Composite 5.49 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
Lands in the Unfit band at credit 578, below the 700 support line, Author's Verdict: not supported. (See section 7 for the full reasoning.)
No military service on record. Public-service background is civilian: Bernalillo County Commissioner, New Mexico Secretary of Health and of Aging and Long-Term Services, U.S. Representative (NM-1, 2013-2019), and Governor of New Mexico since January 2019. Background is context, not scored; competence demonstrated within it is scored as conduct at M14.
The 14 measures
Each measure is scored 0–10 against an anchored example, with a cited source. Hover/expand why? for the reasoning.
| # | Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| M01 | Duty to Constitution & Rule of Law | 5 | why?Mixed rule-of-law record on respect for institutional limits. The New Mexico Supreme Court halted her
attempt to spend federal COVID-19 funds without a legislative appropriation, ruling she had violated the
separation of powers, a documented overreach of executive authority beyond a routine emergency action.
Her September 2023 emergency suspension of carry rights drew rare bipartisan constitutional objection
(including from her own party nationally) and was later narrowed; the state high court ultimately upheld a
reduced version 3-2. To her credit she did NOT defy adverse rulings, she complied with the courts and
adjusted, and there is no election-subversion or refusal-to-transfer-power conduct of any kind on her
record. The score reflects a genuine pattern of testing the outer edge of executive power and being
checked by courts, balanced against consistent acceptance of judicial authority once it ruled. Policy
merits of the gun order are NOT scored, only the manner of wielding emergency power.
[source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 5 | why?Governing conduct toward the legislature is contentious even within her own Democratic majority. She
publicly criticized Democratic committee chairs (Cervantes, Chandler, López) for what she called "a pretty
purposeful effort" not to debate her bills, and her 2024 special session collapsed in one day amid
bipartisan complaints she had not built consensus. This is intra-party institutional friction over process
and pace, not a refusal to work across difference as such; she signs the great majority of bills sent to
her and vetoes sparingly (3 bills in both 2024 and 2025). Middle: a real collaborative-conduct drag driven
by a top-down posture toward a coequal branch, not by raw obstruction.
[source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 6 | why?No documented pattern of treating constituents or opponents as less than persons of equal worth. Public
conduct is combative toward the legislature and political adversaries but is directed at officials and
institutions over policy and process, not at the dignity or belonging of citizens. Upper-middle: no
anti-belonging instances on record, with a generally aggressive but not dehumanizing public posture.
[source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 6 | why?No documented weaponization of state agencies, the attorney general, the National Guard, or licensing
and contracting power to punish rivals, critics, or local officials. The contracting concerns on her
record are stewardship/process issues (sole-source volume), not retaliatory targeting. The gun emergency
order applied generally rather than against named adversaries. No criterion-class conduct. Held below the
top tier only for the general aggressiveness of her emergency-power posture, which created tools that could
be abused even where abuse against rivals is not documented.
[source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 6 | why?Rhetoric runs hot but does not rise to a sustained enemy-making or incitement pattern. After the 2024
special session she said the "legislature should be embarrassed at their inability to summon even an ounce
of courage", sharp institutional criticism aimed at fellow officials over a policy failure, not
incitement or casting citizens as enemies who do not belong. No documented directing of confrontation
against people. Upper-middle: combative tone, no anti-belonging incitement pattern.
[source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 5 | why?A genuine fiduciary-stewardship drag. Her administration circumvented competitive bidding on at least 886
occasions through sole-source and emergency contracts worth more than $796M, outpacing her predecessor, and in the BioNet PPE matter state officials acknowledged no written documentation of the vendor selection
despite a statutory requirement to record the basis in writing. This is a process/transparency failure in
stewarding public funds; it is NOT documented self-enrichment or pay-to-play, and emergency procurement is
lawful as such. Middle: real custodial sloppiness at scale, weighed without imputing personal corruption
where none is shown.
