Friend — there are two important things you should know about me:

1. Coming from 35 generations of Laguna Pueblo women, I am both of and for New Mexico. I have never forgotten my roots, and I never will. And I will always fight for our communities.

2. I'm not afraid to stand up to Donald Trump — or anyone else who threatens New Mexican communities and our way of life. I have many times before, and that's what I'll do from day one as our governor, but I need your help to get there.

Like so many of you, I am furious and heartbroken at what is happening across our country right now. We must continue to fight back, in every way we can. Every one of us has the ability to speak up and to vote out those who are enabling the cruel policies of ICE and the Trump administration. Hope is only lost when resistance stops, and there is real power in our voices and our collective action.

That's why I've joined protesters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and it's why I will continue to stand in solidarity with all who oppose injustice, encourage our lawmakers to vote against additional DHS funding, and support efforts to require ICE agents to identify themselves, to remove their masks, and to ban ICE detention centers in our state.

There is no reason for masked men with guns to take away a 5-year-old or leave a 12-year-old brother without a dad or a younger sibling. Under-trained ICE agents should not be brutalizing communities, tearing families apart, or breaking the law. Lawful protesters should never be met with gunfire in the streets. This isn't just unacceptable — it's un-American.

Instead of destroying kids' lives, families, and futures, our country should be protecting them. That is what I will do from day one as our next governor.

You have my promise: I will hold Donald Trump accountable and protect New Mexicans always. If his administration wants to bring violence and chaos to our state, gut the healthcare and food assistance programs our families rely on, and decimate our public lands, they will have to go through me first.

While this administration attacks our communities and hands out tax breaks to billionaires, I will fight for an education that gives every child the chance to dream big and reach their full potential here in New Mexico. I'll give families a raise by increasing the minimum wage and the child tax credit. I'll protect affordable healthcare and expand access to treatment and recovery programs for those suffering from addiction.

But with New Mexico's history of switching parties every eight years and Republicans spending whatever it takes to buy the governor's office, flip our state red, and bring an extremist agenda, I need you with me to deliver on these promises.

Please, will you chip in $5, or whatever you can comfortably spare, to help me become governor of New Mexico so I can stand up to Trump, keep our communities safe, and deliver real progress for our families?

Thank you so much.

Stay fierce,

Deb