Marian Matthews

Marian Matthews

Democratic Party

New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Tenure

2020 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

5

Predecessor

William Pratt

Compensation

Base salary

$0/year

Per diem

$191/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

January 7, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Missouri State University, 1967

Law

University of New Mexico School of Law, 1974

Personal

Birthplace

Springfield, Mo.

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Marian Matthews (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, representing District 27. She assumed office on January 7, 2020. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.

Matthews (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Mexico House of Representatives to represent District 27. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Matthews is a retired attorney and prosecutor. Her professional experience includes working as an educator at Central New Mexico Community College and as development director of PB&J Family Services. She served as Deputy Attorney General to Tom Udall in the 1990s. Matthews obtained a B.A. from Missouri State University and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico.

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

Matthews was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee
• Commerce & Economic Development Committee

2021-2022

Matthews was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee
• Health & Human Services Committee

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 House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews defeated Gregory Gallegos in the general election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews (D)	53.8	9,000
		Gregory Gallegos (R)	46.2	7,731

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,731
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews defeated Greg Seeley in the Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews	55.8	1,442
	Submit photo	Greg Seeley	44.2	1,143

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,585
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Gregory Gallegos advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gregory Gallegos	100.0	1,718

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,718
= 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 Matthews in this election.

2022

See also: New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews defeated Robert Godshall in the general election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews (D)	54.1	7,728
	Submit photo	Robert Godshall (R)	45.9	6,556

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,284
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews	100.0	2,149

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,149
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Robert Godshall defeated Elisa Martinez in the Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Robert Godshall	60.5	1,563
		Elisa Martinez	39.5	1,020

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,583
= 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.

2020

See also: New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews defeated Robert Godshall and Jason Barker in the general election for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews (D)	51.0	8,818
	Submit photo	Robert Godshall (R)	48.9	8,460
		Jason Barker (Independent) (Write-in)	0.1	21

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,299
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Marian Matthews defeated William Orr in the Democratic primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marian Matthews	69.0	2,845
		William Orr	31.0	1,280

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,125
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Robert Godshall defeated Jill Michel in the Republican primary for New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Robert Godshall	53.6	2,046
		Jill Michel	46.4	1,774

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,820
= 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.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Marian Matthews did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Marian Matthews did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Marian Matthews completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Matthews' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Marian Matthews represents District 27 in the New Mexico House of Representatives. She was appointed in 2020 by a 5-0 vote of the County Commission to fill the unexpired term of a member who passed away suddenly. The term ends December 31, 2020. A retired lawyer, children's advocate, criminal prosecutor, and educator who has worked in the public, non-profit and private sectors, she has spent her career focused on developing public policy and advocating in the areas of criminal justice, women's rights, small business, and effective education and social and behavioral health services for at-risk children. She also taught a very diverse population of community college students seeking to improve their lives and achieve their dreams. During her first legislative session in February, she was successful in passing bills related to reducing crime and violence and reducing health care costs. She is a graduate of Missouri State University and earned her J.D. at the University of New Mexico. As a legislator she serves on the Health and Human Services Committee.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• At this difficult time, we need proven leaders; individuals who have shown they can problem-solve and legislate effectively. I will hit the ground running, just as I did when I was newly-appointed in the 30-day session in February, successfully passing bills related to crime and violence, and reducing health care costs for consumers through my work on the Health and Human Services Committee.
• The pandemic has disclosed a shocking range of underlying problems in our society, including the lack of sick leave for employees, health care insurance that interferes with the delivery of telehealth services, to the substantial number of children and families without internet access, and more. As we rebuild our economy, we should take this opportunity to encourage entrepreneurship and small business, improve infrastructure, and transition from our reliance on oil and gas revenues.
• Crime does not have a single cause or a single solution. To effectively reduce the unacceptable level of violence in our city and state we need all elements of our criminal justice system to function effectively, including rebuilding our broken behavioral health programs and strengthening our families.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Improving access to and the affordability of health care

Improving outcomes for our children
Reducing and deterring violence and crime,
Reducing poverty

Preventing & repairing environmental degradation

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to feel I've made a positive difference in the lives of people.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

When I was 4 or 5, my parents took me to a parade in my hometown, Springfield, MO, for the President of the United States. My dad put me on his shoulders so I could see "the President," though I had no idea what a president was or why he was so obviously important to draw such a huge crowd, The President walked by and people cheered. I remember a somewhat chubby fellow wearing a white open-necked short-sleeve shirt and seersucker trousers. I've had a warm spot in my heart for Harry Truman ever since and apparently that experience may have led to my fascination for politics.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes, or at least other previous experience in positions or fields that required the development of abilities to analyze, collaborate, express disagreements without being disagreeable, understand the importance of sound public policy, and the breadth of knowledge and experience to be knowledgeable in several areas. It is also very helpful to have some background in the law (since you're writing laws), an understanding of the separation of powers and the role of administrative agencies. It also really is useful to recognize what it is you know and what you don't know and not be so ego-bound that you refuse to ask questions.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