[source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 5 | why?She has publicly called out members of her own party, Democratic legislators and committee chairs, but
the criticism was over their failure to advance HER priorities, not a principled stand against her own
coalition's wrongdoing at personal cost. There is no documented instance of breaking with her party to
defend the oath against pressure when it would cost her. Middle: willing to confront her own side, but for
agenda reasons rather than conscience, so it does not meet the higher active-duty bar.
[source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 5 | why?Discretion is uneven. The sweeping September 2023 carry-suspension order, issued under emergency powers, drawing objection across the spectrum and requiring near-immediate narrowing, reflects a judgment call
that outran its legal footing, as did the unappropriated-funds spending struck down by the courts. Against
that, routine executive judgment (sparse vetoes, ordinary use of emergency declarations) is unremarkable.
Middle: a documented tendency to reach past the prudent line under pressure, checked rather than
catastrophic.
[source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 5 | why?A private/public consistency concern weighed as an appearance, not a finding. Her campaign paid a former
staffer at least $62,500 (reported up to $150,000 across payments) to settle allegations of unwanted
physical conduct at a 2018 staff meeting; she strenuously denied the allegations and no lawsuit or
adjudication occurred. Per the evidentiary rule this resolved-by-settlement, uncharged matter is a weighed
appearance-of-private-conduct concern, never a proven gap. Middle: a real reputational shadow over the
consistency of private and public conduct, held without treating settlement as guilt.
[source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 6 | why?Sustained focus on declared constituency priorities (public safety, children, the state economy) across
two terms, with no documented donor-capture pattern displacing constituent interests. The contracting
stewardship issue (M06) is the principal drag on fidelity to the public's resources. Upper-middle: broadly
constituency-oriented governing, with a custodial blemish counted elsewhere.
[source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 6 | why?No documented office-attributable personal enrichment, no self-dealing, family payments, no-bid contracts
steered to her associates, or pay-to-play on the record. The large sole-source contracting volume is a
stewardship concern scored at M06, not personal gain. The settlement payments (M09) came from campaign
funds, not state self-dealing. Held at upper-middle rather than higher only because the contracting
opacity leaves enrichment harder to fully exclude; nothing affirmatively shows it.
[source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 5 | why?Institutional decorum is a documented weak spot. She issued an executive proclamation honoring her own
"unprecedented accomplishments," publicly chastised her own party's committee chairs by name, and framed a
legislative setback as proof lawmakers should be "embarrassed." This is a self-aggrandizing, combative
posture toward a coequal branch and the office itself rather than spectacle-over-institution restraint.
Middle-low: a real decorum drag, short of conduct that subverts a constitutional function.
[source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 6 | why?No sustained documented-falsehood pattern. Independent fact-checks flagged campaign claims (e.g., "saved
thousands of lives" leaning on a counterfactual model) as overstated rather than fabricated, which is
ordinary political spin. Her denial of the settled harassment allegation is a contested assertion, not a
demonstrated lie. Upper-middle: typical advocacy overstatement, no established pattern of deliberate
deception in office.
[source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 7 | why?Substantive command of governing. A former county commissioner, state health secretary, and three-term U.S.
Representative, she runs a detailed policy operation across budget, health, and public-safety domains and
engages with specifics rather than slogans. Competence is the strongest dimension of her record; held at
upper-middle rather than higher by the process failures (struck-down spending, contracting opacity) that
reflect execution gaps alongside genuine policy depth.
