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National Police Week was May 10-16. Across the country, law enforcement officers gathered to honor their officers. For two full days, our congressman said nothing.

It was not until Greg Cunningham, the Republican candidate for New Mexico鈥檚 2nd Congressional District, called out Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., publicly for his silence that Vasquez finally posted something acknowledging the week. Two days late. On top of that he has his replies turned off so nobody could respond.

I have been in law enforcement in southeastern New Mexico for 19 years. I have stood at funerals for officers killed in the line of duty. I have looked their families in the eye. National Police Week is not something I need a politician to remind me about. But I do need to know that the person representing this district in Congress actually cares about the men and women who protect it. And when your congressman has to be shamed into showing up during the one week a year dedicated to law enforcement, and then shuts down the conversation after he does, that is not support. That is damage control.

This is a pattern with Gabe Vasquez.

He called for defunding the police. His own words, on camera. He called the crisis at our southern border a "non-existent threat." He voted against funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Down here in Eddy County, my deputies do not get to show up two days late. They do not get to turn off the conversation when it gets uncomfortable. They are on the roads every night, pulling over vehicles loaded with fentanyl, chasing smugglers and dealing with the consequences of a border that Vasquez refused  to secure. They answer every call. They do not wait to be called out first.

That is why I am endorsing Greg Cunningham for Congress.

Cunningham is a Marine who served in combat. He came home and became a detective with the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department. He has worked the cases, made the arrests and put himself in danger to protect his community. He did not need a career in politics to understand what law enforcement goes through. He has lived it.

When Cunningham honored law enforcement during National Police Week, it was not a reaction to criticism. It was not two days late. It was not followed by turning off the replies. It was instinct.

Because that is who he is.

The officers across this district deserve better than a congressman who treats them like an afterthought. The families who pray every night that their loved ones come home safe deserve someone who does not need to be pressured into standing with them.

Greg Cunningham will be that congressman. I am proud to endorse him. 

Matthew Hutchinson is the Eddy County sheriff.