preferred permanent replacement for Driscoll.

“I was honored,” Parnell said. “But Pete and I ultimately agreed that I’m too important where I am, explaining why everything happening here is actually going extremely well.”

The toilet has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, though officials said it has already begun receiving classified briefings.

“So far, it has interrupted nobody, leaked nothing to the press and expressed no independent opinions,” said one Joint Staff officer.

“Frankly, it’s crushing it.”

The nominee’s first assignment will be implementing Hegseth’s vision for Army transformation while preserving readiness during the Iran War.

Asked whether a bathroom fixture was qualified to oversee roughly one million soldiers and civilians, Parnell appeared offended.

“It has more Pentagon experience than half the administration,” he said.

At press time, Senate leaders expressed confidence that the nomination would move quickly after the toilet successfully completed its confirmation questionnaire by returning every page blank.

A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportees

Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea. The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump’s deportation program.

By Megha Rajagopalan and Pranav Baskar for The New York Times

September 18, 2026

Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration were hooded, bound, beaten with guns and shoved down a flight of stairs recently by police officers at a remote hotel where immigrants are being held indefinitely, according to witnesses and lawyers.

The deportees said the beatings and subsequent arrests were intended to stop them from telling the outside world about the deteriorating conditions and growing violence inside the hotel, which has become a de facto prison for 29 men and women from different countries.

Experts and human rights advocates predicted such abuse after the Trump administration began deporting people to authoritarian countries where they had no ties or, in many cases, legal rights. Equatorial Guinea, like other countries cooperating with the U.S. deportation program, is notorious for human rights violations, including torture and arbitrary arrest, according to the State Department.

Equatorial Guinea, a small autocracy on Africa’s western coast, is one of many countries that have agreed to accept immigrants deported from the United States. With no legal status in the country, the deportees are being held in the Hotel Bamy — a dilapidated building on the outskirts of the city of Malabo. Armed police officers stand guard 24 hours a day and frequently harass and intimidate people there with impunity, deportees said.

“We are in imminent danger now and can’t keep living like this,” Ahmed Soliman, a deportee at the hotel, said in a text message to The New York Times this month. “I’m tired and genuinely afraid for my life.” He was one of the two men who were later beaten and hooded, witnesses and the human rights group Amnesty International said.

Though the hotel operates as a prison, none of the immigrants are charged with a crime in Equatorial Guinea. The indefinite detention reflects a contradiction at the heart of many arrangements between Washington and foreign governments. Equatorial Guinea agreed to take people but has given them no legal rights or documents that would let them live or work there, even temporarily.

American judges had ruled that a majority of the immigrants in the hotel could not be deported to their home countries because they were likely to be tortured or persecuted. For years, officials allowed many such people to stay in the United States by default, despite their lack of legal standing. The Trump administration ended that policy and is working to find countries, like Equatorial Guinea, willing to accept them.

Videos and interviews show that police aggression inside the hotel escalated in recent weeks and peaked on Sept. 11. The police put burlap sacks over the two men’s faces, tied their hands with rope, beat them with guns and shoved them down the stairs as several deportees watched. The beatings were recounted by multiple witnesses and lawyers.

he police officers shouted: “Where is the phone? Where is the phone!” witnesses said. The immigrants had been using cellphones to speak to journalists and lawyers about the lack of running water, nutritious food or medical care. The beating, witnesses said, followed the release of a video, first reported by Reuters, showing the deteriorating situation in the hotel.

Police also ransacked hotel rooms, searching for cellphones, deportees said.

The deportees spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the threat of retaliation. Western lawyers including Bella Mosselmans, Alexandra Smolyar and Meredyth Yoon, who represent some of the deportees, discussed details of the beatings and arrests. A local lawyer spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Messages seeking comment from the government of Equatorial Guinea, left with its embassies in London and Washington, were not returned.

The police arrested the two men, Mr. Soliman, originally from Egypt, and Samson Birhane, of Eritrea, ostensibly over a broken mirror in the hotel’s elevator. Ms. Mosselmans said that the authorities were retaliating because the two had tried to make their mistreatment known to the public. They were held in a local jail and then vanished for two days, their lawyers said, before being returned to jail.

The State Department did not respond to a message seeking comment early Friday morning. The government has said little about these so-called third-country-deportation deals. In court documents, the Trump administration has argued that once someone is deported to a foreign country, it cannot control what that government does.

Equatorial Guinea had promised the United States, in a diplomatic note, that it would not subject the deportees to torture or other maltreatment. The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement after this story was published, said all the people sent there were “deported to a safe third country” and the administration was “applying the law as written.”

The New York Times interviewed four deportees in recent weeks who described abusive treatment from armed police officers. The officers, mostly young men, carry semiautomatic firearms and periodically arrive at the hotel. Sometimes, two of the deportees said, the guards are drunk.

In July, police officers stormed five hotel rooms, grabbed people by the necks and tackled them, according to deportees and lawyers. The officers took the immigrants outside the hotel, pointed guns at them and threatened to have them killed — and buried in a field across the hotel property — if they did not voluntarily return to their home countries, they said.

“They are telling us, ‘America doesn’t know where you’re at,’” one witness said. “They say, ‘We will put you on a plane, kill you all, throw you in prison, and nobody will see you again.’”

A video shared with The Times shows a separate incident in which a government official tells an Ethiopian man that his options are to “go back to your home country” or “go to prison.”

The government has already returned a least a dozen people to their home countries, despite the U.S. legal protections and the risk of abuse there, according to lawyers. Many of these deportees have since disappeared or gone into hiding, the lawyers said.

In May, United Nations experts appealed to Equatorial Guinea’s government for access to medical care and basic necessities at the hotel.

One video shared with The Times shows a bathroom tap that does not dispense water. A local lawyer who recently visited said he found no medical supplies even though several people had serious health conditions, including diabetes and a severe hernia.

The government also recently used the hotel to quarantine a suspected Ebola patient, one of the lawyers said. Videos shared with The New York Times show health workers in hazmat suits appearing to move patients to the hotel. Mr. Soliman, in interviews with The Times before he was arrested, said nurses and police officers told him that the patient had Ebola.

The two men who were beaten and arrested, Mr. Birhane and Mr. Soliman, were taken to a detention center that is called La Luna and known to be deeply overcrowded. A lawyer who was in touch with the men said they had been denied food and that their bodies were covered in bruises.

Mr. Soliman, 31, held a green card in the United States, where he had lived since he was 3, according to records submitted to the African Commission. He lost that status after being sentenced to prison in 2023 for drug possession and aggravated assault. While Mr. Soliman was serving a prison sentence, a judge ruled that he could not be deported to Egypt because, as a gay man, he would most likely be tortured there. He was deported to Equatorial Guinea this year.

Mr. Birhane, 47, came to the United States as a refugee at 13. He was deemed deportable after a second-degree robbery conviction in 1998, while he was in high school. A judge ruled he could not be returned to Eritrea given the risk of torture there.

