Haaland’s Former Campaign Manager Now Lobbying for the Company Powering Project Jupiter
After taking $87,200 from Oracle and Project Jupiter builder executives, Haaland’s moratorium would lock out every new data center except the one her donors are building
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (September 29, 2026) — Deb Haaland’s former campaign manager is now a registered lobbyist for Bloom Energy, the company supplying the fuel cells that will power Project Jupiter, according to lobbyist registrations sent to state lawmakers and reported Friday by Searchlight New Mexico and The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Scott Forrester managed Haaland’s 2018 congressional campaign and launched her 2026 campaign for governor before stepping aside in June 2025. When he left, the Haaland campaign called him a longtime advisor who “remains a friend.”
The news follows reporting that Haaland’s campaign accepted at least $87,200 from Oracle America and individuals whose names and titles match top leaders at Oracle and Clayco, the firm building Project Jupiter. Those contributions came in on August 31 and September 7.
Days after the donations became public, Haaland announced she would sign a day one executive order freezing new large scale data centers. Her moratorium would not apply to Project Jupiter.
“Deb Haaland is ethically challenged, and this is the latest proof,” said Gregg Hull, Republican candidate for Governor. “Her data center plan has a loophole exactly the size of her donors’ project. Her former campaign manager is lobbying for it. Its builder and its biggest tenant wrote her campaign more than $87,000 in checks. And her moratorium shuts the door on every future competitor while their project keeps moving. New Mexicans deserve to know whether that is policy or protection.”
“I’ve said from day one that every project should be judged on its own merits, with the same rules for everyone: no potable water, and data centers pay for their own power infrastructure so families don’t. Not one set of rules for Deb Haaland’s donors and another for everyone else.”
New Mexico voters want to know: Has she discussed Project Jupiter or data center policy with Forrester since he registered to lobby for Bloom Energy? Why does her moratorium protect the one project her donors are building? Will she return the $87,200?
Haaland has turned down every debate invitation in this race.
“This is one of the reasons Deb Haaland won’t debate me,” Hull said. “On a debate stage, she would have to answer for this in front of every voter in New Mexico. She can keep hiding from those questions, but she can’t hide from voters.”
Hull opposes a statewide moratorium and supports local control over data center siting, paired with statewide protections for water and electric ratepayers. Hull has not accepted or solicited contributions from the data center industry.
