There are five justices on the New Mexico Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the New Mexico judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico

The five justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court are chosen through partisan elections. After serving for one year, the appointed justice must win the first partisan general election after their appointment to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. Justices serve eight-year terms.^[1] To serve additional terms, justices must receive at least 57% of the vote in a retention election.^[1]

Qualifications

To serve on the supreme court, a person must:

be at least 35 years old;
have practiced law for ten years before assuming office; and
have been a New Mexico resident for three years before assuming office.^[2]

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by a peer vote of the justices to serve a two-year term. The chief justice must have been elected to the court, not appointed to fill a vacancy.^[3]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a justice from a list of qualified candidates recommended by a judicial nominating commission. The appointed judge will serve until the first general election held one year after their appointment. The appointee must run in that general election to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.^[4]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

2024

See also: New Mexico Supreme Court elections, 2024

Zamora's seat

General election

General election for New Mexico Supreme Court

Incumbent Briana H. Zamora won election in the general election for New Mexico Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Briana H. Zamora (Nonpartisan)	100.0	524,294

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 524,294
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2022

See also: New Mexico Supreme Court elections, 2022

Vargas' seat

General election

General election for New Mexico Supreme Court

Incumbent Julie Vargas defeated Thomas Montoya in the general election for New Mexico Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Vargas (D)	52.7	366,369
	Submit photo	Thomas Montoya (R)	47.3	328,475

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 694,844
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Supreme Court

Incumbent Julie Vargas advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Supreme Court on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Vargas	100.0	114,820

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 114,820
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico Supreme Court

Thomas Montoya advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Supreme Court on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Thomas Montoya	100.0	90,934

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 90,934
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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