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2012 elections review: New Mexico legislative incumbents lose seats in primaries
June 6, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
The fast-moving primary season of May and June continued with elections in New Mexico yesterday.
Here's a recap of what happened in New Mexico's State Senate, State House, U.S. Senate, and Congressional races.
| Contested Primaries in New Mexico -- June 5, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. House (3 seats) |
State Legislature (112 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 1 (33.33%) | 37 (33.04%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 1 (33.33%) | 15 (13.4%) | |||
Congress
U.S. Senate
United States Senate elections in New Mexico, 2012
For U.S. Senate, each party had a choice of two candidates in the primary, as incumbent Jeff Bingaman (D) is retiring. Democrats chose current U.S. Representative Martin Heinrich over state auditor Hector Balderas. Republicans gave former U.S. Representative Heather Wilson 70% of the vote over small-business owner Greg Sowards.[1] The Heinrich-Wilson showdown is expected to be key in determining which party takes the majority in the U.S. Senate in November.[2]
U.S. House
United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2012
Just a third of primaries for U.S. House were contested in New Mexico -- one primary for each party. In New Mexico's 1st District, Democrats sought to replace Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich, who is running for U.S. Senate this year. They chose Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham over state Senator Eric Griego and former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez. The race was close, but Grisham's 40% of the vote put her ahead of Griego with 35%.[1]
In the only other contested House primary, Republicans voted for Jeff Byrd over Rick Newton. Byrd received 54% of the vote and will take on Democratic incumbent Ben Ray Lujan in November.[1]
| Members of the U.S. House from New Mexico -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 2 | 2 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 3 | 3 | |
State legislature
There were 112 total legislative seats with elections in 2012 -- 42 Senate seats and 70 House seats.
There were 37 (33.04%) contested Democratic primaries and 15 (13.4%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there were 52 races with at least two candidates on the ballot. The 23.2% figure of total contested primaries in New Mexico is higher than the current national contested average of 22.84% for states that have had filing deadlines.
Senate
Here are some primary races worth noting:
District 3: Incumbent John Pinto (D), who has been in office for 34 years, faced and defeated a primary challenge from Matthew Tso.[3][4]- District 4: Incumbent George K. Munoz defeated two primary challengers, Genevieve J. Jackson and Charles E. Rountree.[3][4]
- District 8: Incumbent Pete Campos (D) defeated state house District 68 incumbent Thomas Garcia (D).[3][4]
District 32: Challenger Cliff Pirtle filed a lawsuit against incumbent Timothy Jennings over ballot access. The lawsuit was thrown out and Pirtle faced Chad A. Hammill in the Republican primary, with the winner to face Jennings in the general election. The primary election vote count was very close and is currently unresolved. Unofficial results put Pirtle ahead of Hammill by 10 votes.[4][5]- District 35: Incumbent John Arthur Smith (D) was challenged by Larry P. Martinez in the Democratic primary.[6] Smith defeated Martinez in the primary.[5]
- District 39: Challenger Jack Sullivan filed a lawsuit against incumbent Phil A. Griego regarding use of campaign funds. Griego defeated Sullivan and Nicole Castellano in the Democratic primary.[5] Republican candidate Aubrey Dunn ran unopposed in the primary, and will face incumbent Griego in the general election.
House
Here are some primary races worth noting:
- District 35: Jeff Steinborn defeated Democratic incumbent Antonio Lujan in the primary. Steinborn will face Republican candidate Charles D. Green in the general election.
- District 66: Incumbent Bob Wooley defeated fellow incumbent Dennis Kintigh in the Republican primary.[5]
- District 70: Challenger Tomas E. Salazar defeated incumbent Richard D. Vigil in the Democratic primary.[5] Salazar will run unopposed in the general election.
| New Mexico State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 28 | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 14 | 17 | |
| Total | 42 | 42 | |
| New Mexico House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 36 | 38 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | 32 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 70 | |
See also
|
- United States Senate elections in New Mexico, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2012
- New Mexico State Senate elections, 2012
- New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Associated Press, "New Mexico - Summary Vote Results," June 6, 2012
- ↑ Center for Politics, "Tilting the Toss Ups – the Eight Races That Will Decide the Senate" accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Alamogordo Daily News, "John Pinto, in office for 34 years, faces a Democratic primary,"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 KOAT "Election Results 2012" accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 The Associated Press, "New Mexico Election Results," accessed June 6, 2012
- ↑ Las Cruces Sun-News, "Larry P. Martinez to challenge for District 35 NM Senate seat," March 23, 2012
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