He had lived in the United States since then, checking in regularly with immigration officials. At one of those check-ins this year, he was arrested and then later deported.

Lawyers have sent several emails to David Gilmour, the U.S. ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, and others at the U.S. Embassy, according to correspondence they shared with The Times. The emails have not been answered, they said.

On Sept. 11, the day that Mr. Soliman and Mr. Birhane were beaten and arrested, Mr. Gilmour met with the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, who is also a son of the president.

The vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, also made a phone call to Stephen Miller, a White House adviser and key driver of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. The two discussed “different issues related to migration,” according to a statement posted on the ruling party’s website.

NM improves from 50th to 48th in national child poverty rankings

State remains among poorest in nation, but programs like universal childcare could help lighten household burden

BY JOHN MILLER / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

September 28, 2026

Poverty in New Mexico declined over the last three years, especially for people under 18, improving its standing among the poorest states in the nation.

New Mexico’s overall average poverty rate fell from 17.2% between 2022 and 2024 to 16% from 2023 through 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest three-year estimates, outstripping a national decline of 0.4 percentage points over the same period.

Child poverty — an assessment of whether pretax income for households with children falls below the latest poverty threshold — declined more significantly in New Mexico in the last three years, dropping from an estimated rate of 24.2% between 2022 and 2024 to 20.9% from 2023 to 2025.

That moves New Mexico up from 50th to 48th among states and Washington, D.C., in national child poverty rankings, an improvement New Mexico officials say they’ve been working toward amid ongoing cuts to the federal social safety net.

“Our federal government is moving in the wrong direction, but New Mexico has proven its commitment to eradicating poverty,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement last October. “We will continue to improve and deliver for families in need.”

The Census Bureau’s official poverty measure, in use since the 1960s, defines poverty by comparing pretax income adjusted based on the size of a household.

Since 2011, the agency has also published its “supplemental poverty measure,” which incorporates government benefits and tax credits excluded from the official measure while also accounting for taxes, certain necessary expenses and geographic differences in housing costs.

While New Mexico’s official child poverty rate fell sharply between 2023 and 2025, its supplemental child poverty rate — which accounts for government benefits, taxes, living expenses and geographic differences in housing costs — remained relatively flat, moving from 10.3% to 10.9%.

New Mexico’s first-of-itskind universal childcare program, which became law late last November and received a $700 million legislative appropriation this year, is likely not reflected in the most recent supplemental poverty estimates.

That initiative is set to build upon similar programs, like the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, which provides full college tuition and fee coverage for eligible New Mexico residents.

Despite the state’s overall improvement in the poverty rankings, New Mexico remains one of the poorest states in the nation and is the only non-Southern state with a poverty rate still significantly higher than the national rate, estimated at 10.7%.

“These data show us that the policies we choose can make a measurable difference in whether children have the resources they need to thrive,” Emily Wildau, director of policy at New Mexico Voices for Children, said in a statement. “New Mexico has made policy choices that have helped lift thousands of children out of poverty. We need to protect and build on those choices, not move backward.”

How ABQ’s Caroline Pineda became a rising star in sports journalism

Path to the University of Notre Dame football sidelines began with a fifth-grade letter to a famed jockey

By Geoff Grammer for the Albuquerque Journal

Caroline Pineda interviewing Caitlin Clark.

September 28, 2026

Laurie Pineda didn’t think there was much of a chance it was going to work.

While it wasn’t the same thing as mailing a child’s wish list to the North Pole each December, she wasn’t exactly holding her breath that sending a list of questions from her 11-year-old daughter to a retired Canadian jockey they had never met by way of a northern Maine P.O. Box they came across in a library book was actually going to net any sort of response.

But the always supportive and encouraging mother was wasn’t about to tell Caroline — her uberambitious oldest child — not to try.

So, when Caroline Pineda, the Albuquerque fifth grader who had been assigned an independent research assignment about any famous person, chose to write not about a U.S. president or famous singer but a guy named Ron Turcotte whom she had just learned about in the movie “Secretariat” at a local dollar theater, Laurie Pineda said, “Sure. I’ll mail your letter.”

Two weeks later, Caroline found a letter addressed to her in the mailbox from Maine.

Not only did its contents — thoughtful answers to her questions, a book recommendation about Secretariat, a collectable sports card of Turcotte as a jockey, and more — help her ace that assignment, it served as a road map of sorts for a journey she didn’t even realize at the time she was starting.

“I just thought it was the most amazing thing that he had taken the time to answer my questions and to thoughtfully tell me about his experiences and about Secretariat,” recalls Caroline, now 26 and living in Connecticut and a rising star in sports broadcasting with NBC Sports, maybe most prominently known now as being assigned this season to be the sideline reporter for Notre Dame football games for the network.

Being entrusted to tell someone else’s story to the world was something Caroline realized she really enjoyed doing. But there was another part of that experience that sticks with her.

“I also remember my mom saying, ‘Well, if you think this is cool, (did you know) some people do this for a career,’” Caroline recalls. “I think from that moment on, I thought that’s what I wanted to do. …

“It was a class project that sparked the interest, and it took my mom saying people can do that for a career that made me realize that this was possible for me.”

The seeds …

Caroline Pineda, the oldest of three siblings (brother Andrew is a senior at the University of New Mexico, sister Emily is enrolled at Iowa University), was born in Plano, Texas, and grew up in Albuquerque.

Sports — playing, but more so watching — were a big part of her childhood.

“I remember waking up on Saturdays and coming downstairs and watching (ESPN’s) College Game Day on the couch and watching all the college games on that day, including of course the Notre Dame games,” recalls Caroline. “And it was just always one of my favorite moments of the week was just getting to watch as much college football as possible.”

But it was about more than just watching.

“I would read the Albuquerque Journal at the kitchen table over breakfast before school,” she recalled — without any prompting at all from the sports reporter she was now sharing her story with.

“I loved reading Sports Illustrated. I would wait till that arrived in our mailbox and would read that cover to cover. And I just loved consuming sports media through different mediums.”

Filling up that résumé

She wrote for her middle school newspaper, and for “The Talon,” the student paper at Eldorado High School, where she graduated in 2018 and was also a varsity swimmer.

She won multiple sportswriting awards through the New Mexico Activities Association and was published in the Santa Fe New Mexican for a feature she wrote on former Albuquerque Isotopes player Tim Wheeler. She landed an internship working for the UNM Lobos communications department and shadowed sportscasters at KOB-TV.

“I kind of dove in and tried to immerse myself as much as I could in different aspects of the industry,” she said.

And that was all before she was accepted to the University of Notre Dame.

Once there, it only accelerated. “There was an activities fair Notre Dame has every year for students, and I sorta signed up for everything,” she said.

She spent her freshman year at the historic South Bend, Indiana, campus working with the on-campus student radio station, television station, a student magazine and with Fighting Irish Media, the in-house multimedia arm of Notre Dame Athletics.

