McGuireWoods Consulting’s national, in-house advocacy team established a solid foundation that protects the oil and gas industry’s vital role in New Mexico’s economic future in light of harmful legislation during the 2025 general assembly session. The team combined traditional media, digital strategy and grassroots mobilization with sophisticated targeting, which resulted in numerous decisive victories.
The team demonstrated the effectiveness of the firm’s integrated approach to public affairs, as 16 of the 21 harmful bills were defeated in committee. The remaining five passed only after industry-friendly amendments removed the most problematic provisions. The team proved that when stakeholders speak together, legislators listen.
Background: New Mexico’s oil and gas industry supplies 49% of the state’s operating revenue; therefore, policy that reduces production not only decreases public funding, but it also increases taxes and the cost of goods as a way to make up for lost dollars.
In early 2025, the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA) faced an unprecedented legislative attack with 21 bills that threatened to impose burdensome regulations on the industry, slash education funding and increase taxes. With billions of dollars in state revenue and thousands of jobs at stake, NMOGA engaged McGuireWoods Consulting to defend against this legislative onslaught.
Our Approach: McGuireWoods Consulting developed a comprehensive five-week media campaign combining traditional advertising, digital strategy and grassroots mobilization. The campaign began with the compelling “Don’t Risk Our Kids’ Future” message, highlighting how proposed legislation could eliminate billions in education funding. Midway through the session, the team pivoted to economic messaging about rising costs of everyday essentials like eggs, gasoline and groceries.
Strategy in Action: Kate Zaykowski, Joshua Canter and Anne Scroggs orchestrated a powerful multichannel approach that blanketed key decisionmakers with consistent messaging. The campaign aired an average of 6.8 television spots per day across major networks and 50 weekly spots on KKOB radio, while placing strategic newspaper advertisements in publications read by key lawmakers.
The digital campaign generated over 7.2 million impressions across Meta, Connected TV, YouTube, display ads, SiriusXM and iHeart Radio, complementing the estimated 5.5 million traditional television impressions. Advanced microtargeting created an “echo chamber” effect around four critical legislative leaders, reaching the 2,000 most influential people in their networks including staff, family members and close associates. This precision targeting maintained consistent visibility with approximately 1.5 daily touch points per individual, creating a continuous presence in their digital environment.
Grassroots Power: The team deployed a sophisticated advocacy campaign that mobilized 2,590 people to take over 32,000 actions delivered directly to legislators, primarily through email with phone calls complementing the written communications. The team also worked closely with the American Petroleum Institute, which provided crucial air coverage by activating their supporters to make calls defending the industry’s contributions to New Mexico’s economy.
“The McGuireWoods Consulting team delivered an incredibly effective campaign that helped our industry weather a difficult legislative session,” said Missi Currier, the president of NMOGA. “Their strategic approach combined powerful messaging with precise targeting to ensure our voice was heard in the Roundhouse. The results speak for themselves.”
For more information on the tactics, strategy and results of this comprehensive campaign, download the complete 2025 Legislative Recap Report.
