By: Greg Cunningham

Greg Cunningham is a Marine combat veteran, a former Albuquerque police officer and detective, and the Republican candidate for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. 

Progressives in Washington DC have spent a lot of money this year telling you who I answer to. So let me tell you myself.

I was born in New Mexico and grew up in Albuquerque’s South Valley. As a young man, I raised my right hand and swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I kept that oath as a Marine in combat in Desert Storm, sleeping in fighting holes and watching the oil fields of Kuwait burn.

Then I raised my hand again, this time to protect the people of this state. I kept that oath for twenty years as an Albuquerque police officer and detective, working undercover against the gangs and cartels that move drugs through New Mexico.

Neither oath said one word about a political party. In twenty years, nobody who called 911 asked me if I was a Republican or a Democrat. I never asked them either. You show up, you do the job, and you tell the truth.

That’s the congressman I’ll be. My number one priority is New Mexico. Not a party. Not Washington. When something is good for our state, I’ll vote for it no matter who wrote it. When it isn’t, I’ll vote no, no matter who’s asking.

In Congress, I’ll fight to lower costs. I raised a family on a police officer’s salary, and I know how to make a paycheck stretch. I’ll defend New Mexico energy, keep taxes low, and cut the red tape that makes everything cost more. When Gabe Vasquez had the chance to let New Mexicans keep more of their paychecks, he voted no. He voted against the law that delivered no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and a $6,000 deduction for seniors. He called the bill to lower energy costs “toxic.”

I’ll work to keep our streets safe. I served on a DEA task force, and I know exactly what comes across that border. Fentanyl isn’t a statistic to me. My own nephew passed away from an overdose, and I know what that phone call does to a family. We must protect the border so the fentanyl stops coming in. Go after the dealers poisoning our kids, and go after them hard. Make sure people who are struggling can get treatment and real help. And if you’re here illegally and you commit a crime, you’re gone.

I’ll protect Social Security and Medicare, and I’ll work to bring health care costs down. Americans should pay the same for a prescription as anyone else in the world, and insurance companies should tell you in plain English what they charge and what they deny. 

It’s time to restore trust in Congress. I’ll vote to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Nobody should get rich off this job.

Gabe has had four years. He promised New Mexico’s downwinders he would fight for them, then voted no on their compensation. He voted against the Laken Riley Act. Twice. He says one thing here, votes another way in Washington, and then tries to rewrite history.

Expanded early voting opened Saturday, October 17, and runs through October 31. I’ll fight for the oil workers in Hobbs, the teacher in Las Cruces, and the family in the South Valley the same way I always have. Show up, do the job, tell the truth.

 I’ve kept every oath I’ve ever taken. If you send me to Congress, I’ll keep this one too.