She got into broadcasting basketball, baseball, softball, football and even hockey games — never turning down an opportunity for growth, no matter how ready she was or wasn’t.

By her sophomore year, she started covering Notre Dame football, and that included getting to do some behind-thescenes work with NBC, the network with the broadcast rights to Fighting Irish football.

She did internships with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington Post and even one with the Cape Cod League for baseball, until it got nixed by COVID in 2020.

To say she was busy would be an understatement.

“I told her if I had my Notre Dame experience to do over again,” Laurie Pineda said, “I’d want to do it as her.”

Learning in front of critics

Laurie Pineda admits she still gets nervous watching her daughter work on camera. Social media isn’t always kind to sports journalists, regardless of whether you’re a student still learning the craft or not. And for women, it’s even harder.

“I wanted my daughters to know sports and follow sports, but there’s this fine line,” Laurie Pineda said. “If you know too much, some guys get offended or bothered. If a girl knows the difference between encroachment and offsides, or something like that, sometimes it changes how people think of her.

“Girls should never be ashamed to know a lot about sports. But it seems sometimes that it is put in a bad light, so that’s disappointing.”

A star growing brighter

“Hello, friends, and hello, Caroline,” the familiar voice of sports broadcasting legend Jim Nantz came on over the speakers at the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s national awards conference in North Carolina.

“I’ve seen your tape. It’s absolutely amazing. No hyperbole here at all. You have a warmth, a presence about you, and a professionalism that’s going to take you a real long way. Enjoy the journey. It’s been hugely successful so far, and I have no doubt it’s going to take you to some fascinating places around the world.”

In 2022, Caroline won the National Sports Media Association’s Jim Nantz Award for “the nation’s most outstanding collegiate sports broadcaster.”

She’s now got on her résumé bullet points listing her jobs working the Olympics, this past Super Bowl, MLB games, WNBA games and of course landing this past summer a bit of a childhood dream job of being named the sideline reporter for the NBC broadcast team for Notre Dame football.

“One thing that I never lose sight of is how much of a responsibility it is that people trust you with their stories,” Caroline said. “That’s something that I take so seriously, and that means a lot to me that I have the chance to tell stories about people and their families through sports …

“It isn’t something to be taken lightly to have the chance to share someone’s story with an audience.”

New Mexicans are scrambling for green chile amid crop losses

BY KYLIE GARCIA / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

September 28, 2026

It was a dreary morning on Wednesday as a downpour swept across the state.

But that didn’t stop dozens of New Mexicans from lining up bright and early for roasted green chile at Rosales Produce’s North Valley stand. It opened at 7 a.m. — but people started arriving two hours before that.

“Took the day off today,” said Albuquerque resident Jason Ziglar as he waited in line around 7:40 a.m. “As long as you bring a sack for your boss, you’re all good.”

Ziglar and his wife, Zoe, arrived at the stand at 6:30 a.m. for three sacks — 120 pounds — of chile.

“We eat it with everything,” Zoe Ziglar said. “We don’t like bagging it all up, but I love eating it,” Jason Ziglar added. “So we stand in line for hours to do it.”

Rosales Produce, which sells chile grown by the Rosales family in Lemitar, isn’t the only roaster seeing lines. High demand for green chile hit markets and retailers across the city after word spread that the green chile season will be cut short this year, a result of challenging growing conditions, including warm nighttime temperatures, drought and disease, industry experts say.

In a Sept. 15 statement, the New Mexico Chile Association said that “while many fields produced an initial harvest, the crop did not progress normally afterward.”

“Plants entered first pick under stress, and many fields were unable to recover sufficiently to produce the anticipated second harvest,” the statement said. Based on current industry estimates, the association said supply shortfalls are expected to range between 20% and 50%.

‘A strange year’

That’s the case for Gillis Farms, which grows its chile across roughly 450 acres in the Hatch Valley. Owner and fourth-generation grower Duane Gillis estimates 40% to 45% of his chile crops produced no returns.

“We’ve had a terrible year this year,” Gillis said. “A lot of it is because of the warm winter we had, and then a hot, dry summer, and we had a lot of insect pressure on the crop. So I think everything hit the same year, and it’s just been kind of a disaster.”

Fabian Grajeda, who helps his family run Hatch-based Grajeda Farms, was feeling optimistic at the start of this year’s harvest in mid-July. But when August came, curly top disease ravished fields across the Hatch Valley.

“Luckily, a lot of our late chiles that we planted late didn’t get hit as hard, so that’s what’s keeping us going right now,” Grajeda said.

But with chile demand as high as it is, Grajeda believes the farm’s green chile crop will run its course by the end of September — much sooner than the typical season’s end, usually brought on by the first frost around mid-to-late October.

“You just never know what could happen,” Grajeda said. “A lot of us, this is the first time (we’ve) ever seen that disease hit any of our farms. It was a strange year for sure.”

Tommy Rosales said his Lemitargrown supply is also “down quite a bit” due to heat and water quality. Without water flowing through the Rio Grande most of this year, the farm has had to rely on well water to nourish its chile crop — a method Rosales said doesn’t provide the same natural nutrients the river does.

Industry ripple effects

Customers have noticed the shortage’s impact on business operations. In years past, Albuquerque resident Calvin James said he’d usually be able to purchase a sack of chile without issue around mid-morning or as late as noon.

This year, Rosales Produce’s North Valley stand ran out of chile by 11 a.m. when James stopped by a week ago, prompting him to return bright and early later in the week.

For growers, the shortage is the cherry on top of other financial pressures, including rising costs for fuel and fertilizer.

“It’s hard,” Rosales said. “If we can’t make ends meet, we won’t have enough to start next year up.”

Edward Ogaz, a Las Cruces-area farmer and executive director of the New Mexico Chile Association, echoed Rosales’ concerns. He said the shortage will likely have ripple effects across the industry.

“It will have an impact on everyone,” Ogaz said. He said it will start with laborers and move on to processors, markets, shippers and consumers, calling it a chain of events “that’s going to happen.”

The best way for New Mexicans to support the chile industry is to continue buying New Mexico chile despite the lines and frenzy, Ogaz said. And that’s exactly what people are doing.

Theresa Blea drove all the way from Bernalillo two days in a row to secure the hot commodity last week. After Rosales Produce sold out on Blea’s first attempt on Tuesday, she arrived earlier the following day.

Steve and Barbara Carlson have a much shorter commute, but they still made it a point to be in their car by 7 a.m.

“It’s everything,” Barbara Carlson said of the annual ritual of peeling, eating and freezing roasted green chile and what it means to her family.

Unprecedented demand

Local farmers markets and retailers are certainly feeling the love.

“We all have huge lines and sell out the very same day that we get shipments in,” said Janet Arredondo, whose parents own Chile Konnection Produce, an Albuquerque market on Broadway Boulevard.

“Just yesterday, we got a load and sold out in four hours,” she continued. “People have been waiting in line at our store since the morning and wait for truck arrival. Phones have been ringing nonstop because people want their chile — but there is not enough to supply everyone.”

