The Republican Party made significant gains on the national level and in races around the country on Election Day, but in New Mexico, the Democratic party appears to have mainly held onto its advantages.
Incumbent U.S. house representatives for New Mexico, Melanie Stansbury and Teresa Leger Fernandez, were both reelected by about 12 points while Senator Martin Heinrich earned his third term by about 10 points.
In one of the most watched U.S. House contests in the country, Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez won reelection to the state’s second congressional district.
Vasquez faced a rematch against Republican Yvette Herrell, who previously represented the district for a single term.
The majority-Hispanic district—that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border and includes Las Cruces and part of Albuquerque—was a top target for Republicans this cycle.
Vasquez earned about 11,000 more votes than Herrell in the second congressional, a margin of about four percent.
In the presidential battle for New Mexico’s five electoral votes, Kamala Harris defeated Donald Trump by about six percentage points, 52 to 46.
In races for the New Mexico state legislature, Democrats will maintain a comfortable advantage in the senate and house, but it appears as though Republicans have gained a couple of seats.
One such flip occurred in New Mexico Senate District 28, in Silver City, where incumbent Democrat Siah Correah Hemphill stepped down, paving the way for Republican Gabriel Ramos, who had just switched parties, to defeat Democrat Chris Ponce. The margin was 56 to 44 percent in favor of Ramos.
In House District 38, near Las Cruces, Republican challenger Rebecca Dow earned about 500 votes more than incumbent Democrat Tara Jaramillo.
As of Tuesday’s results, New Mexico Democrats will hold a 44 to 26 seat advantage in the State House next term and a 26 to 16 edge in the State Senate.
Another interesting development is that New Mexico voters are sending 11 additional women—Democrats and Republicans—to the roundhouse.
When the state’s 60-day legislative session begins in late January, women will then hold 60 of those 112 seats—54 percent.
Incoming female legislators in New Mexico include a crusading Republican advocate for crime victims, Nicole Chavez, and Democrat Heather Berghmans, who campaigned on solutions to surging homelessness and the housing affordability crisis.
Women in New Mexico already dominate the top echelons of state government. That includes holding the governor’s office over four consecutive terms, the state Supreme Court with three seats out of five held by women, and the secretary of state.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, it’s part of a national trend.
The share of women in all state legislatures combined roughly tripled from about 11% in 1980 to 33% going into the November election.
Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, told the Associated Press that female legislators who achieve robust representation in legislatures typically cultivate their own supportive network, and that those states also often have formal programs that recruit and encourage women who want to run for office.
Among Democrats, many female legislators in New Mexico trace their initial success at campaigning to the training and support group Emerge and its local chapter.
One of New Mexico’s soon to be newest female state senators is also the first ever former DACA recipient to win election to state office.
Democratic party candidate Cindy Nava defeated republican Audrey Trujillo by 12 points, 56 to 44 to earn the seat as state senator for District 9, in the Gallup area.
Nava grew up in Albuquerque and Santa Fe and attended Santa Fe Community College and the University of New Mexico.
It’s important to note that election results in New Mexico remain unofficial until all 33 counties finish their canvassing process and the state canvass board convenes to certify official results.
This story was adapted, in part, from Associated Press articles by Morgan Lee, Susan Montoya Bryan, and Christopher L. Keller.
