United States Senate: Martin Heinrich

Incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) is running for reelection against Nella Domenici (R) to represent New Mexico in the United States Senate. Born in Fallon, Nevada, Heinrich has a background in engineering and has been in the Senate since 2013.

Here’s where he stands on key issues.

Education

Heinrich led the federal effort to secure the congressional authorization of New Mexico’s Land Grant Permanent Fund in 2023, according to his website. The fund annually provides more than $1 billion to New Mexico public schools, universities and speciality schools, according to the New Mexico State Investment Council.

“I'm going to continue to use my position on the Appropriations Committee to partner directly with institutions like the University of New Mexico and our other universities around the state,” Heinrich told the Daily Lobo. “I've done that successfully over the years, supporting everything from individual buildings and construction projects to programs for teachers in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.”

Crime

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich worked with the sheriff’s department, local police departments and the attorney general to provide forensic tools for solving crimes more effectively, according to Heinrich. These tools are especially important because New Mexico experiences many crimes that go unsolved, Heinrich said.

“By providing specific forensic equipment — whether that's DNA equipment, whether that's ballistics equipment or drug testing equipment — we make those local law enforcement departments more effective,” Heinrich said.

Gun policy

Heinrich is a gun owner and was part of a team of senators who wrote the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, he said.

“Specifically, I got to write the provisions on things called straw purchases, and then on gun trafficking. And straw purchases (are) a huge problem in New Mexico,” Heinrich said.

A straw purchase occurs when a person legally buys a gun and then gives the gun to somebody else, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Many of the guns used in violent crimes are the result of people buying them on behalf of those with a history of felonies or domestic violence, Heinrich said.

Heinrich introduced the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act to Congress, which would regulate the sale, transfer and manufacture of semi-automatic weapons.

“The size of magazine, the capacity of magazines, the kind of actions that are used in assault rifles, in AR-15s — it regulates those so that the kind of weapons that are used over and over again in mass shootings are less accessible and less able to cause the scale of damage that they currently do,” Heinrich said.

Economy and jobs

Heinrich serves as chair of the Joint Economic Committee in the Senate. He plans to expand pathways to highly skilled labor through appropriations for educational institutions, he said.

“I think it's really important that we both support higher education, four-year and graduate degrees at places like the University of New Mexico, and simultaneously invest in highly skilled labor,” Heinrich said.

Projects like the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project and the Intel factory in Rio Rancho have created huge demand for highly skilled labor in New Mexico, according to Heinrich.

“I've invested a lot through the appropriations process — but also in terms of legislation — in trying to expand those pathways to highly skilled labor, and that creates jobs in New Mexico that people can build a family around,” Heinrich said.

Environment and energy

Heinrich supports a transition to a pollution-free economy by transitioning to cleaner energy, he said.

The SunZia Southwest Transmission Project — which aims to transport renewable energy across the Southwest — and other projects were able to take advantage of the incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Heinrich. He voted in support of the act.

“The incentives that we have built into the Inflation Reduction Act are the biggest climate investments that the world has ever seen, and I think it's underappreciated,” Heinrich said. “I think more and more people will realize just how quickly we can transition to cleaner energy.”

Abortion

Heinrich said he voted for a bill that would have codified Roe v. Wade into federal law, and would do it again if given the opportunity.

In July, Heinrich co-sponsored the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, which expressed support for the restoration of abortion access. In September, he and other senators introduced a resolution expressing the sense of the U.S. Senate that everyone has the right to emergency health care, including abortion.

Border and immigration

Heinrich supports reform to U.S. immigration by making it easier for those who qualify as asylum seekers to gain legal entry into the country, he said.

“We have had really constrained legal documented immigration in recent years, and that has caused the undocumented surge that we've seen,” Heinrich said. “I think we have always been a nation of immigrants, and while we take border security very seriously, we should also support and expand our legal documented immigration pathways.”

War in Gaza and surrounding regions

Earlier this month, Heinrich called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages captured by Hamas, according to a statement posted to X.

“I have been focused on getting the captives who are being held hostage released and a ceasefire in place and aid and food and medicine in to Palestinian civilians, and I think that is the appropriate focus to be able to de-escalate this conflict and preserve civilian lives in Gaza,” Heinrich said.

Lily Alexander is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on X @llilyalexander

Nate Bernard is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14

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