by Roz Brown for Public News Service
New Mexico Democrats expanded their majority in the Legislature on Tuesday.
David Mooney, a Democrat who was elected to represent New Mexico House District 38, is among the new additions and is not shy about saying why he jumped into the race.
He told a meeting of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club he was alarmed at how quickly the massive AI data center known as Project Jupiter was pushed through in southern New Mexico. Currently under construction, it spans roughly 1,400 acres, which is larger than New York City's Central Park. Mooney has publicly criticized a lack of transparency ahead of the project's approval by Doña Ana County commissioners.
"It was front of mind for a lot of the constituents that I talked to and my main reason for running. So, environmental issues, the threat of data centers being pushed through out of the view of the public as well," Mooney explained.
Mooney is a New Mexico State University graduate with a bachelor's degree in creative media. He defeated four-term Republican Rebecca Dow. There were at least 50 local ballot measures related to AI data centers in 13 states this week but New Mexico was not among them.
On the national level, environmental groups said Democrats won control of the U.S. House and Senate on Tuesday in part by holding Republicans accountable for spiking energy prices and their rejection of renewable power sources. Electricity prices are up 18% nationwide since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Lori Lodes, president of the advocacy group Climate Power, said Trump ran for re-election on a promise to cut energy prices but instead cut affordable clean energy.
"Every trip to the gas pump, every electric bill made Trump's broken promise personal. Big Oil and Big Tech got access, subsidies and favors, and American families got stuck with the bill," Lodes contended.
New Mexico's Deb Haaland, who prioritized investing in renewable energy as Interior secretary under President Joe Biden, was elected the first Native American woman governor in the history of the country on Tuesday night. She will be the state's third female governor and will replace Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was term-limited.