Debra Haaland wins Democratic House primary in New Mexico, could become first Native American congresswoman

Debra Haaland.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

Debra Haaland has won the Democratic nomination for New Mexico's 1st congressional district, and if she is victorious in November, she will become the first Native American congresswoman.

Haaland, the former leader of the New Mexico Democratic Party, finished ahead of former prosecutor Damon Martinez and former law professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez. Haaland will go up against former Republican state lawmaker Janice Arnold-Jones and Libertarian Lloyd Princeton in the general election.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.