New Mexico state executive official elections, 2020

2022 → ← 2018
New Mexico state executive official elections
Election details
Filing deadline: March 10, 2020
Primary: June 2, 2020 General: November 3, 2020
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in New Mexico
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2020 Impact of term limits in 2020 State government trifectas and triplexes
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Seven state executive offices were up for election in New Mexico in 2020:

Public Regulation Commission (2 seats)
Public Education Commission (5 seats)

Candidates and election results

Public Regulation Commissioner

General election

General election for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1

Incumbent Cynthia Hall defeated Janice Arnold-Jones in the general election for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Hall (D)	59.3	119,332
		Janice Arnold-Jones (R)	40.7	81,952

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 201,284
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1

Incumbent Cynthia Hall advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Hall	100.0	50,151

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,151
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1

Janice Arnold-Jones advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 1 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Janice Arnold-Jones	100.0	28,406

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,406
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3

Joseph Maestas defeated Chris Luchini in the general election for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Maestas (D)	71.7	148,993
	Submit photo	Chris Luchini (L)	28.3	58,767

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 207,760
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3

Joseph Maestas defeated Brian Harris in the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Maestas	56.4	42,842
	Submit photo	Brian Harris	43.6	33,138

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,980
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Orlando Archuleta (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3

Chris Luchini advanced from the Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission District 3 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Chris Luchini	100.0	386

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 386
= 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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Public Education Commissioner

General election

General election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 1

Melissa Armijo won election in the general election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Armijo (D)	100.0	50,976

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,976
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 1

Melissa Armijo defeated incumbent Ricardo Caballero in the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 1 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Armijo	71.6	13,368
	Submit photo	Ricardo Caballero	28.4	5,292

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,660
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4

Rebekka Burt defeated Laura Burrows in the general election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebekka Burt (D)	60.7	67,527
	Submit photo	Laura Burrows (L)	39.3	43,791

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 111,318
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4

Rebekka Burt advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebekka Burt	100.0	27,357

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,357
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4

Laura Burrows advanced from the Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Laura Burrows	100.0	296

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 296
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 8

Michael Taylor won election in the general election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Taylor (R)	100.0	58,751

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,751
= 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 Public Education Commission District 8

Michael Taylor advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 8 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Taylor	100.0	19,358

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,358
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9

K.T. Manis defeated incumbent Trish Ruiz and Krik Myers in the general election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		K.T. Manis (R)	70.2	48,419
		Trish Ruiz (D)	25.1	17,303
	Submit photo	Krik Myers (L)	4.7	3,249

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,971
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9

Incumbent Trish Ruiz advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trish Ruiz	100.0	7,260

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,260
= 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 Public Education Commission District 9

K.T. Manis defeated Arleen Beverley in the Republican primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		K.T. Manis	57.0	11,193
	Submit photo	Arleen Beverley	43.0	8,437

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,630
= 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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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9

Krik Myers advanced from the Libertarian primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 9 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Krik Myers	100.0	102

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 102
= 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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General election

General election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 10

Steven Carrillo won election in the general election for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 10 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Carrillo (D)	100.0	82,140

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 82,140
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 10

Steven Carrillo defeated Leanne Christine Salazar Montoya and William Luther Humbert in the Democratic primary for New Mexico Public Education Commission District 10 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Carrillo (Write-in)	57.4	3,894
		Leanne Christine Salazar Montoya (Write-in)	39.0	2,646
	Submit photo	William Luther Humbert (Write-in)	3.6	241

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,781
= 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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Context of the 2020 elections

Party control in New Mexico

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Residency requirements

In New Mexico, individuals can register to vote as soon as they become residents of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

Past elections

2018

The following elections took place in 2018:

• New Mexico Attorney General election, 2018
• New Mexico Secretary of State election, 2018
• New Mexico Treasurer election, 2018
• New Mexico Auditor election, 2018
• New Mexico Public Lands Commissioner election, 2018
• New Mexico gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018
• New Mexico state executive official elections, 2018
• New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2018 (June 5 Republican primary)
• New Mexico Attorney General election, 2018 (June 5 Republican primary)
• New Mexico Secretary of State election, 2018 (June 5 Republican primary)
• New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2018 (June 5 Democratic primary)
• New Mexico Attorney General election, 2018 (June 5 Democratic primary)
• New Mexico Secretary of State election, 2018 (June 5 Democratic primary)
• New Mexico lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (June 5 Republican primary)
• New Mexico lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (June 5 Democratic primary)
• New Mexico Public Education Commission election, 2018
• New Mexico Public Regulation Commission election, 2018

External links

Suggest a link

• State of New Mexico official website

Footnotes

State executive offices

Offices

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Elections

2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010

Features

Chart of state executive officers • Compensation • How gubernatorial vacancies are filled • How vacancies are filled in state executive offices • State executive officials serving in home states • State government trifectas • State of the state addresses • Term limits

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