Biden's Interior Secretary, Who Invoked 'Indigenous Knowledge' To Ban Oil Drilling, Wins Governor's Race in New Mexico, America's Second-Biggest Oil Producer

Deb Haaland faced congressional and watchdog investigations over a move banning oil drilling across hundreds of thousands of acres in New Mexico

The victory in New Mexico's governor's race of former president Joe Biden's interior secretary, Deb Haaland—who famously invoked "indigenous knowledge" to ban oil drilling—presents a major challenge to the state's sizable oil and gas industry that Haaland, a fierce environmentalist, has vowed to dismantle.

Haaland's election was cheered by liberals and representation advocates as "historic" because she is the first Native American woman elected to a U.S. governorship. But her election may be more significant in what it represents for the energy industry in New Mexico, the country's second-largest oil-producing state and third-largest natural gas producer.

"As Interior secretary, Deb Haaland restricted access to energy resources and increased regulatory burdens on American oil and gas producers," said Jason Isaac, the CEO of the right-leaning American Energy Institute. "Now she will lead America's second-largest oil-producing state, where energy production supports jobs and funds essential public services."

"The question is whether Haaland will sacrifice New Mexico's economy to undermine President Trump's broader energy agenda," he told the Washington Free Beacon. "New Mexico's workers and families cannot afford to become collateral damage in a political fight over American energy."

Haaland—who spearheaded vast oil and gas drilling bans while serving in the Biden administration—didn't shy away from rhetoric promising to dismantle oil and gas development during her campaign. She vowed, for example, to set the state on a pathway to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and "go all in on" green energy.

Her Republican opponent, by contrast, promised to back New Mexico's oil and gas industry and said the state "depends on" the industry. If the state were to scale back oil and gas production as Haaland promised, it would dramatically decrease energy supplies nationwide at a time when the country's supplies are already strained and prices have surged.

Overall, according to federal data, New Mexico accounts for about 15 percent of total oil production nationwide and 8 percent of total natural gas production. Last year, the industry generated $13.1 billion in state revenue, which was directed to government services and schools. New Mexico's legislature said the industry plays a "critical role" in the state's economy.

Haaland's campaign rhetoric mirrors how she led the Department of the Interior as its secretary between 2021 and 2025.

Haaland notably implemented a sweeping moratorium on federal oil and gas leasing, gutted the nation's offshore oil drilling program and banned such drilling in all waters except the Gulf of Mexico, prohibited oil drilling across 41 million acres of federal lands, and slashed oil drilling permits by 84 percent.

When Haaland banned drilling across millions of acres in some of America's most oil-rich land in Alaska, she cited "indigenous knowledge" and said that climate change is "warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet."

Perhaps most notably, Haaland issued a 50-year mining and oil drilling ban across thousands of acres in northern New Mexico to protect "important cultural and natural resources" and issued a 20-year oil drilling ban across hundreds of thousands of acres near the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in northwestern New Mexico.

The Chaco ban drew the particular ire of New Mexicans, including members of the Navajo Nation tribe who rely on oil leasing for royalties that help them afford basic necessities. The tribe—which has clashed with Haaland's rival Laguna Pueblo tribe over the matter—ultimately sued her over the action, arguing it would decrease tribal revenue by millions of dollars and drive many of its members into poverty.

A government watchdog group eventually filed an ethics complaint with the Department of Interior's inspector general, noting that Haaland's daughter personally lobbied for federal officials to pursue such a ban. And Congress separately launched its own investigation into the matter.

An oil industry executive with experience in New Mexico's vast energy industry said that Haaland "for the past decade has defined her career by opposing oil and gas production." "She's now going to have to face the reality that voters want affordable gasoline, and she can't stand in the way," the executive added.