The Duke leads research and writing for our State News division. He hails from New Mexico, is a veteran, and holds a masters degree. He also has a background in leadership, talent management, human resources, and strategic planning.
The same ecosystem that pushed HB 9 through Santa Fe also shows up in endorsements, outside spending, and donor pipelines around the lawmakers who carried it.
Part 1 of an ongoing New Mexico Madness investigation into HB 9, the officials defending it, and the political network behind it. For earlier reporting that helped set the table, see our earlier piece regarding the SPLC (Apr '26).
Part 1 followed the money after it was already moving. Part 2 turns to the front gate of the same system: who gets verified, how long that verification can drag,
New Mexico does not need California or Minnesota to understand what a public-benefits accountability problem looks like. The state already has its own record of federal audit findings, legislative
The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais did more than settle one dispute in one state. It sharpened a much larger fight over redistricting, political power, and how
New Mexico leaders never miss a chance to talk about health care costs, prescription affordability, or the burdens facing poor and working families.
Usually, they are right to do it.
New Mexicans should be asking a simple question: why is there so little noise around a federal housing bill that could actually help this state?
No, the 21st Century ROAD
New Mexico Madness Investigations | Project Apollo | Part Three of Three
Parts One and Two of this investigation documented how a Chinese national controlled a shell company with $5.9 million
New Mexico Madness Investigations | Project Apollo | Part Two of Three
How a Revolving Door, a Captured Nonprofit, and $3.1 Million in Taxpayer Money Created the System That Nearly Handed
The federal government protected New Mexico from itself. Five commissioners, a governor, a mayor, and a network of political donors approved a Chinese national security threat next to the largest nuclear weapons storage facility in the United States — and called it economic development
The governor sold universal child care as a national model. Now a court is asking a more basic question: was the rollout lawful in the first place?
When New Mexico
