Democratic governor juggles energy priorities in oil region

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is returning to the podium next week at an annual gathering of oil executives. She’s also contemplating attendance at the U.N. Climate Conference in Scotland in November. Competing priorities on energy and climate are tugging at the first-term Democrat as she runs for reelection in 2022 in a state increasingly dependent on fossil fuel income to fund public education and basic services. Lujan Grisham has cautioned President Joe Biden against efforts to curb oil production on public lands because it would affect her ability to achieve goals like universal access to early childhood education.