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New Mexico State Senate elections, 2020
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| 2020 New Mexico Senate Elections | |
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| General | November 3, 2020 |
| Primary | June 2, 2020 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2016・2012・2008 |
| 2020 Elections | |
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New Mexico Democrats expanded their majority in the 2020 Senate elections but fell short of winning a supermajority. Heading into the election, Democrats held a 26-16 majority. All 42 seats were up for election in 2020. Democrats gained a net one seat from Republicans, expanding their majority to 27-15. A 28-seat majority is required to override gubernatorial vetoes.
The New Mexico State Senate was one of 86 state legislative chambers with elections in 2020. All 42 seats in the New Mexico State Senate were up for election in 2020. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2018, 87 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections.
New Mexico's 2020 state legislative elections affected partisan control of redistricting following the 2020 census. In New Mexico, the state legislature is responsible for drafting both congressional and state legislative district plans. District plans are subject to gubernatorial veto.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
New Mexico modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee ballot applications were sent to all registered voters in the general election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Party control
| New Mexico State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
| Democratic Party | 26 | 27 | |
| Republican Party | 16 | 15 | |
| Total | 42 | 42 | |
Candidates
General election
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection
Democratic
Republican
Primary election
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in the general election
Two incumbents lost in the Nov. 3 general election. Those incumbents were:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Candace Ruth Gould |  Republican |
Senate District 10 |
| Sander Rue | Republican |
Senate District 23 |
Incumbents defeated in primary elections
Seven of the 13 incumbents facing contested primaries (54%) lost on June 2. Those incumbents were:
Retiring incumbents
There were two open seats where the incumbent legislator did not file for re-election in 2020.[1] Those incumbents were:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| John Sapien |  Democratic |
Senate District 9 |
| William Payne | Republican |
Senate District 20 |
The two seats left open in 2020 were equal to the number of seats open in 2016. Both years represented decreases from 2012 when nine incumbents did not seek re-election. The table below shows the number of open seats in each election held between 2010 and 2020.
| Open Seats in New Mexico State Senate elections: 2012 - 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2020 | 42 | 2 (5 percent) | 40 (95 percent) |
| 2016 | 42 | 2 (5 percent) | 40 (95 percent) |
| 2012 | 42 | 9 (21 percent) | 33 (79 percent) |
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Article 8 of the New Mexico Code
A candidate in New Mexico may run with an officially recognized political party, as an independent or as a write-in.
For major party candidates
A major party candidate files for office by submitting a declaration of candidacy and nominating petition to the proper filing official. A candidate must file the nominating petition and declaration of candidacy at the same time. This paperwork must be filed in person by the candidate between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the designated day for filing. The candidate must be affiliated with the political party with which he or she is running. Affiliation with that political party must be made before the date of the secretary of state's proclamation for the primary election.[2][3]
A candidate may seek a "pre-primary convention designation" before the primary election. A pre-primary convention designation guarantees a candidate a place on the primary election ballot. Every candidate receiving at least 20 percent of the vote at the party convention will be certified to the New Mexico Secretary of State as a convention-designated nominee for that office by the political party.[4][5]
According to the New Mexico Statutes, the nominating petition for a pre-primary convention designation candidate must be signed "by a number of voters equal to at least 2 percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide offices, 230 voters; and for congressional candidates, 77 voters."[6]
A candidate who seeks but fails to receive a pre-primary convention designation may collect additional signatures totaling at least "4 percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, whichever applies to the office the candidate seeks." The candidate is required to file a new declaration of candidacy and the additional nominating petition for the office for which the candidate failed to receive a pre-primary designation. The post-convention declaration of candidacy and nominating petition must be filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State either 10 days following the date of the pre-primary convention at which the candidate failed to receive the designation, or on the date all declarations of candidacy and additional nominating petitions are due, whichever is later.[7]
For minor party candidates
The selection method for minor party candidates varies according to the rules of the specific party. Broadly speaking, the following requirements apply:[8]
- The chair and secretary of the state political convention must certify to the New Mexico Secretary of State the names of their party's nominees for federal, statewide, and state legislative offices.[9]
- The names certified to the New Mexico Secretary of State must be filed on the 21st day following the primary election and must be accompanied by a petition containing the signatures of at least 1 percent of the total number of the votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor.[10]
- The petition must contain a statement affirming that the voters signing the petition are residents of New Mexico and the district, county, or area to be represented by the office being sought.[11]
For independent candidates
An independent candidate files for office by submitting a declaration of candidacy and nominating petition to the proper filing official. Candidates must file nominating petitions at the time of filing their declarations of candidacy.[12]
The petition for an independent candidate for the United States Senate or any other statewide office must be signed by at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the previous general election. The petition for an independent candidate for the United States House of Representatives must be signed by at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the previous general election in that particular congressional district. The petition for an independent candidate for the state legislature must be signed by at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the respective legislative district.[13]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive titleCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title
All requisite paperwork must be filed with the proper filing official before 5:00 p.m. on the 23rd day following the primary election.[14]
For write-in candidates in the primary election
A write-in candidate may only seek the nomination of the party with which he or she is affiliated. The candidate must qualify to be a candidate for the political party whose nomination he or she seeks.[15]
The candidate must file with the proper filing official a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. The declaration must be filed before 5:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday in March in the year of the election.[16]
For write-in candidates in the general election
A write-in candidate in a general election must file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate with the proper filing official no later than the 21st day after the primary election.[17]
No person can run as a write-in candidate in the general election if he or she was a candidate in the primary election immediately preceding the general election.[18]
No unopposed write-in candidate can have an election certified unless the candidate receives votes equal to at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast in the electoral district for governor in the last preceding general election in which a governor was elected.[19]
2020 ballot access requirements
The table below details filing requirements for New Mexico State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.
| Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber name | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| New Mexico State Senate | Qualified party | Varies by party and district | N/A | 3/10/2020 | Source |
| New Mexico State Senate | Unaffiliated | Varies by party and district | N/A | 6/25/2020 | Source |
Qualifications
Article 4, Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution states: "Senators shall not be less than twenty-five years of age and representatives not less than twenty-one years of age at the time of their election. If any senator or representative permanently removes his residence from or maintains :No Residence in the district from which he was elected, then he shall be deemed to have resigned and his successor shall be selected as provided in Section 4 of this article. No person shall be eligible to serve in the legislature who, at the time of qualifying, holds any office of trust or profit with the state, county or national governments, except notaries public and officers of the militia who receive no salary."
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[20] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $0/year | $191/day |
When sworn in
New Mexico legislators assume office on the first day of January after a general election.[21]
New Mexico political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
New Mexico Party Control: 1992-2025
Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Presidential politics in New Mexico
2016 Presidential election results
| U.S. presidential election, New Mexico, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
48.3% | 385,234 | 5 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 40% | 319,667 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 9.3% | 74,541 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1.2% | 9,879 | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria Estela La Riva/Dennis J. Banks | 0.1% | 1,184 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.2% | 1,514 | 0 | |
| American Delta | Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0.1% | 475 | 0 | |
| Better for America | Evan McMullin/Nathan Johnson | 0.7% | 5,825 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 798,319 | 5 | |||
| Election results via: New Mexico Secretary of State | |||||
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Mexico utilizes a semi-closed primary process; participation in each party's primary is limited to registered party members and unaffiliated voters.[22][23][24][25]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In New Mexico, all polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Election Day. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[26][27]
Registration requirements
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in New Mexico, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of New Mexico, and at least 18 years old by the time of the next election. People convicted of a felony are eligible to vote after their prison time is completed, even if they are still on probation, parole, or another form of supervised release. Individuals who have been declared mentally incapacitated may not register to vote.[28]
Potential New Mexico voters who were not registered automatically may use the New Mexico voter registration form, the national voter registration form, or the state's online voter registration portal to register. Completed registration materials may be mailed or delivered by hand to election officials. To register online, an applicant must have a state-issued ID. First-time applicants registering by mail must attach a valid form of identification to their registration materials, which includes a current and valid photo identification, or, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including tribal IDs that show the voter's name and current address.[28]
Automatic registration
- See also: Automatic voter registration
New Mexico has automatic voter registration. Eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they interact with a department of motor vehicles unless they opt out.[29][30]
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
New Mexico has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
- See also: Same-day voter registration
New Mexico allows same-day voter registration.[31]
Residency requirements
In New Mexico, individuals can register to vote as soon as they become residents of the state.[32]
Verification of citizenship
New Mexico does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.[33]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[34] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.
Voter ID requirements
New Mexico does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. However, if an individual registered to vote for the first time by mail and did not provide verification of his or her identity then, the voter will have to show identification.[35]
Those voters can present the following forms of identification:
- Current and valid photo identification
- Current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card, or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo that shows the voter’s name and current address
Some municipalities require identification when voting in local elections. Click here for more information.
Early voting
New Mexico permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website. Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.
Absentee voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in New Mexico. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.[36]
The county clerk must receive the absentee ballot application no later than the 14th day before the election. A voter may request an absentee ballot by filling out and returning an application form, or by completing an online application. Completed ballots must be returned to the county clerk or voter's precinct before 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.[36][37]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-21," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-26," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-21.1(C)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-27," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-33," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-33," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-1," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-2(A)(1)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-2(B)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-2(B)(2)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-45," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-51(C)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-52(A)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-36.1(B)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-36.1(C)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "1-8-66," accessed January April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-66(F)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Election Code, "Chapter 1-8-66(A)," accessed April 23, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ New Mexico Constitution, "Article IV, Section 4, accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ New Mexico Legislature, "2025 Regular Session - SB 16," accessed June 20, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 22, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "FAQs for Primary & General Election Candidacy," accessed August 22, 2024
- ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 12.1," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Voter Bill of Rights," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, “Voter Registration Information,” accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 1-4-5.2", accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 1-4-5.8", accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Compilation Commission, "New Mexico Statutes - Chapter 1, Article 1-4-5.7", accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Eligibility Requirements and FAQs," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ The State of New Mexico, "Voter Registration Form," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Voting," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "Absentee and Early Voting," accessed June 24, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting by Mail," accessed June 24, 2025
