New Mexico Supreme Court elections, 2016
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| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
|---|
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| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
Two seats on the New Mexico Supreme Court were up for election on November 8, 2016.
Justice Judith Nakamura (R) of the New Mexico Supreme Court faced Judge Michael Vigil (D) of the New Mexico Court of Appeals in a partisan election for her seat on the court.[1] Justice Barbara J. Vigil had to stand for retention by voters in order to remain on the bench.[2]
Candidates
Partisan election candidates
■ Michael Vigil (D)
■ Judith Nakamura (R) 
(Incumbent)
Judges who faced retention
Election results
November 8 general election
| New Mexico Supreme Court, Nakamura's seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judith Nakamura Incumbent |
52% | 396,303 | |
| Democrat | Michael Vigil | 48% | 365,790 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 762,093 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
| New Mexico Supreme Court, Vigil's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Barbara J. Vigil | 71.60% | |
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||
June 7 primary
| New Mexico Supreme Court 2016 Republican Primary, Nakamura's Seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judith Nakamura Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 84,941 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 84,941 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
| New Mexico Supreme Court 2016 Democratic Primary, Nakamura's Seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Michael Vigil (unopposed) |
100.00% | 170,092 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 170,092 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
Record turnout
The voter turnout for the primary of June 7, 2016, set a record: at least 328,000 voters, or 34 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots.[3]
Race background
Former Justice Richard Bosson retired from the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2015.[4] Pursuant to New Mexico state law, the Judicial Nominating Commission met to put forth four names for Gov. Susana Martinez to select a replacement from. Those names included Judith Nakamura and Michael Vigil. Martinez ultimately selected Nakamura for the post. However, New Mexico law also stipulates that when a justice is nominated by a governor, the justice must run in the next partisan election and win in order to remain in the seat. Nakamura filed to run as a Republican. Vigil filed to run against her as a Democrat.[5][6]
This election method allows voters to have the final say over who sits on the New Mexico Supreme Court. The last nominee Martinez selected was defeated by Barbara J. Vigil (D) in the 2012 elections. This brought the five-member court back under the unanimous control of Democratic justices. Nakamura will have to defeat Michael Vigil in the general election in order to remain on the court as the sole Republican justice. Previous partisan elections suggest that New Mexico voters tend to favor Democratic justices for the Supreme Court. Not only are four out of the five current justices Democrats, but a Republican has not won a partisan election to the court since 1980.[1]
The winner of this election must stand for retention in 2020.[7]
Poll
A late poll by the Albuquerque Journal showed Judith Nakamura and Michael Vigil tied at 45 percent of those polled, with 10 percent undecided.[8]
Political composition
New Mexico's supreme court justices are first elected to the court in partisan elections. Subsequently they are re-elected in retention elections. The court had a 4-1 Democratic majority prior to the 2016 election.
Chief Justice Petra Jimenez Maes
Justice Edward Chavez
Justice Charles Daniels
Justice Judith Nakamura
Justice Barbara J. Vigil
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico
Judges of the New Mexico Court of Appeals are appointed by the governor, who chooses from a list of candidates recommended by a judicial nominating commission. An appointed judge runs in the first partisan election after appointment to serve the remainder of his or her term. A full term is eight years for court of appeals judges, who must run for retention to continue serving. In New Mexico, judges must receive 57 percent of affirmative votes to win retention.[9]
Qualifications
To serve on the court of appeals, a judge must:
- be 35 years old or above;
- have practiced law for the ten years preceding assumption of office;
- be a state resident for the three years preceding assumption of office.[9]
State profile
| Demographic data for New Mexico | ||
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 2,080,328 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 121,298 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 73.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 2.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 9.1% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.3% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 47.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $44,963 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 24.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in New Mexico. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in New Mexico
New Mexico voted for the Democratic candidate in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in New Mexico, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[10]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. New Mexico had three Retained Pivot Counties, 1.66 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More New Mexico coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in New Mexico
- United States congressional delegations from New Mexico
- Public policy in New Mexico
- Endorsers in New Mexico
- New Mexico fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'New Mexico judicial election' OR 'New Mexico court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Albuquerque Journal, "NM Supreme Court Justice Retiring," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Voter turnout at N.M. primary election breaks record," June 28, 2016
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Supreme Court justice retiring," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Commission nominates four for New Mexico Supreme Court vacancy," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ NM Political Report, "Martinez names Nakamura to fill Supreme Court vacancy," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidate Guide," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Journal Poll: Nakamura, Vigil deadlocked in Supreme Court race," November 5, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Mexico," accessed June 20, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Mexico • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Mexico
State courts:
New Mexico Supreme Court • New Mexico Court of Appeals • New Mexico District Courts • New Mexico Magistrate Court • New Mexico Municipal Courts • New Mexico Probate Courts • New Mexico Problem-Solving Courts • New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration Court • Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
State resources:
Courts in New Mexico • New Mexico judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Mexico