[source] |
Why not higher, the points withheld
The standard is the seat; the ceiling is a perfect 10. Every withheld point traces to documented conduct, weighed where the measures and attributes say it belongs, shown openly here, the same way the earned points are.
| Where | Documented conduct | Mitigation weighed |
|---|---|---|
| M01 | NM Supreme Court ruled she violated separation of powers by spending federal COVID funds without legislative appropriation; 2023 carry-suspension order required narrowing and split the high court 3-2 ↳ Rule-of-law / institutional-limits overreach | Complied with adverse rulings; no election-subversion or defiance of courts |
| M06 | 886+ sole-source/emergency contracts worth $796M+; BioNet PPE procurement had no written vendor-selection basis despite statutory requirement ↳ Fiduciary stewardship / procurement transparency | No documented self-enrichment or pay-to-play; emergency procurement lawful as such |
| M12 | Self-honoring 'unprecedented accomplishments' proclamation; named public rebukes of own-party chairs; 'legislature should be embarrassed' framing ↳ Institutional decorum / self-aggrandizement | Heat directed at officials/process, not citizens; no constitutional-scale subversion |
| M09 | Campaign paid $62,500+ (reported up to $150,000) to settle a former staffer's unwanted-physical-conduct allegation ↳ Private/public consistency appearance-concern | Denied; no lawsuit or adjudication, weighed as appearance, not finding, per evidentiary rule |
| M02 | Public criticism of Democratic committee chairs for 'purposeful' non-debate; one-day collapse of 2024 special session amid consensus complaints ↳ Cross-branch governing conduct | Vetoes sparingly; signs most legislation; friction is over pace/process not blanket obstruction |
| M07 | Calls out own party only over failure to pass her agenda, not over wrongdoing at personal cost ↳ Active call-your-own-side duty unmet at the higher bar | Does confront her own coalition publicly, willingness is real, motive is agenda not conscience |
| M08 | Carry-suspension order outran its legal footing and required narrowing; unappropriated spending struck down ↳ Discretion test, judgment outrunning legal line under pressure | Checked by courts; no catastrophic outcome; ordinary executive judgment otherwise unremarkable |
The Four Pillars, worthy to be followed?
A separate axis from the 14 measures. The measures ask did their conduct meet the standard; the Pillars ask is this someone worthy to be elevated and followed at all. The two can diverge, when they do, the divergence is the finding.
| # | Pillar | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Trust & Loyalty
| 6 | why?Attributes: Steadiness, Selfless Service, Accountability. She governs with conviction and does not collapse under pressure, and she accepted adverse court rulings rather than defying them, a real Loyalty-to-the-system marker. Drag toward Self-Interest from the self-honoring proclamation and the settlement shadow keeps it upper-middle, not high. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 5 | why?Attributes: Conviction, Authenticity, offset by limited Self-Reflection and Teachability. Her posture after the special-session and gun-order setbacks was to blame others ('embarrassed,' chastising chairs) rather than own the misjudgment, and the procurement opacity reflects weak self-correction. Middle. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 5 | why?Attributes: Protection, Courage in Conflict present (she will spend political capital on safety goals), but Stewardship is the weak axis: $796M in sole-source contracting with documentation gaps and spending struck down for exceeding authority. No documented Exploitation of power against rivals. Middle. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 5 | why?Attributes: a competent, consequential two-term record (Integrity of effort, Justice of intent on public safety) carrying drags toward Ego (self-proclamation) and process-integrity lapses (struck-down spending, contracting opacity, settlement shadow) that temper the legacy without any subversive or terminal conduct. Middle. |
| TOTAL: Weak | 21/40 |
Total 21/40, Adequate. The pillars track the conduct composite: a competent, conviction-driven executive whose stewardship, decorum, and self-correction axes carry honest, repeated drags, with no subversive or enemy-making conduct.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“The legislature should be embarrassed at their inability to summon even an ounce of courage to adopt common-sense legislation to make New Mexicans safer.”
After the one-day 2024 special session adjourned without acting on her public-safety bills · KUNM · CONTESTED · cite
“I was focused on the pandemic.”
