Rep.-elect Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.-2)
DATE OF BIRTH: Aug. 3, 1984
RESIDENCE: Las Cruces, N.M.
OCCUPATION: Las Cruces City Council; businessman
EDUCATION: B.A., New Mexico State University
FAMILY: single
• New Mexico Rep.-elect Gabe Vasquez (D) narrowly beat Rep. Yvette Herrell (R) to take over representing the state’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District.
Vasquez, whose background is in politics, business and conservation, was a top bet for Hispanic Democrats, who invested heavily in a district that’s switched parties three times in as many elections, after decades of more or less consistent Republican control.
Vasquez is a first-generation American, born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents and mostly raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
After building a startup company in Las Cruces, Vasquez turned to politics and joined New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich’s staff in 2013.
There, Vasquez focused on conservation efforts, working on the designation of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument.
— Rafael Bernal