2026 House Candidates on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

The future of civil liberties and civil rights in New Mexico is on the ballot this year.

We sent a five-question questionnaire to candidates for the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2026.

Every primary race in which at least one candidate responded is included below.

Here's what they had to say about the most pressing civil rights and civil liberties issues facing New Mexicans, from the New Mexico Civil Rights Act to strengthening privacy protections.

The Questions

We asked each candidate 5 questions and asked for a yes-or-no response. Here they are in numerical order:

  1. Data Privacy:
    Will you support policies requiring online companies to get consent before they collect, sell or share personal information and that the request for consent is done in a way that is very clear to all age groups?
  2. Juvenile Justice:
    The "tough on crime" policies of the 1990s failed our communities — and we are still living with the consequences. Do you agree with most New Mexicans that investing in diversion programs, after-school activities, behavioral health, and youth employment is a smarter, more sustainable path to community safety than increasing sentences or charging children as adults and that these policies should be prioritized in the NM State Budget?
  3. Criminalization of Poverty:
    The Trump administration is moving to expand detention of people simply for being unhoused, living with mental illness, or struggling with addiction — doubling down on the same failed approaches that have cost taxpayers billions without making our communities safer. Do you agree with most New Mexicans that investing in treatment, stable housing, and mental health supports are more effective and more just responses than incarceration? Will you prioritize policies that support those interventions?
  4. Surveillance Technology:
    New Mexico has seen a massive expansion of surveillance technologies — including facial recognition systems that produce false matches at disproportionate rates for people of color and raise serious concerns about warrantless surveillance and Fourth Amendment protections. While the state recently enacted initial guardrails for Automated License Plate Readers, most technologies remain unregulated. Will you support policies that will create smart, enforceable guardrails to prevent the misuse or weaponization of these tools and protect the privacy of all New Mexicans?
  5. NM Civil Rights Act:
    The New Mexico Civil Rights Act marks its fifth anniversary this year — a landmark law that created real accountability for civil rights violations. As the federal government dismantles due process protections, guts accountability mechanisms, and attacks constitutional rights, will you vote to protect and strengthen the NMCRA as a critical safeguard for all New Mexicans?

District 13

Matthew Archuleta (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Patricia Roybal Caballero (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

House District 14

Miguel Garcia (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Joseph Romero (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 16

Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Marsella Duarte Serna (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 27

Marian Matthews (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Abby Foster (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 30

Elizabeth Torres-Velasquez (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Veronica Mireles (Democrat) Data Privacy: Did not respond Juvenile Justice: Did not respond Criminalization of Poverty: Did not respond Surveillance Technology: Did not respond NM Civil Rights Act: Did not respond

District 33

Micaela Lara Cadena (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Ramona Martinez (Democrat) Data Privacy: Did not respond Juvenile Justice: Did not respond Criminalization of Poverty: Did not respond Surveillance Technology: Did not respond NM Civil Rights Act: Did not respond

District 37

Lori Martinez (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Matilda Villalobos (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 40

Joseph Sanchez (Democrat) Data Privacy: Did not respond Juvenile Justice: Did not respond Criminalization of Poverty: Did not respond Surveillance Technology: Did not respond NM Civil Rights Act: Did not respond Nancy Jane Wright (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 41

Debbie Rodella (Democrat) Data Privacy: Did not respond Juvenile Justice: Did not respond Criminalization of Poverty: Did not respond Surveillance Technology: Did not respond NM Civil Rights Act: Did not respond Yolanda Jaramillo (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅

District 69

Michelle Abeyta (Democrat) Data Privacy: Yes ✅ Juvenile Justice: Yes ✅ Criminalization of Poverty: Yes ✅ Surveillance Technology: Yes ✅ NM Civil Rights Act: Yes ✅ Harry Garcia (Democrat) Data Privacy: Did not respond Juvenile Justice: Did not respond Criminalization of Poverty: Did not respond Surveillance Technology: Did not respond NM Civil Rights Act: Did not respond