Sen. Ben Ray Luján

U.S. Senator (D-NM), junior; former NM Public Regulation Commission chairman who wrote the state's renewable portfolio standard — and is silent on Project Jupiter in the public record.

verification: confirmed

Junior U.S. Senator for New Mexico (since 2021), former chairman of the NM Public Regulation Commission where he built the state's renewable portfolio standard — the very policy the HB 93 microgrid exemption undercuts. Sits on Commerce, Science & Transportation. A permitting-reform advocate who has urged restoring cancelled transmission to power data centers, but has made no statement, letter, or floor speech naming Project Jupiter. Up for reelection in 2026 with no Republican challenger and only a Democratic primary opponent — a dynamic that could pull him toward the issue's left flank. His PRC background makes the silence on the microgrid loophole especially notable.

Relationships · 1

Delegation partner ofSen. Martin Heinrich

Sources · 3

govlujan.senate.gov — biography, committees, PRC background ↗newsBroadband Breakfast — Luján on federal permitting reform for AI/data centers (Feb 4 2026) ↗newsKOB — No Republican will challenge Luján for reelection (2026) ↗

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