Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous woman to serve as a governor in the United States

BanglaPress Desk: Democratic candidate Deb Haaland has won the 2026 gubernatorial election in the U.S. state of New Mexico. She has made history by becoming the first Native American woman to serve as a governor of a U.S. state.
She defeated the Republican candidate, Greg Hull.
According to a report by *The Guardian*, Haaland’s opponent, 60-year-old Greg Hull, is a businessman who served for a long time as the mayor of the city of Rio Rancho.
Haaland’s victory is being viewed as a significant milestone for the political representation of Native Americans in the United States.
Native Americans make up approximately 12 percent of New Mexico’s total population. Her win comes amid a broader trend of increasing participation by Indigenous people in politics across the country.
A member of the Laguna Pueblo people, Haaland frequently shared her personal life experiences during her election campaign, identifying herself as a "single mother."
She revealed that before enrolling in law school in her thirties, she had to rely on government assistance programs such as Medicaid, WIC, and food stamps.
Throughout her political career, she has achieved several notable milestones in representing Indigenous communities. She previously served as a tribal administrator for the San Felipe Pueblo and was the first woman elected to the board of directors of the Laguna Development Corporation.
In 2012, Haaland served as the "Native American Vote Director" for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in New Mexico.
Subsequently, in 2014, she ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor. That same year, she earned the distinction of becoming the first Native American woman to lead a state-level political party.
Four years later, in 2018, Haaland—along with Sharice Davids of Kansas—was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, making them the first two Native American women to serve in Congress. In 2020, U.S. President Joe Biden appointed Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior, making her the first Indigenous person to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior. Haaland’s achievement comes at a time when the participation of Indigenous communities in American politics is on the rise. In the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, a record number of 358 Indigenous candidates have run for office at the local, state, and federal levels across the country.
Native Americans in the United States faced a long struggle to secure the right to vote; it was not guaranteed to them until the 1960s. However, in New Mexico, they gained the right to vote earlier. Miguel Trujillo, a World War II veteran and member of the Isleta Pueblo community, filed a lawsuit against the state of New Mexico, which led to Native Americans in the state gaining the right to vote in 1948.
Subsequently, in 2023, New Mexico enacted an amended version of the "Native American Voting Rights Act." This has further expanded opportunities for various Indigenous groups to provide input on the redrawing of electoral district boundaries and the establishment of polling locations.

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