Mago Chairez — who runs Mago’s Farm, a Hatch-based farm with a stand in Albuquerque, alongside his father — said he senses a panic among customers that reminds him of when people were buying copious amounts of toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think they heard about a shortage and are panic buying,” Chairez said. “I think they’re bracing for next year, too. I mean, it’s not going to get any colder.”

This year marks Mago’s Farm’s third year roasting chile for the University of New Mexico. In the last two years, Chairez said the university primarily placed orders for quart-size bags. This year, orders were for full sacks.

This year also marks the first time that Mago’s Farm has had to ration its product and prioritize orders. Chairez said the farm will have enough product to get through a normal season but not enough to fulfill all of the orders it’s receiving. He expects the high demand to offset potential revenue losses from the supply shortfall.

For Kenneth DeWees — owner of Chile Traditions, an Albuquerque store that sells fresh, roasted and frozen chile from Soto Farms in Hatch — the demand is unprecedented.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said DeWees, who opened his chile-centric shop nearly four decades ago. “I spent the other day just answering the phone; probably answered around 250 calls. And they’re not asking nothing except, ‘Do you have chile? We’ll be right there.’ It’s a mad panic.”

Anonymous donors give $ 3M for Presbyterian’s new neurological ICU

The unit is expected to open early next year

BY GREGORY R.C. HASMAN / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

September 28, 2026

Presbyterian Healthcare Services’ nonprofit arm recently received $3 million in donations to help fund an eightbed neurological intensive care unit at the health system’s Downtown hospital.

“The anonymous donors shared that their gift reflects a desire to make a lasting difference in the lives of New Mexicans and help ensure patients have access to exceptional care when they need it most,” Presbyterian spokesperson Kourtney Muñoz said in a statement.

The donations, made to the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation, pay for most of the $4.5 million project. The health system is covering the rest through its annual capital budget, she said.

The ICU is part of Presbyterian’s broader strategy to grow neuroscience services. Recently, Presbyterian opened a $4.5 million hybrid operating room in Albuquerque that launched in October. The hybrid suite supports advanced neurological and vascular care for treating stroke, aneurysms, blocked carotid arteries and other complex surgical issues.

“The right expertise, technology and resources in one dedicated space allow us to respond more effectively to patients’ needs and help improve outcomes during some of the most critical moments in their care,” Dr. Denise Gonzales, a Presbyterian medical director, said in a statement about the new ICU.

Neurology patients currently receive care in Presbyterian Hospital’s 41-bed ICU alongside patients with cardiac and other critical conditions, she said.

“A dedicated neuro ICU will build on that care by providing a specialized environment with focused monitoring, technology and clinical expertise for patients with complex neurological conditions,” Gonzales wrote in an email.

At least four nurses will staff the ICU. The unit will also have three neurologists and six neurosurgeons.

“Our neurosurgeons are very advanced and very specialized, and they’re already doing some fantastic things,” she said.

Gonzales said that after patients improve enough to leave the ICU, they can stay in step-down beds. These beds provide an intermediate level of care for patients with needs somewhere between the general ward and the intensive care unit, according to an article in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“They don’t have to move or have to be intermingled with patients with other conditions,” she said. “They’ll really get the experience where the entire care team is focused on their neurological condition.”

Gonzales said construction is expected to be completed in January 2027. Officials expect the ICU to open by February.

“We’ve already started to put things in place where we’ve closed down some rooms so that they can be remodeled,” she said. “All of those things have to be tightly coordinated so that we don’t negatively impact the rest of the hospital.”

Children Youth, and Family Department reforms face test amid transition

New oversight order aims to preserve child welfare progress as New Mexico prepares for a new governor and agency leadership

BY COLLEEN HEILD / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

September 28, 2026

Just as New Mexico’s chronically troubled child welfare system is finally showing improvement, advocates and experts fear potential stumbling blocks ahead. The worry: A new gubernatorial administration that might pause or even impede the hardfought progress made so far.

“The uncertainty of the next administration is keeping all of us up (at night),” said Maralyn Beck, founder of New Mexico Child First Network.

One reason: Expected turnover in the top ranks of the state Children, Youth and Families Department, including its top leader, acting Secretary Valerie Sandoval.

Unlike her three predecessors appointed by outgoing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham since 2019, Sandoval had years of prior experience at the agency, particularly in child protective services.

At the state Health Care Authority, Cabinet Secretary Kari Armijo, a gubernatorial appointee, is also planning to depart.

And, though anything could change, two key CYFD administrators recruited from out of state last year are also expected to leave when Lujan Grisham, who is term-limited, ends her tenure Dec. 31.

What is expected to continue is the oversight of outside arbitrator Charles Peifer, who has set strict deadlines for state compliance with a six-year-old legal settlement called Kevin S.

Kevin S. is one of 14 foster children whose attorneys sued the state in 2018 on behalf of children in state custody over a lack of appropriate placements and insufficient behavioral healthcare.

Peifer approved a new order setting out the latest target goals at a hearing Wednesday with state officials, their attorneys and lawyers for the plaintiffs.

“I attribute much of the progress to the commitment of the senior leadership team at CYFD and HCA and to what I have perceived to be a change and an emphasis on the priorities of helping these kids in state custody,” said Peifer, an Albuquerque attorney who was appointed as arbitrator in December 2023.

“I look back at the history of annual reports going back five years, and I think the state was largely stuck and was not making significant progress,” Peifer said during the hearing. “And I think in the last year, year and a half, I think you have begun to make meaningful progress in addressing some problems that have been around for years.”

For instance: Over the past year, the state has increased the number of foster families, created a Foster Care Plus program for children and youth who need a higher level of care, and established a foster parent advisory council.

CYFD also created a “Workforce Strike Force” initiative to reduce caseloads and stabilize turnover in the hopes of keeping children in custody safer and reducing staff burnout.

Earlier this year, Lujan Grisham ended the problematic overnight housing of hard-to-place youth and children at CYFD offices. In 2025, she also imposed a policy designed to ensure the safety of vulnerable drug- exposed infants before they go home from the hospital.

But in the words of Judith Meltzer, one of two outside monitors hired by the state to assess CYFD compliance with the settlement agreement, “There’s a lot of work ahead.”

With the election less than six weeks away, both gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull, say they will appoint a new secretary to head the agency.

Haaland has also voiced support for eventually creating an independent child welfare agency, which would remove oversight from the executive branch. The Legislature rejected the idea in 2025.

At the time, the Kevin S. experts took the unusual step of writing a public letter stating that such a commission would not help the reform effort and might even make it worse.

No matter who the next CYFD secretary is, the Kevin S. parties agreed on a new plan, called a remedial order, to try to maintain the “momentum” of current success.

“This order was negotiated with the upcoming change in administrations in mind, which poses a real risk to the continuity of reforms affecting the state’s most vulnerable children,” said Kayla Jankowski, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, which also include two advocacy groups.

