Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman-Elect Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03) will serve as the Freshman Class Representative to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) for the 117th Congress. The Freshman Representative is part of the CHC leadership team. In this position, Teresa Leger Fernandez will work closely with CHC’s Chair and Whip to communicate and pass the Caucus’ message and legislative priorities.

"The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has championed legislation to address the health, economic and environmental disparities facing our Latino communities and working families. They’ve taken on Trump and his inhumane policies separating children from their families. I’m honored to join the Caucus in their good fight on these issues as the newly elected Freshman Representative. Ahora es cuando! Now is the time to protect our families from the economic devastation the pandemic has disproportionately inflicted on our communities, pass comprehensive immigration reform, and make sure everyone has access to affordable, quality health care," said Rep.-Elect Leger Fernandez.

As Latinos become an ever-larger, and important segment of the American population and an important voting bloc, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus allows Hispanic Members of Congress to work on a collective legislative agenda and champion issues impacting Latino communities throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Both Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Representative and Senator-Elect Ben Ray Luján served in CHC leadership.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman-Elect Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03) was unanimously elected to the leadership position of Regional Whip for Region VI in a vote conducted yesterday by members of the Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico delegations. Leger Fernandez will begin serving as regional whip when she is sworn in as a member of the 117th Congress on January 3, 2020 and will work closely with Democratic Whip James Clyburn.

“I am honored that the members of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico trust me to serve as their regional whip,” said Leger Fernandez. “As I have done throughout my career, I will work to build bridges as Congress’s historic, diverse Democratic caucus works together to tackle pressing issues like the COVID health and economic crisis, threats to Americans’ healthcare, and climate change.”

Region VI includes the Democratic members in the states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The primary duties of the Regional Whip are helping organize support for legislative action, tracking votes, and ensuring Members have the information they need before they vote.

SANTA FE - Teresa Leger Fernandez won the race for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District tonight, becoming the first woman and Latina elected to serve the district in Congress. The Albuquerque Journal called the race at 8:41 p.m. MT.

“I take each of the thousands of votes cast in this election as a sacred expression of trust in me and in our shared vision for our future.  I will treat this responsibility with the respect and the humility that it deserves.

“For months, you have heard me say, sing, and chant my father’s corrido - ahora es cuando. It’s time now. I am here tonight because of those who came before me, because of all those who shared their time, talents, and resources with this campaign, and because of all of you who voted. This election is about transformation, about building a different economy - one that doesn’t favor the rich over the working class, about science guiding our response to the pandemic, about providing healthcare for all people, not just those who can afford it, and about creating opportunities and living up to our promise,” said Teresa Leger Fernandez.

Leger Fernandez, who ran a robust community-focused campaign for Congress centered on protecting what we love in order to build thriving communities, has secured the seat previously long held by Representative Ben Ray Luján.

Leger Fernandez grew up with a large family in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She is the daughter of bilingual education pioneers and started her education in Head Start, eventually going on to graduate from Yale and Stanford Law School. As an attorney and advocate, she has worked the last 30 years to advance voting rights, promote tribal sovereignty, build affordable housing, protect our acequia waters, and has secured nearly a billion dollars in funding to help build schools, rural health clinics, broadband, businesses and critical infrastructure.

In the final Tea with Teresa conversation before November 3rd, Teresa Leger Fernandez sat down with Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Jill Cooper Udall, and Dr. Shelle Sánchez

SANTA FE —  Democratic nominee for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, Teresa Leger Fernandez, concluded her Tea with Teresa: Conversation, Connection, and Community series tonight with a conversation on reinvesting in New Mexico’s creative economy, which was among the most significantly impacted by the COVID pandemic.

As artists, performers, and those engaged in our creative economy have lost business and venues for sharing their art - the conversation asked the question of whether a new Works Projects Administration (WPA) that includes funds for investment in our artists could be implemented as part of COVID recovery legislation.

“Going into 2021, we must do all that we can to support the creative economy following the COVID-19 pandemic. Our artists, performers, writers, artisans, and others in the creative sector represent one in ten of workers in New Mexico. They are not only important to our economy, they are integral to our identity and this beautiful place we call home,” said Teresa Leger Fernandez.

This was the final conversation in the larger Tea with Teresa series, in which Leger Fernandez brought together experts, advocates, and elected officials to discuss the issues that matter most to New Mexicans, including: healthcare, child poverty, climate change, housing, immigration, rural development and cultural preservation.

“This series brought together the experts and advocates who know what it means to take bold and courageous action to tackle climate change, reinvest in our economy, and build the housing and future we need for the next generation,” said Leger Fernandez.

In the first Tea with Teresa, held soon after COVID hit New Mexico, Leger Fernandez spoke with Barbara McAneny, M.D., Immediate Past-President of the American Medical Association, Leslie Hayes, M.D., Board Certified in Family Medicine and Addiction, and Alan Barlow, the CEO of the Kewa Health Clinic about healthcare and the fault lines the virus has exposed in our system.

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), one of the nation’s foremost advocates for child well-being, Child Advocate David Harris, and New Mexico Voices for Children Deputy Director Amber Wallin joined Leger Fernandez for a Tea with Teresa focused on how we can bring an end to child poverty in New Mexico and across the country by creating a political and economic agenda that prioritizes children and families as we move into 2021.

