Republican challenger narrowly outraises NM US Rep. Vasquez, but trails with cash on hand

The latest campaign finance filings, which cover April through June, offer a glimpse into a competitive race for a district that represents much of southern New Mexico and a portion of Albuquerque. Vasquez first won election to the 2nd Congressional District seat, which was previously held by Republican Yvette Herrell, in 2022 by less than one percentage point. 

Greg Cunningham, the Republican nominee who handily won his party’s primary for the race after his opponent bowed out, announced that he raised nearly $902,000 in the second quarter of this year — just shy of $1,000 more than Vasquez. Vasquez’s campaign has about three times the amount of cash on hand, though.

“There are some individuals and organizations who feel that CD 2 will be a competitive race. Usually, people don’t like to contribute money unless they feel like the candidate has a shot,” Brian Sanderoff, president of the Albuquerque-based firm Research and Polling Inc., told Source NM.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed off on redrawn congressional districts in late 2021, following the 2020 U.S. Census. That redistricting introduced portions of Albuquerque, which Sanderoff said are considered Democratic strongholds, into the otherwise rural district.

“Greg Cunningham does have one challenge to address in whether the mood of the nation could impact his competitiveness…most analysts feel the Democrats will flip the U.S. House,” Sanderoff said. “His strategy is going to have to be to cut his losses in Bernalillo County.”

Cunningham in a statement announcing his fundraising efforts said he believes the latest fundraising reports show that district residents want “a Congressman who actually shows up for them, not a far-left radical like Gabe Vasquez who voted to raise taxes on families and against securing our border.”

“New Mexico deserves better, and this quarter proves our district is ready to flip,” he wrote.

Vasquez’s campaign manager, Patricia Socarras Santiago, in a statement to Source NM, wrote that Cunningham has shown an allegiance to President Donald Trump and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in “MAGA money.”

“New Mexicans cannot be bought off and they deserve someone who is actually fighting for them,” she wrote. “That fighter has always been Gabe Vasquez, and that’s why New Mexicans will re-elect him in November.”