“As such, progress the state has made and has agreed to make in the next several months must not be undermined by contrary new initiatives or a decision to start over from scratch,” Jankowski said at the hearing.

She added: “While plaintiffs intend to continue to hold the state accountable to its commitments, plaintiffs are also hopeful that the parties will be able to continue collaborating throughout the next phase of this reform.”

Kevin Ryan, the other nationally recognized child welfare expert assisting in the Kevin S. oversight, echoed Peifer.

“In my experience over the last six and a half years, this is, without question, the most focused CYFD leadership team,” Ryan said at the hearing. “And I don’t mean at the 30,000-foot level. I mean actually meeting, office by office, and understanding what the challenges are to compliance, and … barrier busting at that level.

“And I think the biggest threat to reform, without question, is that a lot of these people could be gone in the next several months, and I think this order is an effort to keep the state accountable and to keep momentum moving forward.”

In settling the federal Kevin S. lawsuit, CYFD in 2020 agreed to recruit more foster families, decrease caseworker caseloads and address increased mental health demands for vulnerable children in state custody. But in the interim, the agency failed to meet many of its target goals.

Back in 2022, the two Kevin S. experts reported that New Mexico’s child welfare system was in crisis. By 2023, they concluded that conditions for foster children had become “significantly worse” and had deteriorated to the point of being “completely dangerous.”

They cited inadequate staffing, backlogs in investigating reports of child abuse and neglect, unprecedented caseloads and failure to provide children needed services.

Under Peifer’s watch, CYFD must appear regularly at hearings to report its compliance with specific deadlines.

Last September, following the resignation of CYFD’s third secretary in six years, Sandoval was named acting Cabinet secretary and the leadership team expanded.

Former state Health Department Cabinet Secretary Kathy Kunkel, a lawyer who was living on the East Coast, was appointed as a CYFD deputy secretary and assisted with Kevin S. compliance.

Brenda Donald, former director of Washington, D.C.’s child welfare agency, became chief operations officer.

A CYFD spokesman did not directly respond to a question about whether the two women, who are in exempt positions, plan to resign by Dec. 31.

The candidates

Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor running against Haaland, told the Journal on Friday, “CYFD reform will be a day-one priority in my administration.”

Hull said he believes CYFD has not been held accountable for the children in its care, “and that failure belongs to the state’s leadership, not to the caseworkers doing one of the hardest jobs in government.”

“The state has made real progress in recent months, and I give credit for that,” Hull added in a statement. But he noted CYFD still “missed its caseworker requirement this summer, and it hands much of the remaining work to the next governor.”

Meanwhile, Haaland’s campaign website states, “On day one, I will overhaul CYFD. We will start from scratch with a secretary who has the right experience to serve our kids and move toward a system that provides consistent, high-quality care.”

Her press office issued this additional response Friday: “Overhauling CYFD requires appointing an experienced Cabinet secretary, along with a plan for an independent commission for sustained, long-term accountability.”

She also hopes to strengthen workforce training, recruit more foster families and support the independent Office of the Child Advocate, which investigates complaints.

The statement added, “I am committed to hearing directly from adults who grew up in the CYFD system to gain valuable insight into their experiences and identify effective strategies to improve the agency.”

Acting CYFD Secretary Sandoval said during last week’s Kevin S. hearing that despite the accomplishments, “we know that shortcomings remain. We know that some goals have not yet been met, and that some reforms must move faster.

“We are not slowing down, we are not stepping back, or waiting for the transition,” she added. “We intend to leave the incoming administration with clear priorities, reliable data, established systems, and a solid foundation on which this work can continue. The safety and well-being of children cannot depend on election cycles or changes in leadership.”

‘They Picked the Wrong Candidate’: 12 Texas Swing Voters on the Paxton-Talarico Race

Report on an interview of twelve Texas voters: six Republicans, four Independents, and two Democrats, who voted for Trump in 2024, by Kristen Soltis Anderson for The New York Times.

S

For years, Democrats have hoped to win a Senate seat in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat statewide since the 1990s. According to polling, that hope appears to be closer in reach this year than any other time in recent memory. Why?

This month, Times Opinion spoke with 12 Texans who voted for President Trump in 2024 and now either were considering voting for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate, or were undecided about whether to vote in that race at all.

Many spoke of their love of Texas and its commitment to a strong economy and hospitality, but this group of voters was broadly dissatisfied with the state of the country, the economy and especially politics. Many talked about both major parties being captured by extremes and incapable of working together or speaking well of others. Several participants said they were glad that border security was tighter, but several were unhappy with the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement has operated under Mr. Trump. A few said they couldn’t understand the choices Mr. Trump was making; some feel burned by promises he made in 2024.

“You used to think that you could count on the Republicans to be able to help out with the economy, and that they would be the ones to fix it,” one participant said. “But now it’s more a feeling of, it’s going to fix it for a certain few.”

Mr. Talarico, a state lawmaker, in turn, received a range of reviews. Some found him “fresh” and “inspiring,” while others disapproved of his social views.

If Texas does turn blue, this group’s heated and highly negative stance on Mr. Talarico’s opponent — Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, who survived an impeachment effort in the Texas legislature last year over corruption allegations, which he denied — would likely provide a window into that victory. “They picked the wrong candidate,” one participant said of the Republican Party. “It’s him. If they picked anybody else, they would have won.”

All of you have lived in Texas for 10 or more years. What has changed the most about Texas in the time that you have lived in the state?

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

The real estate prices have shot up like crazy in the last decade or so. So has the cost of living.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

Twenty years ago, you didn’t have half the infrastructure you do now. You didn’t have half these shopping malls and stuff like that. There’s been a lot of development.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I think that the culture of Texas has changed. It’s gotten a lot more diverse, I would say, in the last 10 to 20 years.

Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor

The initial joy of living here over the last decade has definitely deteriorated. I don’t love living here anymore. I don’t like the weather. It’s like a desert seven months of the year. Initially, I thought I could deal with it. Now it’s like I’ve got to hibernate for a few months of the year.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

I agree about the weather. Everything west of I-35 feels like desert conditions. Everything east of 35 feels like a swamp, as far as humidity.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

And has that changed in the last 10 years? Is that different?

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

It feels like the summers are hotter and the winters are colder. And the cities have grown so much. When I was a kid, San Antonio to Houston seemed so far away. Now you’re at the edge of one and into the other within about two hours.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What is the top issue you think Texans are facing right now?

Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor

I consider myself kind of upper-middle class, I guess. So I feel like right now the buying power of middle-class America is really shrinking. The cost of living here is so high, and it’s probably on par with other cities, like Chicago and New York and L.A. I feel like that’s a problem because a lot of people here are basically living paycheck to paycheck and they don’t have savings because, like I said, the higher cost of living, layoffs. The buying power of the middle class is not as strong as it used to be back in the 2010s.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

Minimum wage is so low here. And property taxes just keep getting higher and higher. I own my house. Just with the property taxes alone, it’s still expensive, even though it’s paid off. Everything’s going up except for our paychecks.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

I say the top issues are immigration, border control and homelessness. In the past five, seven years, it’s just gotten so bad.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I agree with the first gentleman who spoke: There is very little middle class anymore. And there’s so much poverty in this state. It’s either the haves or have-nots. We also face poor education. Our public schools are just getting worse. More people are leaving them. I don’t believe that we’re giving our students the education they deserve.

