Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
New Mexico judicial elections, 2016
 |
Presidential • U.S. House • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • Municipal • Candidate ballot access |
 |
| 2016 State Judicial Elections | |
|---|---|
2017 »
« 2015
| |
 | |
| Part 1: Overview | |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts | |
| Part 3: Partisanship | |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 | |
Have you subscribed yet?
Join the hundreds of thousands of readers trusting Ballotpedia to keep them up to date with the latest political news. Sign up for the Daily Brew.
|
Six seats on New Mexico's state-level courts were up for election on November 8, 2016. Two seats were decided by partisan election; the remaining four were the seats of judges standing for retention.
Incumbent justice Judith Nakamura of the New Mexico Supreme Court faced Judge Michael Vigil of the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Judge Stephen French, recently appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals seat left open by the retirement of Judge Cynthia Fry, faced Julie Vargas for his seat. Justice Barbara J. Vigil of the supreme court and Judges Jonathan Sutin, Timothy Garcia, and M. Monica Zamora of the court of appeals stood for retention.[1]
Candidates
Supreme Court
Partisan election candidates
■ Michael Vigil (D)
■ Judith Nakamura (R) 
(Incumbent)
Judges who faced retention
Court of Appeals
Partisan election candidates
■ Julie Vargas (D)
■ Stephen French (R) (Incumbent)
Withdrawn
■ Ned S. Fuller (R)
Judges who faced retention
■ Jonathan Sutin
■ M. Monica Zamora
■ Timothy Garcia
Election results
November 8 general election
Supreme Court
| 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 | ||
Court of Appeals
| New Mexico Court of Appeals, French's seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democrat | Julie Vargas |
52% | 395,227 | |
| Republican | Stephen French Incumbent | 48% | 357,837 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 753,064 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
| New Mexico Court of Appeals, Sutin's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Jonathan Sutin | 70.42% | |
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| New Mexico Court of Appeals, Zamora's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| M. Monica Zamora | 71.05% | |
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| New Mexico Court of Appeals, Garcia's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Timothy Garcia | 70.28% | |
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||
June 7 primary election
| 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 | ||||
| New Mexico Court of Appeals 2016 Republican Primary, French's Seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Stephen French Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 83,694 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 83,694 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
| New Mexico Court of Appeals 2016 Democratic Primary, French's Seat, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Julie Vargas (unopposed) |
100.00% | 165,340 | |
| Total Votes (1492 of 1492: 100%) | 165,340 | |||
| 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.[2]
Race background
Supreme Court
Former Justice Richard Bosson retired from the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2015.[3] Pursuant to New Mexico state law, the Judicial Nominating Commission met to put forth four names for Gov. 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.[4][5]
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 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.[6]
The winner of this election must stand for retention in 2020.[7]
Court of Appeals
Voters will have the chance to weigh in on two seats on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The first is a retention election for the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Incumbent Judge Jonathan Sutin must win 57 percent of the vote in the 2016 election in order to remain on the court.
The second seat is similar to the Supreme Court race. Court of Appeals Judge Cynthia Fry retired, and the Judicial Nominating Commission convened to put forth three names for Gov. Martinez to consider: Stephen French, Ned S. Fuller, and Julie Vargas. Gov. Martinez selected French in February. However, all three individuals filed to run for the seat in 2016. Fuller later withdrew.[8][1]
The winner of this election must stand for retention in 2022.[7]
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico
Judges of the New Mexico Supreme Court and 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. Justices and judges 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 older 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 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
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "NM Supreme Court Justice Retiring," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidate Guide," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Panel sends governor three nominees for vacant appeals court seat," accessed February 3, 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.
| ||||||||||
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
