Haaland vs. Hull, issue by issue

Hull said at an Aug. 11 meet-and-greet in Hobbs he is “fully committed to working with Governor Abbott” of Texas, then said that comment was taken out of context and that changing New Mexico’s law would take legislative action, not executive authority. Haaland says she would offset federal funding cuts to reproductive health providers.

In the only side-by-side comparison the Ledger found, from the primary season, Haaland told the Santa Fe New Mexican: “If ICE wants to come to New Mexico, they need to ask.” Hull told the same paper: “[Illegal border crossers have] already broken the law. If we’re not going to enforce that law, then I think we need to take it off the books.”

Haaland’s plan opens: “The state is the first line of defense against the [Trump] Administration’s dangerous policies.” Hull, asked on the Santa Fe New Mexican’s podcast whether he’d want Trump’s endorsement, said it “would be a pretty cool thing,” while saying he wasn’t seeking one.

Asked where he draws the line with the Trump administration on issues like Medicaid and ICE, Hull said: “I’ll work with any president when it’s good for New Mexico, and I’ll stand up to any president when it isn’t.” On Medicaid, he said he’d “fight for New Mexico’s share and protect coverage for the people who rely on it.”

Haaland’s plan says the moratorium would not touch existing county moratoriums. Hull says “every [data center] project should be judged on its own merits, with the same rules for everyone” and has argued Haaland took about $87,200 from Oracle America and from people his campaign identifies as Oracle and Clayco executives. New Mexico’s campaign finance system shows $12,400 from Oracle America itself, $36,875 from donors who listed Oracle as their employer, and $25,000 from four donors who listed STACK Infrastructure, the firm partnering with Oracle to build Project Jupiter, for $74,275 through Sept. 7.

Asked what its figure is based on, Hull’s campaign said it counts $12,400 from Oracle America plus $74,800 from Oracle’s two co-CEOs and five Clayco executives, Clayco being the construction firm building Project Jupiter. The state-filings count above goes by the employer donors list, so it leaves Clayco’s leaders out.

Asked where he stands on Project Jupiter itself, Hull said: “Project Jupiter has already been approved. My focus as governor is what comes next: making sure every community in New Mexico has a real voice in decisions about projects proposed in their community.”

Under step one of Hull’s plan, a single filer earning $40,000 would see state income tax fall from $1,471 to $671. Haaland’s plan would increase the amount of the child tax credit and expand eligibility.

Haaland’s plan would ban landlords from using rent-setting algorithms, which she calls rent fixing. Asked at the Oct. 8 KOB conversation what he’d do on affordability in his first 100 days, Hull said: “While we can’t control pricing of certain items, we can try to put as much money back in the pockets of our citizens as possible.”

Haaland’s plan would ban medical debt from being included on credit reports. Hull’s would tie a portion of school funding to measurable improvements in literacy, math and graduation rates and responsibly expand school choice and charter schools.

Haaland has the endorsement of Moms Demand Action and says she’ll pursue “sensible measures” to get illegal guns off the street, and her public safety plan would pass a Stop Illegal Gun Trade Act that “will put new requirements on firearms dealers, restrict extremely dangerous weapons” and name a gun violence prevention coordinator. The Ledger asked the Haaland campaign on Oct. 10 whether she would keep, change or expand New Mexico’s red-flag law. It had not answered by Oct. 13.

Asked whether he would keep, change or repeal the red-flag law, Hull said: “I will work with law enforcement agencies to develop gun laws that hold criminals accountable while protecting the rights of innocent citizens.” He didn’t say which. His campaign site says he would require judicial review and due process before a red-flag order and offer gun-safe tax credits, the proposal on the card.

Haaland’s plan would set up an Office of Community Safety, with social workers and counselors on staff. Hull’s site says he’ll seek steady, long-term money so police here are paid as well as in neighboring states; at the Oct. 8 KOB conversation, he also said he’d push a constitutional amendment so the state can “not only arrest these violent criminals…but hold them (in jail)”.

Haaland’s plan would repair aging drinking-water systems and enforce New Mexico’s PFAS and water pollution laws. Hull would invest in treating brackish groundwater and add small modular nuclear reactors to the state’s energy mix while sustaining oil and gas production and revenue.

Haaland: “State government shouldn’t be the barrier to your dream of starting a business.” Hull’s plan would structure programs around federal funds, tax credits and matching incentives rather than direct state grants, working around the state constitution’s Anti-Donation Clause.

The Ledger asked both campaigns about classroom discipline. Hull told the Ledger: “Teachers can’t teach in a classroom they can’t control.” He backs a statewide ban on cell phones during class, with exceptions for medical needs and emergencies, in-school alternatives when a student is removed, and a threat assessment team in every district. The Ledger asked the Haaland campaign on Oct. 10 whether she has a discipline policy beyond the literacy and career-pathway items in her plan. It had not answered by Oct. 13. Her education plan says students should be “focused on learning and not distracted by smartphones in the classroom,” with schools and teachers choosing how to keep phones out during the school day.

Haaland’s affordability agenda names both once, with no further detail. Hull told the Ledger: “I won’t support retroactive changes to the film incentive.” He would change how the program is run, with rebates on a predictable schedule and rules that favor resident hiring and in-state vendors. On cannabis: “the Legislature legalized it, and I’m not going to try to undo that.” His focus would be enforcement.

Both responded to a case this year that Hull’s campaign describes, citing unnamed published reports, as a teenager a caseworker sent alone across the border to Mexico; the Ledger has not independently opened the original reporting behind that account. Haaland: “On day one, I will overhaul CYFD.”

Hull, on his own site, says every data center should follow the same rules: “no potable [drinking] water, and data centers pay for their own power infrastructure so families don’t.” He told KOB 4 much the same thing: “I would never support allowing a mega company to come into the state and raise, raise utility rates, so they could have the energy they need.” Haaland’s plan would require data centers to build their own renewable energy infrastructure.

Haaland would join interstate medical compacts, expanding residency programs to rural areas. Hull would support adoption of additional medical and professional licensure compacts.

Both told New Mexico In Depth they would revive a state task force on the issue, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham quietly disbanded in 2023. Hull: “Families are afraid. They want to know where their loved ones are.”

Hull was Rio Rancho’s mayor from 2014 to 2026, the longest-serving in the city’s history, and his campaign cites road projects, residential road repairs, citywide fiber optic installation and a permanent fund set up through responsible budgeting.

Hull would require state pension systems to follow transparent, actuarially sound funding plans and fix how retirees’ cost-of-living adjustments are calculated. The Ledger asked the Haaland campaign on Oct. 10 whether she would change how PERA’s cost-of-living adjustment is calculated. It had not answered by Oct. 13.

Hull: “I support Voter ID.” The Ledger asked the Haaland campaign on Oct. 10 whether she supports voter ID and whether anything in how New Mexico runs elections needs fixing. It had not answered by Oct. 13.