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

Well, there are several issues. Cost of living, immigration, the skyrocketing housing costs, insurance for these houses, health insurance. Everything is just priced out of range for the average American, for the average Texan, if you will. Education is getting worse.

Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired

I’m going to agree with all the folks, and I’m going to add that over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a significant amount of negative rhetoric from our leaders. It’s causing people to be disrespectful of each other in Texas. They’re making rivals out of other people within our same state here.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What, if anything, do you think leaders in Washington should be focused on first when it comes to the issue of the economy?

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

I don’t understand the tariffs, but what I understand is that they will eventually come to affect me in cost of goods, including with the retaliation tariffs. Somebody needs to be looking at the economy as a whole and somehow address the rising cost of living, and the inflation that is going too fast to keep up with salary increases or pay increases. I feel like that needs to be addressed as more of a whole package than one-offs here and there.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

I think it starts with our national deficit and just government spending overall — get that under control. Because I think everything flows from that. I mean, we’re writing checks that somebody’s got to cash eventually, and we’re just spending money left and right. Our deficit is in the trillions now. That’s not sustainable for the future. And the fact that they’re not working together, just constantly — they can’t agree on the color of the sky.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

How would you describe the political culture of Texas? When you think about politics in Texas today, how would you describe it?

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

It’s definitely a very conservative state. I lived in Texas, and I was in California for 10 years and went back to Texas. It’s conservative, yet tolerant and accepting. There’s a strong resistance against immigration. And it should be legal. That’s how I came in. But at the same time, I think, with all the various cultures and different migration coming in, it has evolved in the last 20, 25 years. I’ve seen it move into a very, very endearing and educated and industrialized direction. But the economy is a big challenge. They’re encouraging manufacturing, which is good. But I need to see more.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

You’re either a Republican or a Democrat. Either you’re one or the other. You’re not going to sway to one side or the other, just because they’re very different here in Texas.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I think we are following the nation. We used to all have different opinions on politics, and we could still all get along. There were compromises, but we could be with family. One might believe in one thing and one might believe another, but we could all still be together. And as it is in the country, I think Texas is getting further and further apart. It’s gotten very nasty. We’ve always been a very kind state, I’ve always thought. And I don’t feel like we’re very kind anymore.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

To Jennifer’s point, are there ever people who switch parties when it comes to who they’re voting for? Or are people pretty set?

Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor

Texas voters just have so much pride. I think a lot of them are stuck in what they believe and are not open to potentially changing their points of view despite hearing credible information, opinions, life experiences. It’s really hard to change someone’s opinion on whatever topic it may be, especially those that are more historically conservative.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

For the most part, you’re not going to see a lot of flip-flopping. You’re either leaning on the conservative side, you’re leaning on the liberal side, or you’re all the way to the extreme. Being in the digital age, my fear is that people, especially us as older Americans, take what we see through digital media, the Facebooks and the TikToks and all that stuff, that they take that as fact more than an opinion. There’s probably not enough fact-checking in the world. And people just take what they heard, or pieces of what they heard, or what they think is, and they just run with it. Now that becomes their truth.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

I’m just going to speak on myself. I’m the type of individual who is going to vote for who I think would do a better job in the office. It doesn’t matter if they’re independent, Democrat, Republican. I just want to vote for the person I personally think is going to do the better job in the office.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

I just think, me being the same thing, I’m kind of down the middle, independent, lean more conservative most of the time. So most of the time, I vote Republican.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

In the 1990s, Texas elected statewide Democratic officials. Gov. Ann Richards was one of them. There have been a lot of high-profile races in the last decade, but Democrats haven’t been able to win statewide since then. Why do you think that is?

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

The Democrats always seem like they’re focusing on the wrong issues. Like, their big focus is on things that are not important to me, whereas Republicans are focused on the issues that I think are more a priority to people. Say what you want about Texas, but economically, we are a good, strong state. We’re one of the biggest economies in the world. I think the Republicans thrive on that because they are pro-business. They are anti-tax and anti-state-tax and all those things. So I think people who are open to business, they come to us, Texas, and they see that it’s really a true capitalistic state. They can start a life. Democrats focus on more social issues, which maybe are not as priority to the people living in Texas. They come here for the capitalism and for the success, the money, for the financial reasons.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

Redistricting plays a role. I think there’s a lot of redistricting that happens to keep Republicans dominating a certain area. Texas is also big on individual rights, and we don’t like a lot of government control. Typically, what comes along with Democratic policy or the party is a little bit more government involvement. So I think that’s part of the resistance as well.

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

One issue is Democrats are taking their cues from what’s happening in California, and they feel that that’s what a Democratic state, a dominant state, is doing, with welfare entitlements. And look at where they’re spending their money, and then they have to raise taxes.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

Are there issues where you feel more conservative or more liberal than the people around you? Are there issues that are divisive among the people you know?

Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired

Immigration is a topic people get very emotional over. People have a lot of firsthand experience with it here. It’s much more accepting where I came from — having lived up north until I moved here 15 years ago — than it is down here. It’s one of those topics that I will hear other people talking about and I try to stay away from because I know that it has the potential to be explosive, especially in the last 10 years. It’s just gotten to be one of those: You’re either absolutely right or absolutely wrong. So it is one of those political topics that comes up that I wish didn’t and try to, whenever I can, stay away from it, because I come from a different perspective. And I see it to be very divisive here.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

Fertility issues are huge in Texas. Women cannot get fertility things done. They have to go to a different state, and that’s been a huge contention.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

And on that same thread, a woman’s right to choose.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

I agree, 100 percent.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

Are there national or state policy issues that you trust Republicans more than Democrats on?

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

I don’t trust anything that’s going on right now, Republican or Democrat. I mean, there’s so much wrong with our country.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

And are there any issues right now where you would say you probably trust Democrats more?

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

Like I said, I don’t think they can agree on the color of the sky. My only hope is it seems like every couple of generations, some young leader comes along and unifies people. I’m afraid the next unifying thing is going to be something tragic or something devastating, like a depression. I don’t have hope currently that either side can fix anything.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

There’s a lot of finger pointing. “Well, you said this. Well, you didn’t do this. Well, you said this. You didn’t do this.” I mean, there’s no meeting in the middle. There’s none.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

Very divided.

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

You used to think that you could count on the Republicans to be able to help out with the economy, and that they would be the ones to fix it. But now it’s more a feeling of it’s going to fix it for a certain few, that it’s going to be the top class or the certain friends that are getting the benefit of the economy, not the general folks.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I am someone who has voted for our current president twice because I didn’t feel like I had another choice based on the beliefs I have. But I do believe our current president has caused a lot of the extremes and a lot of the rhetoric and a lot of the issues where people cannot compromise and people can’t get along. I personally am just praying that we get better candidates in the future.

Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor

Commenting on if there’s something we trust Democrats more than Republicans: I would say if there’s one thing, it’s health care. And I just think Democrats have a better kind of plan with that than Republicans.

Moderator

Has the situation regarding immigration gotten better, worse, or is about the same as before Trump became president again?

Better: two, one Democrat and one Independent

Worse: eight

The Same: two, both Republican

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

I don’t think that there’s as many immigrants coming across now as when Biden was in office. I hate saying this, but I think ICE is doing somewhat of a good job. I don’t like the way that they’re going about their job and doing it. But it’s not a rotating door anymore.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

As far as the border is concerned in Texas, the previous administration, it was just open. I don’t agree with all the policies as far as ICE and those kinds of things, but as far as the border itself, I think it’s secure. I’m an immigrant to this country and have a family of immigrants, so this is something I feel strongly about. They really have to focus on cleaning up the legal way to do it. There’s too much bureaucracy in trying to get citizenship legally. And so it’s just becoming politicized.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

So I appreciate that the border has been secured; I know people who live along the border, all the way down the Rio Grande. I don’t like the methods used to do it. They’re very thuggish in nature. They’re deputized muscle instead of military or some properly trained law enforcement. I’ve seen families torn apart. I’ve seen hard-working people jailed because they’re not documented. Meanwhile, the criminals are still running around. Now that’s starting to ripple into businesses starting to shut down because those were their dishwashers and those were their cooks, and those were the reliable people that they really had nothing else. They did the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. And I don’t necessarily condone that, but I mean, whose job did they steal, honestly?

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

No. They really should be going after the companies that are hiring these illegal immigrants. They’re attacking these hard-working family men. I mean, they’re painting immigrants to all be these pedophiles that rape and hurt children and women, when who wants those people here? I agree. We want those people out of here, whether they’re immigrants or Americans. But these people who are so pro-ICE and so pro “get these immigrants out of here,” they’re painting a picture that all these immigrants are monsters. And that’s not the case. Like he said, I’ve seen so many videos where these men are working hard.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

You all voted for President Trump in 2024. When he won, what were you hoping was going to come from that?

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

The things that were promised, which was affordable living, cheaper groceries and a better cost of living. Day one, eggs will be affordable. I think a lot of us believed him. I believed him. And unfortunately, what he said is no different than what a lot of other politicians say. They’re saying the right things to get your vote.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

Trump said that he’s going to do this. You know what? Every single president since I’ve been voting has said “I’m going to do this,” and none of them, literally none of them, held up their end of the bargain. For me personally, I believe that the crisis with Iran and all that craziness and the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz, that’s blown up our fuel prices and everything else along with it. You know what I’m saying? You can’t get cargo ships through. Every president that I can remember — “Oh, I’m going to lower taxes.” Well, I’m still waiting, and you’re not even president anymore. But I don’t want to just say Trump is the only one who hasn’t lived up to his promises. Every single president that I can remember has not lived up to their promises.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

I wanted life to be affordable and for things to be “great” again.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

You put your hands up to do quotes around “great.” What would great have looked like to you?

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

Just affordable living at the cost of what they’ve said before, the cost of our groceries going down, just higher-paying jobs, better opportunities, health insurance.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

I was hoping he would learn from the first time. All politicians lie and tell you what you want to hear. But I voted for him because he was something different. He spoke the truth. He spoke what was on his mind. That’s what appealed the first time. I was hoping the second time around, he learned something from his mistakes and learned something from, OK, now I know how to really fix this and it’s not going to be the same old, same old. I felt like I was just picking the lesser of two evils. I went with the one that I was in line with more as far as economics. And was thinking that he would fix those, which doesn’t seem to be the case.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I just thought he was the lesser of two evils. I don’t like his rhetoric. And I don’t like that he doesn’t tell the truth a lot. But I thought he’s a business person and he would have a better way to fix our economy, or at least get it moving in the right direction.

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

In the first term, he was very business friendly. He reduced the corporate tax, which allowed a lot of companies to invest in the U.S. and grow their businesses, give more jobs. And they pumped that money back into the economy. As a result, things, the stock market, everything, the economy grew. I thought he would use the same business acumen to be business friendly. But starting with the tariffs, I’m like, man, this makes no sense what he’s doing. And then the war, the Iran war, all the issues that are trickling down from that decision into the energy crisis that we are going to be facing, and that’s — affordability? He promised there would be no more skirmishes that we’d waste dollars on and lives on.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What is it that you think Mr. Trump is really focused on achieving or is trying to do? What do you think his goals are these days?

Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor

I think he’s trying to distract a little bit from, honestly, the Epstein stuff. It’s like, oh, then we go into a war. As a byproduct now, we’re focused on these forever wars that he said that we were not going to do anymore. The people that are suffering are the middle class here. Like Robert was saying, the economy sucks right now. It’s hard to get a job. It’s hard to afford housing. That’s what we should be focused on. And I feel like that’s the messaging that he’s not doing, and neither are the Democrats. I have always been a Democrat my whole life until this last election, because I just couldn’t associate myself with that party anymore, because they just lost their way so much. I mean, they used to be the blue-collar party. They used to be the law and order party in the ’90s with Clinton. Maybe it’s naïve, but I thought, OK, maybe Trump could change things.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

I honestly don’t know what Trump is focused on. I mean, I pay attention. And I still don’t know what his intentions are anymore. There seems to be a power trip that drives a lot of his decisions. Maybe that’s not true, but that’s what it feels like. It feels like a lot of his attention is foreign now, rather than domestic, and improving what the current state is today. So I mean, honestly, I don’t know what he’s trying to do.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I will concur with Lisa. We don’t need to name new lakes. We don’t need to change the name of the Kennedy Center. Those things to me are a waste, instead of spending time on what’s going on here in the U.S. and the fact that people are struggling. People can’t afford insurance, they can’t afford homes, they can’t afford their families.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Think about how you’ll vote in the midterm elections. Is your vote more about sending a message about what’s going on in Washington or based on the individual candidates?

More about sending a message: two, one Republican, one Independent

More about the candidates: the remaining ten

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

For me, it’s both. Ken Paxton and James Talarico — I mean, yeah, the two candidates, they couldn’t be any different. It was really crazy that Trump stood behind Paxton. I’m like, what in the world? And he just swung away from John Cornyn, and at the last minute. It was done. And now, since my time in Texas, I’ve seen him do a pretty good job since he’s been here. And going with a candidate that has such a shady background, I’m like, what the heck?

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

OK, let’s get into the specific candidates. When you hear the name Ken Paxton, what comes to mind?

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

Crook.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

Criminal, crook, all those. Yeah.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

Crooked.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

Bad.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

Amoral.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

Disgusting.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

Two words: morally corrupt.

