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A vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in a battleground district repeatedly complained that outdoor recreation has long been dominated by White males and called for "equitable access" to those spaces, according to unearthed podcast appearances reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., who previously referred to New Mexico as "stolen land," praised national conservation organizations during a June 2020 appearance on the "Mountain & Prairie" podcast for adopting what he described as more "equitable" policies aimed at expanding access to the outdoors for people of color.
"People of color are getting outdoors," Vasquez said in remarks first reported by The Daily Wire. "There’s amazing organizations out there that are just promoting diversity amongst the outdoors and big national organizations that are slowly and finally starting to get it and actually promote policies that create more equitable access and opportunities."
"Spaces that have been traditionally White will no longer be White," Vasquez continued. "Secret spots will no longer be secret. And hunters and anglers and hikers and everybody in between will look different. And so, not only should you be OK with that, not only should you tolerate that, but you should embrace that."
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"It's up to us to be the change that we want to see," he said.
Later in the interview, the New Mexico Democrat criticized conservation groups that he said lacked diversity.
"Today, I think every single executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation up until today has been a White male," he said. "There’s no cultural connection, there’s no authentic desire to communicate or connect with Hispanic communities."
Vasquez in 2017 co-founded Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a left-leaning organization devoted to making the outdoors more "equitable" and advancing environmental justice. He first won election to the House in 2022.
The remarks come as Republicans have pointed to Vasquez’s comments on race and previous criticism of law enforcement to cast him as out of step with his majority-Hispanic district, which President Donald Trump carried by two points in 2024.
Earlier this year, Vasquez voted against a GOP-authored resolution honoring law enforcement during National Police Week. The measure notably contained language criticizing the Defund the Police movement and sanctuary city policies.
"This DEI-fueled racism is the exact woke nonsense New Mexico's Second District rejected in 2024 when it elected President Donald Trump, and it will cost Vasquez at the ballot box in November as voters choose common sense over crazy," Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Vasquez campaign for comment.
In a 2020 interview, Vasquez argued that racism was ingrained into "just about every part of life," Fox News Digital previously reported. In the same interview, Vasquez, who was then serving as a Las Cruces city councilmember, voiced openness to licensed psychologists taking over some of the police’s responsibilities.
He also sharply criticized "White rich men" in a June 2020 tweet shortly after the death of George Floyd.
"Black lives matter. Until we deconstruct and rebuild the systems of oppression that keep Black people in perpetual harm, justice will not be served," he wrote.
"That includes law enforcement, the economy, and the disgusting wealth inequality that keeps white rich men in power."
Vasquez also appeared to back rioting during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 in a since-deleted tweet, CNN’s KFile first reported.
His focus on race also extended into conversations about outdoor recreation.
In a June 2022 interview with "The Trail Ahead" podcast, Vasquez described Nuestra Tierra as "being led by people of color with an all-people-of-color board."
He told an anecdote where he claimed to have experienced racism and claimed White people received special treatment in conservation on the podcast.
"I have missed out on a whole lot of opportunities just because I've asked for compensation, and it shouldn't have to be that way," he said. "Because if I was a White consultant working with a major brand or a major nonprofit, and they were seeking a solution they would pay me for my services. They would pay me for my advice."
"But it's not the same the other way around," he added. "People just expect people of color … what you have to say and what your thoughts are not of monetary value."
Vasquez will face Republican Greg Cunningham, a Marine veteran and retired police officer, in November's general election. Cunningham is part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's flagship MAGA Majority program, which backs top recruits seeking to flip Democratic-held seats.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race in Vasquez’s favor from "Toss Up" to "Lean Democrat" in January, citing Trump’s declining poll numbers and Democrats’ election wins in 2025.
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