Defending the $62,500 settlement with a former campaign staffer · Fox News · CONTESTED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (born October 24, 1959). 32nd Governor of New Mexico, in office since January 1, 2019; reelected November 2022; term-limited and ineligible for a third consecutive term (successor to be elected November 2026). First Democratic Hispanic woman elected governor in U.S. history. Prior offices: Bernalillo County Commissioner; New Mexico Secretary of Health and of Aging and Long-Term Services; U.S. Representative for NM-1 (2013-2019). Graduated from the University of New Mexico and its School of Law.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Gubernatorial record (used in lieu of a legislative profile; voteview/DW-NOMINATE/Lugar indices do not apply to governors). Two-term Democratic governor of a Democratic-trifecta state. Governing posture: assertive use of executive and emergency power (COVID-19 orders, the 2023 gun-violence public-health emergency), an expansive sole-source/emergency contracting footprint, sparse use of the full veto (3 bills in 2024 and in 2025) alongside line-item budget vetoes, and repeated public friction with her own legislative majority over pace and priorities (the collapsed 2024 special session; the 2025 chair criticism). Policy outputs are not scored; only the manner of wielding executive power is.
3. Constitutional Moments
Two documented institutional-limits episodes, both resolved by the courts rather than by defiance. (1) The NM Supreme Court ruled she violated the separation of powers by attempting to spend federal COVID-19 funds without a legislative appropriation; she complied. (2) Her September 2023 emergency suspension of concealed and open carry in Bernalillo County drew cross-spectrum constitutional objection (including from national Democrats), was narrowed within days, and a reduced version was upheld 3-2 by the state high court. The pattern is aggressive testing of executive authority followed by acceptance of judicial checks, not subversion of any constitutional process, election, or transfer of power.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Combative but not dehumanizing. Her sharpest documented lines target fellow officials over policy failures ("the legislature should be embarrassed... an ounce of courage") rather than casting citizens or groups as enemies who do not belong. No sustained enemy-making or incitement pattern on record. The decorum concern is self-presentation (a proclamation honoring her own accomplishments; naming and rebuking own-party chairs) more than anti-belonging rhetoric.
5. Fiduciary Profile
No documented office-attributable personal enrichment, no self-dealing, family payments, or contracts steered to associates on the record. The genuine fiduciary concern is stewardship: 886+ sole-source and emergency contracts worth $796M+ since 2019, including a PPE procurement (BioNet) with no written vendor-selection basis despite a statutory documentation requirement. A separate appearance-concern is the campaign's $62,500+ settlement of a former staffer's allegation (denied, unadjudicated), weighed as appearance, not finding.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any criterion. The Process-Subversion criterion (8) is examined closely because of the separation-of-powers ruling and the gun-emergency order, but neither rises to using legal-on-its-face power to DEFEAT a constitutional purpose: she complied with the courts, did not defy binding orders, and engaged in no election-subversion, fake-elector, or transfer-of-power misconduct. The Enemy-Making criterion (10) is examined because of her combative rhetoric, but the heat is aimed at officials over policy, not a documented pattern of casting opponents or citizens as enemies who do not belong. No capping or terminal flag. Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
Lujan Grisham scores in the honest middle. She is a competent, conviction-driven two-term executive with a detailed policy command (her strongest axis) and a clean record on the conduct that matters most for the oath: no election subversion, no defiance of courts, no weaponization of state power against rivals, no documented self-enrichment, and no enemy-making incitement pattern. The repeated drags are real and counted: a separation-of-powers overreach the courts had to halt, an emergency order that outran its legal footing, an $800M sole-source contracting footprint with documentation gaps, a self-aggrandizing and chair-rebuking decorum posture, and an unadjudicated settlement shadow weighed as appearance. Adequate, a capable executive whose stewardship, discretion, and decorum carry consistent, non-catastrophic drags.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Office of the Governor of New Mexico · New Mexico Supreme Court / Source New Mexico reporting on separation-of-powers ruling
Tier 2: New Mexico In Depth, sole-source contracting investigation · NM Political Report, 2025 veto/criticism coverage · KUNM, 2024 special session coverage
Research links: Office of the Governor of New Mexico · Ballotpedia · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.