Domenici Public Policy Conference

About the conference

For more than a decade, the Pete V. Domenici Public Policy Conference at NMSU has brought some of the nation’s top lawmakers, cabinet members, ambassadors, and political analysts to Las Cruces to discuss timely topics like energy, national security, and healthcare.

The conference will return Sept. 8 and 9, 2026, kicking off with a dinner featuring UTEP President Heather A. Wilson as keynote speaker. Wilson also served as Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and as a U.S. Representative from New Mexico’s First Congressional District.

The Sept. 9 morning session offers a stacked agenda featuring some of the nation’s top thought leaders exploring the timely topics of artificial intelligence, national security, and the geopolitics of energy – followed by a lunch featuring keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan.

The afternoon session on Sept. 9 will focus on talks from Democratic and Republican candidates the gubernatorial and congressional general election races in New Mexico, concluding with a national perspective on the 2026 midterm election from pundits Paul Begala and Charlie Black.

All speakers will have the opportunity to answer thoughtfully crafted questions from a panel of NMSU system students who’ve been hand-selected to research the speakers and their topics.

Keynote speakers

Heather Wilson

Ben Ray Luján