The New Mexico governor’s mansion sits on a hilltop in Santa Fe, roughly 7,100 feet above sea level.

The air smells of pine needles and sweet meadow grass. An original Georgia O’Keeffe painting greets visitors as they enter the foyer of the elegantly appointed home.

Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat entering the final few years of her governorship, has been spiffing up the grounds of the residence to showcase her state’s rich culture and immense beauty. But for all its splendor, New Mexico faces some grave problems, she said. “Have you ever been to Albuquerque?”

In Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, homeless encampments clutter the sidewalks and the highway underpasses. In neighborhoods like the International District, people in drug-induced psychosis wander into busy streets and parking lots, oblivious to traffic. At one store in that neighborhood, there have been seven murders since 2020 and one shootout that injured a police officer.

The governor and her family have personally experienced the violence in New Mexico. This summer, a man with a long criminal record randomly attacked the governor’s daughter-in-law with a rock and “cracked open her skull in several places,” the governor told a town hall in July. She spent several days in intensive care.