John Block

John Block (born January 17, 1997) is an American politician serving as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 51st district. Elected in November 2022, he assumed office on January 1, 2023. Block is the founder and editor of The Piñon Post, a conservative news and political commentary online newspaper and media outlet based in New Mexico.

Early life and education Block was born and raised in New Mexico. He earned an associate of applied science in film production and documentary media from Santa Fe Community College in 2016, a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Rutgers University Camden in 2019, and a Master of Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University in 2020.

Career

In 2016, Block served as a staffer for members of the New Mexico House of Representatives. From 2017 to 2018, he worked as an international government affairs assistant at Chevron. From 2020 to 2022, he worked as a brand manager for Pop Acta, a targeted media company.

He is currently the youngest legislator in New Mexico, and the first member of Generation Z elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives.

In November 2024, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver accused Block of encouraging online harassment she had received. Block said he too had been harassed, and said, "If it gets to violent threats like you described that you got, I apologize that that is happening to you." Later, Alex Curtas, the spokesperson for Toulouse Oliver wrote in an email to the Source New Mexico news outlet that they had not filed a report on this matter and were unlikely to do so, as they could not compile evidence of the allegations.

Electoral history

2022 Republican primary

2024 General election

Political positions Energy

Block is in favor of expanding oil, gas, and coal production by striking legislation such as 2019’s Energy Transition Act.

Second Amendment

Block supports Constitutional Carry (Permitless Carry) legislation and opposes legislation that “would restrict New Mexicans’ rights to own and carry a firearm.” proposing a 3.75% excise tax on renewable energy production to fund the Severance Tax Permanent Fund.

Personal life

Block is openly gay, and is of Hispanic and Native American descent.

Block attended the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021. However, he maintains that he did not enter any restricted areas. When reached for comment, the FBI informed media outlets that they could neither confirm nor deny that Block was being investigated.