Gabriel “Gabe” Vasquez (born August 3, 1984) is an American politician and public servant representing New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023. A first-generation Mexican-American, he was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in the El Paso–Juárez–Las Cruces border region, where he spent time in both the United States and Mexico as a child — a formative experience that shaped his understanding of cross-border communities and diverse cultures. He earned his B.A. in English and journalism from New Mexico State University in 2008, where he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper during his college years. After college, Vasquez worked as a journalist and business editor before moving into public relations and community advocacy. He has served as executive director of the Las Cruces Hispano Chamber of Commerce, worked in public lands conservation and policy advocacy, and represented U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich in southern New Mexico. In 2017, he was elected to the Las Cruces City Council, where he focused on infrastructure, job creation, parks investment, and economic development. In 2022, Vasquez flipped NM-02 — one of the most competitive districts in the state — becoming the first Democrat to hold the seat in decades. He was re-elected in 2024, demonstrating broad appeal across a diverse district that includes Las Cruces, Carlsbad, and much of southern and western New Mexico. In Congress, Vasquez works on behalf of working families to lower costs, expand healthcare access, protect public lands, and bring federal investments to rural and indigenous communities.
Key Issue Stances & Priorities
Gabe Vasquez’s policy priorities and issue stances include:
- Lowering Costs & Economic Opportunity — Advocates policies that reduce living costs, create good-paying jobs, and help families thrive across rural and urban communities in NM-02.
- Affordable Healthcare & Family Support — Supports expanding access to high-quality, affordable healthcare for all New Mexicans.
- Conservation & Public Lands — Passionate about protecting New Mexico’s landscapes and public lands, including earlier work that helped designate the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
- Investments in Infrastructure & Rural Communities — Brings federal funding to support local infrastructure, economic development, and tribal and rural priorities.
- Bipartisan Solutions & Community Focus — Known for practical problem-solving and working across the aisle on issues like agriculture, veterans’ support, and education.
- Immigration & Border Region Advocacy — With personal roots along the border, he highlights the importance of humane immigration policy, community safety, and strong cross-border relationships.
Notable Accomplishments
- Flipped a Competitive District: In 2022, Vasquez narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Yvette Herrell in NM-02 — a district with an even partisan rating — and was re-elected in 2024, building momentum for Democrats in a key swing area.
- Local Leadership: As a Las Cruces City Councilor, he delivered infrastructure improvements, parks investments, economic development plans, and job creation strategies that lifted families and communities.
- Conservation & Public Lands: Before Congress, he worked on public lands and conservation issues, contributing to landmark protections and championing outdoor recreation economies.
- Community Engagement & Advocacy: He has led efforts that focus on affordable healthcare access, tribal educator support, rural development, and broader quality-of-life improvements for southern New Mexico.
Republicans and Democrats have spent years politicizing immigration, swinging between inaction, cruelty, and chaos; labeling it as an "impossible" problem and dodging their responsibility to fix it; and simultaneously sabotaging real opportunities for any meaningful reform so they can recycle their talking points in the next election. And despite this being one of our nation's top political issues, most federal lawmakers who have big opinions on immigration and border security have never even been to the border, don't know what it's like to be a new immigrant in this country, and are unaware of the many hurdles folks have to jump to get through the legal immigration system.
- Gabe Vasquez