Teresa Leger Fernandez

A Democratic attorney running for her fourth term representing New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District will face a Republican agriculturalist hoping to ascend from the state’s House to the nation’s on Nov. 3.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and her opponent, New Mexico House Rep. Martin Zamora, R-Clovis, are both generational New Mexicans with differing visions for a district spanning northern, eastern and southeastern areas of the state.

The candidates’ distinct backgrounds reflect some of their contrasting political views, which split largely along traditional party lines regarding the role of government and top priorities if elected.

The daughter of a New Mexico state senator and a bilingual educator, Leger Fernández grew up in Las Vegas and received her bachelor’s from Yale University before receiving her juris doctor from Stanford Law School.

She assumed office in 2021, succeeding Ben Ray Luján, who announced he would not seek reelection in 2019 and is defending his seat in the U.S. Senate this year against Republican Larry Marker.

During her 2020 race, Leger Fernández outran six other Democrats, including state representatives Joseph Sanchez and Valerie Plame, the author and former CIA officer. Deb Haaland, this year’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee, endorsed Leger Fernández’s 2020 campaign and subsequent reelection bids.

Leger Fernández has emphasized affordability, federal investment in working families and rural communities, including housing assistance, healthcare, infrastructure, education and tribal water rights.

“The most important issue facing New Mexicans are costs,” she told the Journal. “Trump's war (in Iran), his tariffs and the policies of the One Big Beautiful Bill have driven up the cost for everything from gas to diesel to groceries and importantly healthcare.”

Leger Fernández has criticized the Trump administration’s refusal to release unredacted files pertaining to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In February, she introduced a federal bill that would eliminate statutes of limitation in civil court for victims of sexual abuse.

The congresswoman worked alongside New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2022 in response to the U.S. Forest Service-caused Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, which burned massive swaths of Santa Fe and Carson national forests, destroying homes, infrastructure and degrading soil health across 341,471 acres.

“I have several pieces of legislation about managing forests and about recovering our forests after we have fires, including funding for the universities for our seedling programs,” Leger Fernández said. “Because we have to reseed our forests after they burn, and we need to be able to have the kinds of seedlings that are going to adapt to our new environment.”

Last month, Leger Fernández called for a moratorium on data-center development, citing their water and electricity use. Her “No Blank Checks for Data Centers” position argues that any new data centers — which are used to store data and train artificial intelligence models — should pay for their own electricity and infrastructure costs in light of their heavy consumption of public resources.

“It is government's job to set out those guardrails and the rules by which data centers or AI can develop, and we've done it before,” the congresswoman said. “We've done it with nuclear power, right?”

Congressional Democrats are experiencing “a lot of frustration” in Washington this year, she added, but said that underscores the importance of maintaining strong relationships on both sides of the political aisle.

Zamora was born on a farm near Clovis and assumed office in New Mexico’s 63rd district in January 2019. In the 2018 election, he narrowly flipped a seat controlled by Democratic incumbent George Dodge Jr., whom he beat by just 27 votes.

A farmer and rancher by birth and by trade, Zamora ran unopposed in the last two elections in District 63 before announcing his congressional bid. Republican Seth Martin is running unopposed in this year’s general election to take his place in the New Mexico House.

Before announcing he was leaving office during this year’s 30-day legislative session, Zamora opposed expanded LGBTQ protections and paying New Mexico legislators a base salary, but has occasionally broken with Republicans.

Zamora declined multiple requests for an interview for this story, but his campaign website states that he and his wife have owned agricultural businesses across Curry, Torrance and Socorro counties.

The webpage describes Zamora as a “conservative Hispano leader,” who prioritizes agricultural heritage, creating high-paying jobs and “cracking down on crime and drug trafficking.” Zamora has specifically cited the fentanyl crisis as a top concern.

While they differ in many of their political views, Leger Fernández and Zamora do share a belief in protecting New Mexico water rights, which Zamora’s website also lists as a top concern.

If elected, Zamora would be only the second Republican to represent New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District since the district was created in 1982.

U.S. House representatives serve two-year terms and earn a $174,000 annual salary.