Biden anti-fossil fuel Interior secretary runs to become governor of No. 2 oil-producing state

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland last week won New Mexico’s gubernatorial primary, with a 2-to-1 lead over her opponent. She’ll be up against Republican nominee Gregg Hull in November’s general election. A lot could happen between now and then. But considering the state's political history, there's a good chance Haaland could get elected governor. 

On the American energy scene, New Mexico is the second-largest producer behind Texas, pumping out 2 million barrels of oil per day. Two counties in south-east New Mexico account for 78% of all onshore federal oil production, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The Land of Enchantment is a key player in the American energy landscape. 

This has some worried about Haaland’s ascent to the governor’s office. Throughout her political career and as head of the Department of Interior during the Biden-Harris administration, Haaland was openly hostile to oil and gas production. Should she succeed in becoming New Mexico’s next governor, she may look to implement her anti-fossil fuel ambitions on the state’s oil and gas industry, which could have impacts beyond the state’s borders. 

“Deb Haaland has never missed a chance to side with the anti-energy left, and New Mexico families have every reason to worry about what comes next,” said Larry Behrens, communication director for Power the Future. 

Haaland is "wholeheartedly" anti-fossil fuel, opponent says

In 2023, then-Interior Secretary Haaland bragged about the Biden administration’s policy of limiting the number of oil and gas lease sales it offers. 

“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to building a clean energy future that ensures America’s energy independence. The Proposed Final Program, which represents the smallest number of oil and gas lease sales in history, sets a course for the department to support the growing offshore wind industry and protect against the potential for environmental damage and adverse impacts to coastal communities,” Haaland said in a 2023 statement. 

During her confirmation hearing, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, who was then the ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, pointed to her anti-oil and gas views in voicing his opposition to her nomination. 

He cited an article in The Guardian in which Haaland, who was then a New Mexico congresswoman, stated she was “wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands.” She explained in the interview that she wanted to see fossil fuel development entirely phased out on federal lands. 

As further evidence of her climate advocacy credentials, she told the Guardian that she was a staunch supporter of the Green New Deal, which would have rapidly eliminated all fossil fuel use in the U.S., in addition to establishing an expansive, progressive government modeled on socialistic ideals and had the potential to comandeer the entire U.S. ecomony. 

Unable to answer basic questions about energy

On her campaign website, Barasso noted in his opening remarks during the hearing, that she had been frank about wanting to see the demise of America’s oil and gas industry. She said she wanted to “keep fossil fuels in the ground” and pledged to “vote against all new fossil fuel infrastructure.” 

Barrasso said that during the confirmation process, she struggled to answer basic questions that a nominee for Interior Secretary should be able to answer. When asked multiple times in a hearing about why she supported shutting down the Keystone XL Pipeline, she couldn’t explain why she thought the move was a good idea. 

In April 2023, when she was testifying before the Republican House Committee on Natural Resources, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, asked Haaland if she was familiar with the term “energy poverty.” Haaland replied that she wasn’t familiar with the term and reiterated her support for renewable energy. 

As for the state's political history, voters have elected a Democrat, then a Republican governor since 1983. Their current governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, is a Democrat who cannot seek reelection because of term limits. So a Haaland general election win would break the streak, but state voters still have shown over roughly the past 43 years that they could go either way. 

Haaland's policies destructive to Native American interests, Navajo say

While Haaland touted her DEI credentials as the first Native American secretary of the Interior, her climate agenda sometimes clashed with tribal groups that wanted the economic opportunities that the oil and gas industry brings. 

In June 2023, Navajo landowners blocked the road to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in protest of the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to create a 10-mile buffer around the site, preventing Navajos who were allotted land from oil and gas leasing on their property. 

“The financial and economic losses that are impacting many Navajo families as a result of the secretary’s recent land withdrawal are nothing to celebrate,” Navajo President Buu Nygren told the Associated Press. 

Haaland called the protest “heartbreaking” and never revised her position on the buffer zone. Haaland also showed little interest in the concerns of Native Alaskans on the state’s North Slope, whose tax base depends on the oil and gas development the Biden-Harris administration was strangling. 

The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), which represents many communities on the North Slope for years, requested an audience with Haaland, requests that were repeatedly dismissed or ignored. In June 2024, Haaland finally agreed to a meeting in Washington, D.C., on short notice, requiring the natives to scramble to make travel arrangements. 

“We have struggled to not just get an audience with her, but to be heard by her department, when it comes to large decisions about our homelands,” Kate Wolgemuth, program and government affairs manager for the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, told Just the News at the time. 

Wolgemuth expressed some doubts that Haaland would be responsive to their concerns, and with the reelection of President Donald Trump, who reversed many of the Biden administration’s policies impacting Alaska, the VOICE never had the opportunity to find out. 

New Mexico’s "checkerboard" landscape may aid her climate agenda

David Blackmon, an analyst with more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, said on his “Energy Additions” Substack that the oil and gas industry was able to thrive in south-east New Mexico despite the hostility of the Biden-Harris administration because of the smart foresight of companies who stockpiled leases during the first Trump administration. This allowed them to keep overall production rising through years when few lease sales were offered. 

“But now, one of the lead actors from that hostile federal administration threatens to play the lead role in what would no doubt become an even more overtly hostile state administration,” Blackmon wrote. 

States have limited power over activities on federal lands, Blackmon noted, but New Mexico land is made up of a “checkerboard” of federal, state, Indian and private land. The big acre units that oil and gas production in New Mexico depends on often straddle these various land types. This fact would provide Haaland with opportunities to advance her climate agenda as governor against U.S. oil production. 

Behrens with Power the Future pointed out that 40% of New Mexico’s revenues come from its oil and gas production. Halland could potentially do a lot of damage as governor, and it might take generations for the state to recover from it, he said. 

“Her record in Washington was defined by higher costs, fewer opportunities, and hostility toward the very workers who fund this state’s schools, roads, and public services. New Mexico doesn’t need a governor who treats its greatest economic engine like a political enemy,” Behrens said.