NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Gabe Vasquez is still taking it all in after winning New Mexico’s Second Congressional District (CD2) by a little more than a thousand votes, “I think the voters of this district spoke. We spent so much time on the road building relationships with communities all across this huge district and so clearly it paid off.”

The former Las Cruces city councilor and a first-generation American will be taking the seat come January, “It felt really nice yesterday to see the results were favorable in our direction, but honestly, today I woke up saying, ‘Okay, how can I get to work? What’s next?'”

Vasquez will be one of only a few Democrats to ever hold that title in CD2. He said one of the many items on his agenda is ensuring fair wages for the people who work for the district’s most important industry – oil and gas. While also growing the renewable energy economy.

“That’s important for the health and the future of our communities, the next generation of people in Lea County and in Eddy County, right? It’s our young children and folks who have to live with this stuff and deal with these impacts,” Vasquez said.

It was a tight race with the results coming down to the last few hundred votes. Outgoing Congresswoman Yvette Herrell blamed her loss on the state’s redistricting, bringing in more Democratic voters. Herrell even filed a lawsuit saying the map takes power away from rural New Mexicans.

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Vasquez said no matter where the lines are drawn, he is committed to serving all the communities in his district. “I was canvasing in Eunice just two weeks ago, and I know we didn’t have a lot of votes there, but I was also in Hobbs the month before that. I was in Alamogordo and Carlsbad during the course of this campaign.”

Vasquez wants to be a representative for everybody. He said no matter who they voted for in the midterm election, he will work to bring people together.