ROLL CALL: “2026 Could Be Breakout Year For Blue-Collar Democratic Women”

Albuquerque, N.M. – In national news outlet Roll Call, Deb Haaland, who is running to be the next governor of New Mexico, is highlighted as an example of a candidate Democrats need to win back working class voters angry at the status quo and who feel like that, no matter how hard they work, they are just barely getting by.  

Haaland understands the challenges that New Mexicans face because she has lived it. She started her first job at 15 at a bakery in Albuquerque and as a single mom, she struggled to make ends meet. When Haaland was pregnant, Medicaid covered her prenatal care and delivery. The determination and grit that she carries from her lived experience drives her to be a governor that will hold the powerful accountable and ensure every New Mexican has a fair shot.

Click HERE to read the story or see below for key excerpts:

  • As Democrats chart a course out of the wilderness following steep 2024 losses, the party is counting on candidates from blue-collar backgrounds to win back working-class voters anxious about the high cost of living and angry at a political class they view as indifferent to their day-to-day difficulties.
  • But on the other side of the gender divide, [JoAnna] Mendoza and a handful of Democratic female candidates also are building campaigns around economic populism rooted in humble origin stories and blue-collar backgrounds.
  • Just like their male counterparts, this cycle’s cadre of Democratic blue-collar women are aiming for authenticity while pushing a message that the economy is stacked against working people. 
  • “Affordability is one of the big issues, with all the tariffs and the price of groceries really going up,’’ she said. “I understand what it’s like for people when they say it’s hard to make ends meet. I understand what it’s like for them if they have to put groceries back at the checkout line because they don’t have the money to pay for them.”
  • Haaland is open about her own past economic struggles. 
  • “I raised my kid as a single mom. I struggled to make ends meet. I know what it’s like to be on SNAP benefits, and I was able to give birth to my child because of Medicaid,’’ she said, adding that, at 64, she has yet to fully pay off her student loans.