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Joseph Cervantes
2013 - Present
2028
12
Joseph Cervantes (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Mexico State Senate, representing District 31. He assumed office in 2013. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.
Cervantes (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Mexico State Senate to represent District 31. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Cervantes earned his B.A. in architecture from the University of New Mexico in 1983, his M.A. in architecture from the California Polytechnic State University in 1985, and his J.D. from the University of New Mexico in 1991. His professional experience includes working as an attorney at Cervantes Law Firm, as an attorney at Modrall, Sperling, Roehl, and Sisk Law Firm from 1991 to 1996, and as an architect for Cervantes and Associates from 1987 to 1989.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Cervantes was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Cervantes was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Cervantes was assigned to the following committees:
- Conservation Committee, Chair
- Senate Judiciary Committee, Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Conservation, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cervantes served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Conservation |
| • Judiciary, Vice chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Cervantes served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Conservation |
| • Judiciary, Vice chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cervantes served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Water Resources |
| • Judiciary, Vice chair |
| • Rules and Order of Business |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Cervantes served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Water Resources |
| • Judiciary |
| • Rules and Order of Business |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for New Mexico State Senate District 31
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes won election in the general election for New Mexico State Senate District 31 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Joseph Cervantes (D) | 100.0 | 8,853 |
| Total votes: 8,853 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joseph Cervantes | 100.0 | 929 |
| Total votes: 929 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cervantes in this election.
2020
See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for New Mexico State Senate District 31
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes defeated John Roberts in the general election for New Mexico State Senate District 31 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joseph Cervantes (D) | 66.0 | 9,908 |
| John Roberts (R) | 34.0 | 5,109 | ||
| Total votes: 15,017 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes defeated Melissa Ontiveros and Arturo Terrazas in the Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joseph Cervantes | 55.5 | 1,372 |
| Melissa Ontiveros | 28.5 | 705 | ||
| Arturo Terrazas | 15.9 | 394 | ||
| Total votes: 2,471 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31
John Roberts advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 31 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | John Roberts | 100.0 | 998 | |
| Total votes: 998 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Cervantes received the following endorsements:
- LEAP Forward[2]
2018
- See also: New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2018
General election
General election for Governor of New Mexico
Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Steve Pearce in the general election for Governor of New Mexico on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) | 57.2 | 398,368 |
 | Steve Pearce (R) | 42.8 | 298,091 | |
| Total votes: 696,459 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Christopher Michael Roybal (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of New Mexico
Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Jeff Apodaca and Joseph Cervantes in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Lujan Grisham | 66.4 | 116,754 |
 | Jeff Apodaca | 22.2 | 38,975 | |
| Joseph Cervantes | 11.5 | 20,169 | |
| Total votes: 175,898 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of New Mexico
Steve Pearce advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steve Pearce | 100.0 | 75,162 |
| Total votes: 75,162 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
- See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the New Mexico State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 8, 2016.
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes ran unopposed in the New Mexico State Senate District 31 general election.[3][4]
| New Mexico State Senate District 31, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Joseph Cervantes Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 9,443 | |
| Total Votes | 9,443 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Joseph Cervantes ran unopposed in the New Mexico State Senate District 31 Democratic primary.[5]
| New Mexico State Senate District 31, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cervantes Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
Cervantes ran in the 2012 election for New Mexico State Senate District 31. He defeated Jesus Ruben Segura in the Democratic primary on June 5, 2012, and defeated Brett C. Preston (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph Cervantes |
68.3% | 7,513 | |
| Republican | Brett C. Preston | 31.7% | 3,493 | |
| Total Votes | 11,006 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Joseph Cervantes |
61.5% | 960 |
| Jesus Ruben Segura | 38.5% | 602 |
| Total Votes | 1,562 | |
2010
Cervantes won re-election to New Mexico House of Representatives District 52 in 2010. He had no primary opposition and was unchallenged in the general election which took place on November 2, 2010.[8]
| New Mexico House of Representatives General Election, District 52 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Joseph Cervantes (D)
|
4,110 | 100% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Cervantes won re-election to District 52 in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Cervantes had no challenger.[9]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joseph Cervantes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Joseph Cervantes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Mexico scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 16 to February 15. A special session was held on July 18, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 17 to March 18.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 18 to February 17.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 19 to March 20.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 21 to February 20.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 15 through March 16.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 53rd New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 16 through February 15.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 53rd New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 17 through March 18, 2018.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 52nd New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 20 through March 21.[10]
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 51st New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 21 through February 20.[10]
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 51st New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 15 to March 16.[10]
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 50th New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 17 through February 16.[10]
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 50th New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 18 through March 19.[11]
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Cervantes and his wife, Jennifer, have three children.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate New Mexico State Senate District 31 |
Officeholder New Mexico State Senate District 31 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia via email on May 12, 2020.
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 general election contest/candidate list," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official Results General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official Primary Results," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidate List," accessed May 12, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2010 General Election results," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General Election Results," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 New Mexico Legislature, "Session dates," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014 (Archived)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
New Mexico State Senate District 31 2013-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
New Mexico House of Representatives District 52 2001-2012 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
County Commissioner Dona Ana County 1998-2001 |
Succeeded by - |