On issues of protecting our environment, Leger Fernandez had conversations with Former Santa Fe Mayor and Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Executive Committee Chair David Coss, Cultural Resource Consultant from Acoma Pueblo Theresa Pasqual, and Environmental Attorney Noah Long centered on the work we must do to protect our air, land, and water and build a sustainable future for all of our communities.  The conversation on rural development heard from Former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Director Terry Brunner, Executive Director of Quivira Coalition Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, and Conservation Leader and Rancher Lesli Allison on policies and ideas to build strong and resilient rural communities, while at the same time improving our soil health which will help solve our climate crisis.

Over the summer, Leger Fernandez hosted a Tea with Teresa focused on housing and homelessness with Former Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros,  Executive Director of Homewise Mike Loftin and Executive Director of New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness Hank Hughes. She also hosted a conversation with Marcela Diaz, Founding Executive Director of Somos un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant-led civil and workers’ rights organization, Maria Cristina Lopez of the City of Santa Fe Immigration Committee and Founding Board Member of Somos, and Bill Ong Hing of the University of San Francisco and founder of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center about immigration, the inhumane policies of this presidential administration, and what we must do to move forward on the local, state, and national levels.

In a Tea with Teresa that embraced cultural diversity and the spirit of storytelling in New Mexico, Storyteller Joe Hayes, Storyteller and Museum Cultural Educator Jon Ghahate (Laguna and Zuni Pueblos), and Inaugural New Mexico Poet Laureate Levi Romero joined Leger Fernandez to tell stories and discuss the importance of telling stories as a way to share and preserve cultures, and build understanding between them.

SANTA FE, NM — Ahead of Labor Day and in acknowledgement of the critical contributions of the American labor movement for working families across New Mexico, Teresa Leger Fernandez’s campaign for Congress proudly announced its second round of union endorsements.

The American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, National Education Association-New Mexico, New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council, Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 16, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1564, American Federation of Government Employees District 10, SMART Transportation Division Local 34, Teamsters Local 492, and the Communications Workers of America-New Mexico, all endorse Teresa’s campaign for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, saying:

“Teresa comes from a union educator family and is a product of New Mexico’s schools. Our union is proud to endorse her campaign for Congress, and we are confident she will be a champion for public education in the third district and across New Mexico, because she knows and shares our values.” - Stephanie Ly, President, AFT New Mexico

“Solid, informed, compassionate leadership has never been more important. Our schools and students deserve a true champion, and Teresa Leger Fernandez will be that champion in Congress.” - Steve Sianez, NEA-NM UniServ Director

“The New Mexico Building Trades Council is proud to support Teresa Leger Fernandez as our Congresswomen  in the 3rd Congressional District. Teresa has the heart and intellect to represent northern New Mexico’s working families. We look forward to working with her to advance the wellbeing of our members and their families. - Brian Condit, Executive Director, New Mexico Building Trades

“LiUNA is proud to endorse Teresa Leger Fernandez for Congress. She understands and reflects our values as a union, and has spent decades serving the communities that she now seeks to represent. We are confident that she will center the working families of the 3rd Congressional District and New Mexico in all she does as our next representative.” - Jose V. Atencio, Business Manager, LiUNA Local 16

“UFCW Local 1564 is confident that Teresa Leger Fernandez will put workers and working families first, and will acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices of grocery store workers and all essential workers during this pandemic by advocating for adequate pay and sick leave. We are proud to endorse her campaign for Congress.” - Greg Frazier, President, UFCW 1564

"Teresa Leger Fernandez understands the fundamental role that federal workers play to thriving communities across our state and nation. We know she will be a champion of all workers, and we are proud to endorse her campaign for Congress." - Cheryl Eliano, National Vice President, AFGE District 10

“As a lifelong Northern New Mexican, Teresa understands the critical role of transportation systems like the railroad to our way of life. She has spent her career building necessary infrastructure across Northern New Mexico, and SMART Transportation Division Local 34 looks forward to working with her in Congress to make sure that our communities and working families have what they need to thrive, and is proud to endorse her campaign. ” - Donald Gallegos, SMART Transportation Division State Legislative Director

“Teresa understands the values and priorities of New Mexico’s working families because she grew up in one. We know that she will be a champion for justice, equity, and the rights of working people in Congress, and the Communications Workers of America New Mexico Locals are proud to endorse her campaign.” - Robin Gould, CWA Staff Representative

“As the daughter of a New Mexico union household, I am so proud to be endorsed by AFT-NM, NEA-NM, the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council, LiUNA Local 16, UFCW 1564, AFGE District 10, SMART Transportation Division Local 34, CWA-NM, and Teamsters Local 492,” said Teresa Leger Fernandez. “This Labor Day weekend reminds us of the positive difference that the labor movement continues to have in the lives of New Mexico's working families. Our unions are at the forefront of the fight for worker rights and safety, and I look forward to working together on behalf of all New Mexicans.”

Teresa is also proudly endorsed by AFSCME Council 18, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters and Local Union 1319, the New Mexico Federation of Labor, the New Mexico Professional Firefighters Association, Taos Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, EMILY's List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC, Latino Victory Fund, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Sierra Club, End Citizens United, Let America Vote, New Mexico Working Families Party, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and many others.  Please find the full list of endorsements here.