U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2008 In 2008 Heinrich filed papers to run in , based in Albuquerque. He originally planned to challenge five-term
Republican incumbent
Heather Wilson, but Wilson retired to run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican
Pete Domenici. Heinrich won the Democratic
primary on June 4, 2008, defeating
New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, State Health Secretary
Michelle Lujan Grisham, and
U.S. Army veteran Robert Pidcock, 44–25–24–8%. In the general election Heinrich faced
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, whom Heinrich's campaign focused on linking to
President George W. Bush. Heinrich also called for
energy independence and an end to the
war in Iraq. Heinrich is the first Democrat to represent the district, which had been in Republican hands since New Mexico was split into districts in 1969 but became increasingly friendly to Democrats, having gone Democratic in every presidential election since 1992.
2010 Heinrich was challenged by Republican Jon Barela, who told
Politico he did not believe Heinrich reflected the district, saying he was too far left on budget and spending issues. During the 2010 campaign
Roll Call reported that the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee assigned a lobbyist to aid in the reelection campaigns of possibly vulnerable House members in fundraising, messaging and campaign strategy. Heinrich was elected to a second term, defeating Barela 52–48%, and carrying two of the district's counties: Bernalillo (53%) and Sandoval (51%). Barela won Santa Fe (67%), Torrance (61%), and Valencia (53%) counties.
Tenure On January 14, 2009, the House Democratic freshmen elected Heinrich to a six-month term as their class president. He co-sponsored the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act, which would cancel an automatic $4,700 salary raise for members of Congress.
Health care On March 21, 2010, Heinrich voted for the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act). In 2017 he co-sponsored Medicare-For-All.
Abortion NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed Heinrich in 2010. Heinrich received a 100% score from NARAL in 2009.
Environment Heinrich has identified as an environmentalist throughout his career. He served as executive director of the Cottonwood Gulch Foundation, a New Mexico nonprofit organization dedicated to educating young people on
natural science and the
environment, and founded his own
public affairs consulting firm. In August 2011 he received the
Sierra Club's first endorsement of the 2012 election cycle. He opposes construction of the
Keystone Pipeline. He supports
cap-and-trade legislation. In April 2019 Heinrich was one of three Democratic senators who joined Republicans to vote to confirm
David Bernhardt, a former oil executive, as Secretary of the Interior Department. In late 2019, Heinrich was one of 14 senators to co-sponsor the
Green New Deal, a policy introduced in the
U.S. House of Representatives and
U.S. Senate that would establish net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Heinrich was a member of the Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which published a report of its findings in August 2020.
Same-sex marriage After his 2012 Senate primary opponent,
Hector Balderas, announced his support for
same-sex marriage, Heinrich's staff released a statement to
The New Mexico Independent newspaper stating, "Martin has supported gay marriage for some time. I just don't think he was asked about it. Thanks for asking!" He was an original cosponsor of Congressman
Jerry Nadler's 2009 legislation to repeal the
Defense of Marriage Act.
Gun law Heinrich is an outdoorsman, hunter, gun owner, and former member of the
National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA endorsed him during the 2010 congressional election. At that time, the NRA gave him an A grade for his stance on
Second Amendment rights. The NRA did not support Heinrich during his
2012 Senate campaign, and he has since donated their 2010 contribution to charity. He also supported bills to create a national standard for the concealed carrying of firearms across state lines, co-sponsored legislation that would ease the restrictions on the sales of firearms across state lines, and called for the repeal of the
Dickey Amendment, which prevents government research into curbing gun violence. He supports banning
bump stocks and banning sales to anyone on the federal
no fly list.
Ojito Wilderness In 2008, the New Mexico Republican Party criticized Heinrich for his work on the creation of the Ojito
National Wilderness, which they said amounted to unregistered lobbying. Heinrich responded that the work was advocacy that did not require lobbying disclosure.
Armed forces Heinrich was a member of the
House Armed Services Committee. During his time in Congress he has maintained strong opposition to the war in Iraq, and supported a swift end of combat operations in
Afghanistan. In 2011 he voted against the National Defense Authorization Act conference report because he objected to language requiring that suspected foreign terrorists be taken into custody by the military instead of civilian law enforcement authorities.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Appropriations •
Committee on Armed Services •
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces •
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces •
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources •
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources •
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands •
Select Committee on Intelligence Caucus memberships •
Senate Taiwan Caucus ==U.S. Senate==