Major Tribe Turns Back On Biden’s American Indian Cabinet Pick As She Runs For Governor

The Sandia Pueblo, a major American Indian tribe in New Mexico, endorsed the primary opponent of Biden-appointed former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe — in the state’s 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The tribe’s endorsement of Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman is listed on Bregman’s campaign website. A letter from Sandia Pueblo Gov. Felix Chaves expressed confidence that the candidate would support tribal sovereignty, water, and irrigation policies that would benefit the tribe, according to Axios.

Chaves told Axios that Bregman “is the only candidate who has consistently shown up and delivered.”

“To say I’m honored and humbled is an understatement,” Bregman said via a press release his office sent to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “From my early days on the Albuquerque City Council, where I established the Hate Crimes Task Force to protect minority communities, to my work as Bernalillo County District Attorney, where my office launched the first of its kind Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Unit, I’ve always stood shoulder to shoulder with our Native communities.”

“With strong early fundraising and now a landmark tribal endorsement, Bregman’s campaign is gaining momentum as he builds a diverse, winning coalition heading into the 2025 Democratic primary,” the district attorney’s office added in the press release.

Haaland, the first American Indian cabinet secretary, had emphasized her actions supporting Native Americans. She streamlined review of tribal water codes and worked to restore “tribal self-determination” and “support Tribal sovereignty,”