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SANTA FE 鈥� With control of the U.S. House up for grabs in November, New Mexico鈥檚 southern congressional district is once again drawing national interest and hefty outside money.

A Republican political committee aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday announced a planned that includes $3.8 million for televised ads in two media markets 鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and El Paso 鈥� that cover the district of incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez.

Vasquez, a Democrat, is seeking reelection to a third term representing the state鈥檚 2nd Congressional District, after ousting a Republican incumbent in 2022 and winning reelection in 2024.

But he鈥檚 expected to face a robust challenge from Republican Greg Cunningham of sa国际传媒官网网页入口, a former Marine and retired police officer who has twice run unsuccessfully for the state House.

Another GOP candidate, Jose Orozco of sa国际传媒官网网页入口, recently withdrew from the race, though his name will still appear on the June 2 primary ballot. 

Cunningham recently landed the endorsement of President Donald Trump, who praised Cunningham in a social media post last week, saying: 鈥淗E WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.鈥�

Trump has not won in New Mexico during any of his three presidential campaigns, but in the state鈥檚 2nd Congressional District in the 2024 race than did Democrat Kamala Harris.

The 2nd Congressional District鈥檚 status as a key swing seat is not new, as the district has drawn big outside spending and national attention in recent election cycles. But the district could be pivotal once again this year as Democrats are seeking to reclaim control of the U.S. House by flipping GOP-held seats.

Republicans currently hold a narrow 217-212 majority in the chamber, after of U.S. Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat.

In any case, the spending infusion from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the Republican PAC, was welcomed Thursday by Cunningham, who said it showed Vasquez鈥檚 vulnerability.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud that Republicans across the country see what the people of New Mexico鈥檚 Second District already know: it鈥檚 time for a change,鈥� Cunningham said in a statement. 鈥淎s a Marine Corps combat veteran and longtime sa国际传媒官网网页入口 police officer, I鈥檓 running to bring experienced leadership to our district.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to win this race from the ground up, and this national investment shows the momentum is on our side,鈥� he added.

New Mexico鈥檚 2nd Congressional District was not included in an initial list of targeted ad buys announced Thursday by the House Majority PAC, a Democratic political committee. However, outside spending on Vasquez鈥檚 behalf is still likely to materialize this fall.

Vasquez鈥檚 campaign manager Patricia Socarras Santiago said Thursday the announced GOP ad buy in the district was largely expected.

鈥淭his is no surprise 鈥� our district has been a top target by the NRCC and their billionaire donors since we defeated them in 2022,鈥� Socarras Santiago said in a statement.

鈥淢AGA Republicans think they can distract voters from the skyrocketing cost of living, tariffs ruining their businesses, the multi-billion dollar war in Iran, and robbing Americans of their food and healthcare,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut what they fail to understand is they can鈥檛 buy their way out of a bad agenda for working New Mexicans.鈥�

Both Vasquez and Cunningham are also expected to deploy their own campaign war chests on this fall鈥檚 race.

So far, Vasquez has outraised his opponents, as he reported last week having raised roughly $885,000 during the most recent reporting period, though much of that money came from out-of-state donors. The Democratic incumbent had more than $1.8 million on hand for his reelection campaign, according to .

As for Cunningham, he reported receiving roughly $225,000 in contributions and had nearly $204,000 unspent in his campaign account.

The 2nd Congressional District has tilted more Democratic since state lawmakers redrew the district鈥檚 boundary lines in redistricting in late 2021. Under the current map, the district stretches from Las Cruces north into sa国际传媒官网网页入口's South Valley and also includes much of the Oil Patch in southeast New Mexico.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on Twitter at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.