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Leland Bohannon

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Leland Bohannon
Image of Leland Bohannon
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

U.S. Air Force Academy, 1994

Graduate

George Washington University, 2002

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1994 - 2019

Personal
Birthplace
District of Columbia
Religion
Christian
Profession
Government contractor
Contact

Leland Bohannon (Republican Party) ran for election to the New Mexico House of Representatives to represent District 16. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Bohannon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Leland Bohannon was born in District of Columbia. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1994 to 2019. He earned a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1994 and a graduate degree from George Washington University in 2002. His career experience includes working as a government contractor, military officer, and Air Force pilot. He has been affiliated with the National Institute for Deterrence Studies.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 16

Incumbent Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela defeated Leland Bohannon in the general election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 16 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela
Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela (D)
 
59.1
 
8,005
Image of Leland Bohannon
Leland Bohannon (R) Candidate Connection
 
40.9
 
5,545

Total votes: 13,550
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 16

Incumbent Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela defeated Marsella Duarte in the Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 16 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela
Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela
 
63.9
 
1,639
Image of Marsella Duarte
Marsella Duarte Candidate Connection
 
36.1
 
925

Total votes: 2,564
Candidate Connection = 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 House of Representatives District 16

Leland Bohannon advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 16 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Leland Bohannon
Leland Bohannon Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
831

Total votes: 831
Candidate Connection = 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

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bohannon in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Leland Bohannon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bohannon's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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I grew up on the East coast in the suburbs of Maryland. I started my working career in seventh grade rising early every morning to deliver the daily news to over 120 of my neighbors, rain or shine.  I took that same work ethic and applied it in school. As a young man, I was accepted to the US Air Force Academy, where I earned a BS in Biology and a commission in the United States Air Force.

I served for 25 years as an Air Force officer and combat aviator, flying the B-52 and the B-2 stealth bomber. I commanded at multiple levels and deployed multiple times to the Middle East and the Pacific. Serving in the military impressed upon me the importance of understanding our Constitution, its role in our nation’s historical success, and why it is important we defend it. Moving 13 times in my military career has given me the opportunity to live among people from all walks of life.  It has also shown me how the principled freedoms contained in our founding documents have been a true blessing to Americans all across our country.

After retiring from the military, I have continued to serve in the private sector, consulting and advising the Air Force on national security and strategic deterrence issues. But most importantly, my wife and I take great joy in raising our five children, helping them to grow in wisdom, discernment, and a desire to serve others in the community.
  • Setting party politics aside, we, as New Mexicans, need to reckon with the fact that the leadership in our state has a failing track record on numerous issues. Chief among these is out-of-control crime. Violent crime goes unabated in our large cities and even small towns. Much of this is due to bail reform and catch-and-release laws that our representatives have passed in previous legislative sessions. If we truly want safer neighborhoods where we can live and raise our kids we need to bring new leadership to our state legislature willing to pass laws that protect law abiding citizens rather than the criminals.
  • Today, the median household income in New Mexico is $58,722, well below the national average ($74,580).  Our state economy currently ranks 44 of 50.  To improve, our state government cannot and should not seek to do it for us through more government spending.  Instead, our legislature should set the conditions for our success by taking the necessary steps to attract increased diversified private investment.  Although New Mexico offers some tax exemptions and incentives to companies seeking to do business in the state, there are still too many fiscal barriers to economic growth.  
  • When it comes to investing in the future of our state, nothing is more important than how we raise and educate our children.  In 2022 our high school graduation rate was 76.2% with proficiency levels at an all-time low, ranking New Mexico 49 out of 50 in the nation. In a state as diverse as New Mexico, it is clear that one size does not fit all.  College is a good fit for some but I am committed to working with educators, administrators, and industry leaders to continue developing technical skills programs as a cornerstone to our future educational approach. 
Crime prevention, homelessness and the mental health crisis, tax reform and economic development, educational choice for all parents and children
A state representative is responsible for proposing and passing legislation that sets the conditions for people to succeed. This does not mean that a representative or the governing body is responsible to make people succeed. If a state representative is unable or unwilling to model the personal accountability essential in our society, he or she should be voted out.
I began my working career in 7th grade as a paperboy delivering the Washington Post to over 120 homes in my neighborhood every morning at 5:30am for six years.
There should always be a healthy tension between the executive and the legislature that benefits from a proper separation of powers, checks and balances.
Our state's greatest challenges will be using the tools we already have to enforce and reform our laws to fight crime; create a business-friendly environment that welcomes new industries to our state with the promise of improved economic prosperity; reform our educational system to better partner with parents; and reduce our addiction to excessive and regressive taxation that impedes economic progress.
Sometimes it's good to be an outsider. The key is whether an individual knows how to work well with others.
A high functioning legislature cannot succeed without building relationships with other legislators--from both parties. Our US Congress is a good example of what happens when these relationships fail and all you have left are factions that are more focused on blaming the other side for the problems we face rather than solving them.
I spoke with a young gentleman last week who works behind the deli counter at a local grocery store. He suffered a terrible accident earlier in his life and was on disability for years. Unsatisfied with remaining on government subsistence, he went out and sought employment and had a message for voters in our district--take personal responsibility for your actions and set your own course. We should not look to the government to do things for us that we, alone, have the responsibility to do for ourselves.
If there are situations when emergency powers are required, they should be clearly defined and the legislature must retain oversight of those powers and have the responsibility for granting them with a supermajority approving in the Senate.
Given that our state has reaped a $3.5B budget surplus last year due to record oil and gas revenue, I will introduce a bill to begin gross receipts tax reform that will encourage out-of-state businesses to look at New Mexico as a viable growth opportunity with a lower tax burden and business-friendly environment.
Appropriations & Finance; Commerce & Economic Development; Education; Energy & Environment; Judiciary; Taxation & Revenue
Our state representatives are responsible for receiving and spending tax revenue. This is money that belongs to the people of our state and they should have detailed knowledge of when and how it is spent.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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.


Leland Bohannon campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* New Mexico House of Representatives District 16Lost general$30,975 $30,975
Grand total$30,975 $30,975
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 29, 2024


Leadership
Speaker of the House:Javier Martínez
Majority Leader:Reena Szczepanski
Minority Leader:Gail Armstrong
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
Bill Hall (R)
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
G. Romero (D)
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
Democratic Party (44)
Republican Party (26)