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

Disgusting.

Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor

Corrupt.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

Womanizer. Crook.

Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired

Crook is the word that comes to my mind.

Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor

Controversial. There’s just so many things that he’s been accused of and acquitted of. And I took a more neutral approach to your question. So controversial, but more in a negative way.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Why crook or crooked?

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

Just a lot of things that he’s done with his power as attorney general. There are criminals that he’s let off the hook, so to speak. It’s just a lot of different things like that.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What’s one word that comes to mind when you hear the name James Talarico?

Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor

Progressive.

Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired

Neutral.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

Same-sex bathrooms in high schools and grade school.

Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor

I’d say inspiring.

Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work

Fresh.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

I’m going to use the same word: progressive.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

New.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I can’t do one word. I don’t agree with his morals. Even though he acts like that’s a big deal. I don’t believe it is.

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

Young.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

Ineffective.

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

Fresh. Hopefully my message to Washington.

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

Yeah, I agree with the fresh — the fresh air part.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What is fresh to you about Mr. Talarico?

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

Listen, at least in his campaign so far that I’ve seen, it’s like he’s trying to stay away. At least he’s trying to stay away from the negativity and pointing fingers. Whether you believe in them or not, he’s actually trying to come up with solutions. And it’s just getting away from the corruptness of Paxton and the Republican Party, which I’ve been a long supporter of. There’s nothing wrong with Cornyn. Why we would support Paxton over Cornyn is crazy to me. If it was Cornyn versus him, I would be with Cornyn. But because it’s Talarico versus Paxton, I will be voting for Talarico.

Moderator:

Would you vote for John Cornyn over James Talarico if he were the Republican in this race?

Yes: seven

No: five: two Democrats, two Independents, one Republican

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Lisa, you used the word “ineffective” to describe Mr. Talarico.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

He hasn’t proven himself in the Senate. I know Paxton hasn’t either, but I think he’s had more years in politics. I know sometimes that can be good and bad. I just don’t trust that he can go up against these politicians who play dirty and win.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Jennifer, you said “same-sex bathrooms.” Tell me more about why that comes to you.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

That’s what he wants to do in schools. I’m totally against that.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Pam, you said something about Mr. Talarico’s morals. Tell me more.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I am a Christian. I think he’s trying to bring people like me who can’t stand the crook that’s the Republican candidate over to his side by having all these commercials and things about his morals. He and I don’t have the same beliefs, whether it’s same-sex beliefs, whether it’s religious beliefs. I don’t like that he keeps talking about that more than he’s talking about, to me, the issues. But that’s my personal opinion. And that’s why I am in horrible turmoil, because I will not vote for Paxton.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

I’m not voting for anybody. Nobody. I’m not voting for that.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

Vince, you said Mr. Talarico was inspiring. What do you find inspiring about him?

Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor

Well, I think he strikes me as more of a moderate Democrat. He believes in border control. And he also believes in job creation. I’m also a moderate, even though I voted for Trump. I want the best of both worlds. I saw him on “Kimmel,” and he’s a very well-spoken gentleman. I do believe he’s a Christian. That does mean a lot. He went to seminary. Maybe it’s an act, maybe it’s not. For me, it works. He’s inspiring, well spoken. I think he wants the best for middle-class Texans. To me, I think he’s the better candidate versus Paxton. To me, it’s a no-brainer between the two. He’s into border control, which — it’s weird for a Democrat to be so pro that, to me. It’s usually they rail against that stuff. So it’s like, I’m glad he’s more of a down-the-middle Democrat. I can relate to him more. He’s speaking more to me and what I need.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

Let’s talk a little about candidates and values in the big picture sense. Would you rather vote for a candidate with good character but policy positions you disagreed with, or a candidate with questionable character who champions policy you agree with?

I’d rather vote for a candidate with good character but policy I disagree with: six.

I’d rather vote for a candidate who champions policy I agree with, even if he has questionable character: five.

[There seems to have been one abstention.]

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service

No one’s perfect. And like, going back to Trump, his delivery wasn’t always the greatest. But I like how he was proud to be an American. Now, of course, my mind has changed, but there are people who are not going to act the way you would like them to act. But deep down, you have the same beliefs. I’d prefer that than someone maybe being fake — you’re being more transparent. You’re not acting, putting on this fake picture of what everybody wants to see. So that’s why I say that.

Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail

For me personally, I’d rather have somebody in office who aligned with what I’d like to see them do in office. Whatever they do behind their closed doors at home, that’s their own business. But if they go to work and they fight for what I want them to fight for to help out the state and then even the country, that’s who I’m going to vote for. I chose Talarico over Paxton just because I think Talarico is young blood. We need something new, somebody new, young, somebody who’s going to get in there and fight.

Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired

There were so many promises that Trump made when he was running for office. And there are so many things that he’s done since he got into office that are against what I believe in. I thought he was going to change the economy and make it better for our 401(k)s, which he has. But we’re getting to the midpoint of his presidency and I’m questioning what are his objectives, and how are they going to affect us as common people.

Moderator, Katherine Miller

What are these midterm elections really about? Is there one issue or question that’s bigger than everything else?

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

It’s about people going out to vote and using that power to make a statement that the economy is going in a direction that’s not acceptable, that this is an opportunity to change that.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

Yeah, the economy is going to be a huge one.

Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant

I think immigration continues to be a hot topic.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

What might somebody who’s not in Texas not understand about voters picking a Democrat? Why might this election be different?

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

It might be a kind of referendum for people just to say, historically, Texas has always voted Republican. It’s a red state. I think there’s a lot of people who are more independent, more in the middle, maybe like I am. This is saying: Hey, you’ve gotten your chances. So you know what? I’m going to try something else, and see what the other side can do. So it’s maybe a message to Washington. Maybe if Texas does flip and does turn blue, then maybe you’ll wake up and start worrying about the state and worrying about the people of the state and worrying on doing things, communicating, compromising to get things done, versus just these extremists on both sides.

Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired

I just want to say I totally agree with Sebastian. I hope that the country, the Republican part of the country, wakes up after this election. And if Talarico is elected in Texas, I think it will wake up some parts of the country that are not worried about the economy and the things that Trump ran on before. People need to wake up.

Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson

There have been a couple of elections in the last few years where Democrats did think they could win Texas. You had Beto O’Rourke running for Senate, then Colin Allred, as well. There are these other Democrats who said: I’m going to be different. I can be a Texas Democrat. I can do this. And they didn’t win. What makes this time different?

Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager

One word: Paxton. They picked the wrong candidate. It’s him. If they picked anybody else, they would have won. But because they picked him, they stand to lose the state.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

Yeah. Cornyn had Talarico beat over Paxton. It’d be, hands down, Cornyn would have won it.

Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources

Yep. Landslide.

Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent

You are three months out, but yeah, he’ll win it. But now it’s between Talarico and someone people think is a crook with bad morals. People won’t vote for him. And I think Talarico probably will win it.