I live in one of the most beautiful and unique states in the U.S., blessed with a rich multi-cultural and diverse history and populated by talented and creative people, most of whom are friendly and warm and loving. Unfortunately New Mexico also has unacceptably high rates of poverty, particularly childhood poverty, and substantial issues with addiction, crime, and violence, unfortunately exacerbated by the shutdown in the past decade of many of our behavioral health providers on bogus charges of fraud. The pandemic and resulting devastation of our economy (and the country and world economy) adds immeasurably to our challenges. Our greatest challenges: sustainably competent political leadership, the ability and will to make long-term investment in our people and our children, particularly in terms of education, job-training, and health care to help reduce our rates of poverty; the prevention and reduction of violence and crime; the degradation of our environment, caused, in part, by an overreliance on oil and gas production and revenues which, in turn, requires a diversification of our economy. Like many parts of the country, there is also a deep divide between the urban and rural areas of the state. We are all New Mexicans and if one part of our state is not thriving, that is a problem for the entire state. We need to stop thinking in silos.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No. I just want to be the best state representative I can.

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.

---

Marian Matthews campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	New Mexico House of Representatives District 27	Won general	$265,858	$235,915
2022	New Mexico House of Representatives District 27	Won general	$277,385	$179,321
2020	New Mexico House of Representatives District 27	Won general	$227,721	N/A**
Grand total			$770,964	$415,237
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal 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
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in New Mexico

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].

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. Animal Protection Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare. Conservation Voters New Mexico Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues. National Federation of Independent Busines Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Rio Grande Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 17 to March 18. Animal Protection Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare. Conservation Voters New Mexico Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues. Rio Grande Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 18 to February 17. Animal Protection Voters: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare. Conservation Voters New Mexico Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Rio Grande Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 19 to March 20. Animal Protection Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare. Conservation Voters New Mexico Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues. Rio Grande Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 21 to February 20. Animal Protection Voters: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare. Conservation Voters New Mexico Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Rio Grande Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Officeholder

New Mexico House of Representatives District 27

Website

Personal

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by William Pratt (D)	New Mexico House of Representatives District 27 2020-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the New Mexico House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Javier Martínez

Majority Leader:Reena Szczepanski

Minority Leader:Gail Armstrong

Representatives

District 1

Rodney Montoya (R)

District 2

Mark Duncan (R)

District 3

Bill Hall (R)

District 4

Joseph Hernandez (D)

District 5

Doreen Johnson (D)

District 6

Martha Garcia (D)

District 7

Tanya Mirabal Moya (R)

District 8

Brian Baca (R)

District 9

Patricia Lundstrom (D)

District 10

G. Romero (D)

District 11

Javier Martínez (D)

District 12

Art De La Cruz (D)

District 13

Patricia Caballero (D)

District 14

Miguel Garcia (D)

District 15

Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D)

District 16

Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela (D)

District 17

Cynthia Borrego (D)

District 18

Marianna Anaya (D)

District 19

Janelle Anyanonu (D)

District 20

Meredith Dixon (D)

District 21

Debra Sariñana (D)

District 22

Stefani Lord (R)

District 23

Alan Martinez (R)

District 24

Elizabeth Thomson (D)

District 25

Cristina Parajón (D)

District 26

Eleanor Chavez (D)

District 27

Marian Matthews (D)

District 28

Pamelya Herndon (D)

District 29

Joy Garratt (D)

District 30

Elizabeth Torres-Velasquez (D)

District 31

Nicole Chavez (R)

District 32

Jenifer Jones (R)

District 33

Micaela Lara Cadena (D)

District 34

Raymundo Lara (D)

District 35

Angelica Rubio (D)

District 36

Nathan Small (D)

District 37

Joanne Ferrary (D)

District 38

Rebecca Dow (R)

District 39

Luis Terrazas (R)

District 40

Joseph Sanchez (D)

District 41

Susan Herrera (D)

District 42

Kristina Ortez (D)

District 43

Christine Chandler (D)

District 44

Kathleen Cates (D)

District 45

Linda Serrato (D)

District 46

Andrea Romero (D)

District 47

Reena Szczepanski (D)

District 48

Tara Lujan (D)

District 49

Gail Armstrong (R)

District 50

Matthew McQueen (D)

District 51

John Block (R)

District 52

Doreen Gallegos (D)

District 53

Sarah Silva (D)

District 54

Jonathan Henry (R)

District 55

Cathrynn Brown (R)

District 56

Harlan Vincent (R)

District 57

Catherine Cullen (R)

District 58

Angelita Mejia (R)

District 59

Mark Murphy (R)

District 60

Joshua Hernandez (R)

District 61

Randall Pettigrew (R)

District 62

Elaine Sena Cortez (R)

District 63

Martin Ruben Zamora (R)

District 64

Andrea Reeb (R)

District 65

Derrick Lente (D)

District 66

Jimmy Mason (R)

District 67

Jack Chatfield (R)

District 68

Charlotte Little (D)

District 69

Michelle Abeyta (D)

District 70

Anita Gonzales (D)

Democratic Party (44)

Republican Party (26)