President Donald Trump endorsed a New Mexico Republican in social media video on Saturday and used the endorsement as a chance to double down on his call to rename New Mexico.
"Hello, New America, formerly New Mexico," Trump said in the video. "I'm asking you to get out and vote for Greg Cunningham to be your next representative for New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District."
The endorsement came just days before early voting starts on Tuesday. Greg Cunningham is the Republican running against Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez. Trump won the highly competitive district in 2024.
New Mexico Democrats issued a statement on Sunday calling on state Republicans to denounce Trump's suggestion of renaming the state. When Trump originally floated the idea in early September, Republican candidate for governor Greg Hull said that the state's name is not up for negotiation. Other state Republicans said Democrats were manufacturing outrage over what Trump intended as a troll social media post.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez joined State Representative Linda Serrato to introduce new legislation aimed at reigning in frontier artificial intelligence. They announced the legislation at Serrato's AI summit at the state capital on Thursday.
"We have simply seen too many public revelations in the last several weeks and months," Torrez said. "The developers of this technology do not have a clear handle on exactly what is going on with the technology and what catastrophic events may flow from that."
An autonomous AI agent attempted to breach the University of New Mexico's digital library in May. In July, a group of around 700 AI agents escaped a testing environment and broke into an open-source AI platform. OpenAI was responsible for both events.
Earlier in the week, President Trump hosted the leaders of several prominent AI companies. The companies all signed an accord agreeing to internal safety controls and external audits. But Serrato said at the Thursday press conference that legislation is necessary.
"This is not a very complex political idea: self-regulation doesn't work," she said. "We believe it is our responsibility in the state of New Mexico to provide the oversight that the federal government has failed our communities again and again."
If the legislation becomes law it would require AI developers to disclose any catastrophic risks and put in place state-authorized audits.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich introduced legislation last week aimed at speeding up the federal review process for large energy process. By reforming and speeding up the process, the New Mexico Democrat intends to lower utility bills and create more jobs. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act also maintains environmental protections and codifies Tribal consultation.
"For tribes this means that they will have a meaningful say in the project discussions with a right to consult that's codified in statute and not subject to the whiplash every time a new president decides to change the rules," Heinrich said in a press conference.
The bill would also require AI data centers to pay for any grid upgrades they require and establish a fund to clean up abandoned mines.
Early voting starts on Tuesday around the state and reporter Bernadette Lauritzen has some tips from one county election official.
"I highly encourage anyone who is willing and able to vote early to do so,” Redondo said. "Voting early ensures that you don't have to worry about waiting in line of election day especially if there are any disruptions such as a snowstorm or power outage.”
Redondo wants voters to know that his team is ready to accept absentee ballots as well. He provided the community with helpful reminders like making sure your ballot is returned by 7pm on election day and the many locations that can receive your ballot on or before election day.
His final advice was this, “If you must use the postal service to return your ballot,” Redondo said. “We encourage you to mail it back to us as soon as possible so that we receive it by the deadline."
Voters can also call the County Clerk’s office to see that their ballot has arrived at505-662-8010.
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