Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in New Mexico after championing conservation and clean energy during her tenure as Interior secretary under President Joe Biden.

A Democratic source close to the former U.S. interior secretary says she has hired a campaign manager for the 2026 election.

Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is “preparing” to run for governor of New Mexico in 2026, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to Source NM on Tuesday. If elected, Haaland would be the first Native American person to head the state government in its 113-year history.

FILE - Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks during an event to commemorate World Wildlife Day and announced during her speech that her agency will work to restore more large bison herds to Native American lands at the National Geographic Society in Washington, Friday, March 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) AP

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will run to be the next governor of New Mexico, a spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. “Deb Haaland is of and for New Mexico. She’s a proven leader; she’s

Deb Haaland, the former secretary of the Interior Department under President Joe Biden, is getting ready for a run to become New Mexico’s next governor. Haaland led the Department of the Interior during all four years of the Biden administration after previously being elected to Congress to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in 2018.