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Wednesday, July 30, 2025Dissing Deb: Sandia Pueblo Shocks With Bregman Endorsement For Dem Guv Nod; Native American Split Adds To Front-Runner Haaland's Early Woes But Also Highlights A Bregman Weakness
Deb Haaland continues to walk on a floor strewn with jagged glass in her long campaign for the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination and her chief rival, Sam Bregman, is cashing in.
Cashing in comes to mind because the state's wealthiest gambling tribe, Sandia Pueblo, delivered a summer shock by endorsing Bregman for the nomination over Haaland who would, if elected, become the first Native American governor in state and national history. The diss of Deb comes soon after she jettisoned her campaign manager after other staffers attacked a lucrative digital ad deal he had signed with her. Then there is the continued hand wringing by her supporters over her messaging not projecting enough strength to ward off challenges such as Sandia's. The long odds of moderate Dem Bregman winning a primary dominated by progressives continues to improve, if only slightly, making his glee over the Sandia coup justified: It was a huge honor. I think that they appreciate the work that I've done with them, really trying to address crime on all the surrounding pueblos in Albuquerque. From my early days on the Albuquerque City Council, where I established the Hate Crimes Task Force to protect minority communities, to my work as Bernalillo County District Attorney, where my office launched the first of its kind Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Unit, I’ve always stood shoulder to shoulder with our Native communities. Sandia's slighting of Haaland came with extra zing by Pueblo of Sandia Governor Felix Chaves. But it seemed an over reach as he questioned the credentials of the former Secretary of Interior in pursuing justice for her fellow Native Americans: Sam Bregman is a proven fighter. At a time when Native Americans across the country are demanding justice and representation, Sam is the only candidate who has consistently shown up and delivered. The Pueblo of Sandia Tribal Council is proud to stand with him. However, Haaland's concern and results with Native justice issues was omnipresent during her tenure under President Biden. HAALAND PUSHBACK  The endorsement of Bregman came from the all-male 17 member Sandia Tribal Council. Women are prohibited from serving on the panel. That exposes a major problem he faces--garnering more female backing in a Democratic Party very much dominated by women. Haaland's campaign was predictably silent on the jolt they felt when Sandia went against them but one of her progressive supporters came with this: Sandia's break is not the first we've seen in Haaland's Native support. As Axios reported business was at the heart of an earlier split: As Interior Secretary, Haaland clashed with the Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in New Mexico, over the Biden administration's ban on oil and gas leasing on lands near Chaco Canyon. PSYCHOLOGY AND MONEY While Sandia boasts ample wealth its membership is a mere 500 but their Bregman endorsement is a big psychological boost. In the unlikely event that it foreshadows other tribes abandoning Haaland, it would signal major league trouble. What it does do for Bregman is bolster his fund-raising efforts even as tribes from around the nation are donating to Haaland. Haaland at last report had raised nearly $3.7 million. After spending $1.2 million, mostly on digital advertising, her campaign had $1.7 million in cash as of April. Bregman raised over $1 million in the five weeks after launching his campaign in April and had about $850,000 cash. Haaland does not want to see a contagion spread where Dems sitting on the sidelines fearful of endorsing Bregman start to feel their oats and come out publicly for him and with checkbooks in hand. Haaland will have a chance to show that the Sandia break is an outlier if and when the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG) representing the state's 19 pueblos, including Sandia, come with their '26 primary endorsement. She would seem to need it now that Bregman has exposed a fissure in the group. Haaland s a member of the Laguna Pueblo and worked at one time for San Felipe Pueblo, both gaming tribes. There is a third candidate in the Dem gubernatorial chase--former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima. Like Bregman, he is a moderate Dem. On days such as Tuesday when Bregman ran away with a nice trophy, Haaland has to be glad he is there. THE SANDIA FILE
In the 2024 cycle the pueblo donated $48,336, including $6,776 to Kamala Harris; $18,400 to a national Democratic committee; $6,600 to Sen. Heinrich; $6,600 to Rep. Leger Fernandez and $6,600 to Rep. Stansbury. The most recent Indian gaming compacts with the state were signed in 2015 and don't expire until 2037. Sandia Resort and Casino is the most profitable of the state's gambling tribes but it is an industry that has flat-lined in recent years. The state Gaming Control Board reports that in the first quarter of 2025 the pueblo's "net adjusted win" was $49 million. In the first quarter of 2019 it was $46 million. For Isleta Pueblo their adjusted net win in the first quarter of this year was $47 million, the same as the first quarter of 2019. The Gaming Board reports the state took in $21 million in revenue sharing from all Indian gaming in the state in the first quarter. That amounts to roughly $80 million a year, a tidy sum but not grand in the context of an $11 billion state General Fund budget. Finally, the state explains that the "net win" is not a gaming tribe's profit: Adjusted net win for New Mexico Indian casinos refers to the total revenue generated from gaming activities after deducting certain expenses, such as payouts to players and promotional costs. This figure is important for determining the financial performance of the casinos and for regulatory purposes. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
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