New Mexico
Downwinders have a new way to apply for compensation – New Mexico Political Report
Two New Mexico federal representatives are trying to ensure their constituents are aware of possible payouts for those damaged by Cold War-era nuclear weapons testing.
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján Friday announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new online portal for Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) claims.
In a news release on the portal, Luján said it reflects updates to the program made last year, including the extension of benefits to all 33 New Mexico counties.
“In New Mexico and across the country, thousands of Americans sacrificed in service to our national security and deserve justice,” he said. “That’s why I’ve pushed the Department of Justice to provide clear guidance for New Mexicans to cut through the red tape and easily apply for and receive compensation. I’ll continue fighting to ensure RECA delivers for our families.”
Earlier in the week, U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández told community members at an engagement in Peña Blanca to consider their eligibility for RECA compensation.
The program calls for one-time payments of $100,000 for individuals affected by radiation from nuclear tests.
She said anybody who happened to live in New Mexico for at least one year between 1944 and 1962 and developed a radiation-related cancer is eligible. The one-year period does not have to be consecutive; cumulative months across the qualifying period count.
Leger Fernández distributed flyers with details on the program at the local community center.
Covered cancers include leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, brain or lung cancer, and male or female breast cancer.
“If you had one of those cancers,” Leger Fernández said, “Or your father died from one of those cancers … children can apply as survivors.”
Survivors are considered in the following order: living spouse, children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents.
One new development in the updated RECA is an alternative to submitting medical records to prove that one had a qualifying cancer. The application form now contains a box that authorizes the Justice Department to contact the New Mexico Tumor Registry on a patient’s behalf. The Tumor Registry can then verify the qualifying disease.
The Tumor Registry has records for New Mexicans diagnosed with cancer after 1973, along with partial records for those diagnosed between 1966 and 1973.
Individuals who have already received the original $50,000 Downwinder payment under RECA are not eligible for additional compensation
“I remain grateful to the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, survivors, and advocates who helped get RECA across the finish line,” Luján said. “Over the past decade working to advance this issue, I’ve been moved by the stories of families who became ill or lost loved ones, but who never gave up this fight.”
All claims must be filed by Dec. 31, 2027.
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Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
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When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
But they don’t have to do it alone thanks to an organization helping New Mexico families with some of those burdens.
Watch the video above for more.
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