Deb Haaland won the race for governor of New Mexico on Tuesday, becoming the first Native American woman ever elected to lead a U.S. state. The Democrat and former interior secretary defeated Republican Gregg Hull, the longtime mayor of Rio Rancho, with a comfortable lead in the early returns.

Haaland, 65, is a citizen of Laguna Pueblo. She has broken barriers before. In 2018 she and Sharice Davids of Kansas became the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Three years later she became the first Native American to serve in a president's cabinet when she took over the Interior Department.

Her path to public life was not a straight line. On the campaign trail she spoke openly about raising her daughter as a single mother, relying on food aid and health coverage for low-income families and starting law school in her thirties.

Roots in tribal and state service

Before Washington, Haaland worked as a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo and became the first woman elected to the board of the Laguna Development Corporation. She later led the state Democratic Party, another first for a Native American woman.

Native Americans make up about 12 percent of New Mexico's population. Tribal leaders said her win reflects decades of organizing in a state where Native residents did not win the right to vote until 1948, after a World War II veteran from Isleta Pueblo took the state to court.

Looking to Santa Fe

Haaland will succeed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who could not seek another term. She ran on lowering costs for working families and drew on her years leading the agency that manages much of the land and water in the West.

She will be sworn in early next year in Santa Fe, where supporters said they hope the moment inspires young Native women to see a place for themselves in public office.