New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2016

New Mexico 2016 elections

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2016 New Mexico
House Elections

Primary| June 7, 2016
General| November 8, 2016
2016 Election Results

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2016 Elections

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After losing the chamber in 2014, the Democrats regained control over the House, putting Democrats in control of both legislative chambers. A pickup of five seats in the November general election gave Democrats a six-seat majority. Senate Democrats also improved on their majority, gaining two seats and moving the chamber to a 10-seat Democratic majority.

All 70 seats in the New Mexico House of Representatives were up for election in 2016.

A Ballotpedia analysis identified the New Mexico State House as one of 20 battleground chambers in the November 2016 election. These are the chambers where one party might have, realistically, toppled the other party from its position of majority control.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Republicans retook the chamber in 2014 after more than 60 years of Democratic control.

* Democrats fielded unopposed candidates in 27 districts, while Republicans had 16 unchallenged candidates.

* There were seven open seats—four Democratic and three Republican—in 2016. Five of those seats had general election competition.

* Democrats looked to make gains in the 27 districts that had general election competition between two major party candidates; only 10 seats were competitive or mildly competitive in 2014.[1]

This election was one of Ballotpedia's top 10 state-level races in 2016.
Click here to read the full list.

## Contents

* 1 Introduction
* 1.1 Context
* 1.2 Majority control
* 2 Retired incumbents
* 3 Context of the 2016 elections
* 4 2016 election competitiveness
* 5 Races we watched
* 5.1 Primary contests
* 5.2 General election contests
* 6 List of candidates
* 7 General election
* 8 Primary election
* 8.1 Margins of victory
* 8.2 Important dates and deadlines
* 8.3 Competitiveness
* 8.3.1 Candidates unopposed by a major party
* 8.3.2 Primary challenges
* 8.3.3 Retired incumbents
* 8.3.4 Results from 2014
* 8.3.5 Historical context
* 8.4 Campaign contributions
* 8.4.1 State comparison
* 8.5 Qualifications
* 8.6 See also
* 8.7 External links
* 8.8 Footnotes

## Introduction[edit]

Elections for the New Mexico House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 8, 2016.

### Context[edit]

The Republican Party took control of the House in 2014. Prior to that election, Democrats held the chamber by a five-seat majority (37-33). After 2014, Republicans held a five-seat majority.

### Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the New Mexico House of Representatives:

New Mexico House of Representatives

Party  |  As of November 7, 2016  |  After November 8, 2016
|  Democratic Party |  33  |  38
|  Republican Party |  37 |  32
Total |  70 |  70

## Retired incumbents[edit]

The following incumbent representatives did not run for re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:

Name  |  Party  |  Current Office

|
|

Conrad James |  Republican | House District 24
Dona Irwin |  Democratic | House District 32
Jeff Steinborn |  Democratic | House District 35
Dianne Hamilton |  Republican | House District 38
Luciano Varela |  Democratic | House District 48
Nora Espinoza |  Republican | House District 59
James Roger Madalena, Jr. |  Democratic | House District 65
W. Ken Martinez |  Democratic | House District 69

Note: W. Ken Martinez (D) resigned from the state House on July 20, 2016. Harry Garcia (D) was appointed to the seat on September 9, 2016.

## Context of the 2016 elections[edit]

See also: State legislative battleground chambers, 2016

The New Mexico House of Representatives was identified by RLCC as a defensive target.[2] The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC) planned to spend $40 million on legislative races during the 2015-2016 election cycle.

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) named Senate District 9, Senate District 29, House District 24, and House District 32 in their "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Two of those seats, both in the Senate, involved an incumbent.[3][4]

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) named House District 4, House District 15, and House District 30 in their "2016 Essential Races."[5][6]

The Democratic Party lost control of the state House in 2014. Democrats needed to flip just three seats to regain control of the state House. Jessica Post, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, believed that Democrats had a great chance of retaking the New Mexico State House—as well as other chambers in the U.S. that were under Republican control—because of it being a presidential election year. Post said, "We thought that no matter who the presidential nominee was, we thought we had an excellent shot at winning back the Minnesota House, winning back the New Mexico House, for example."[7]

Debbie Maestas, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, stated that five Republican incumbents were vulnerable in 2016. She did not name the five incumbents, but she said that "[w]e’ve got to make sure and push hard on those efforts."[8] House Republican incumbents in House Districts 15, 24, 37, and 39 all won election in 2014 by a small margin.

## 2016 election competitiveness[edit]

New Mexico sees a dip in electoral competitiveness.

Ballotpedia conducts a yearly study of electoral competitiveness in state legislative elections. Details on how well New Mexico performed in the study are provided in the image below. Click here for the full 2016 Competitiveness Analysis »

* In the New Mexico State Senate, there were 24 Democratic incumbents and 18 Republican incumbents. Four incumbents faced primary challengers in the Democratic Party. There were no incumbents that faced primary challenges in the Republican primary.

* In the House, there were 33 Democratic incumbents and 37 Republican incumbents. Five state representatives faced primary opposition in the Democratic Party. There were no incumbents that faced primary challenges in the Republican primary.

* Overall, 18.6 percent of Democratic incumbents and 21.4 percent of GOP incumbents faced primary opposition in all of the state legislatures with elections in 2016.

* The cumulative figure for how many state legislative candidates faced no major party opposition in November in these states was 41.8 percent. This compares to 32.7 percent in 2010, 38.3 percent in 2012, and 43.0 percent in 2014.

* More details on electoral competitiveness in New Mexico can be found below.

## Races we watched[edit]

Ballotpedia identified seven notable New Mexico state primary races in 2016, four of which were state House contests.

Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable New Mexico races »

### Primary contests[edit]

State House District 21 (D)

The Democratic incumbent faced a primary challenger backed by union groups.
☐ Idalia Lechuga-Tena (Inc.) ☑ Debra Marie Sarinana ☐ Amanda E. Kinkaid

State House District 48 (D)

Three Democrats competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
☑ Linda Trujillo ☐ Jeff A. Varela ☐ Paul D. Campos

State House District 65 (D)

Two Democrats competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
☐ Darryl F. Madalena ☑ Derrick J. Lente

State House District 69 (D)

Four Democrats competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
☐ Terry L. Fletcher ☑ Harry Garcia ☐ Bennie Shelly ☐ Lloyd F. Felipe

### General election contests[edit]

Ballotpedia identified 13 notable New Mexico state general election races in 2016, seven of which were state House contests.

Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable New Mexico races »

State House District 4

The Republican incumbent faced a Democratic opponent.
☐ Glojean B. Todacheene ☑ Sharon E. Clahchischilliage (Inc.)

State House District 15

The Republican incumbent faced a Democratic opponent.
☐ Ane Romero ☑ Sarah Maestas Barnes (Inc.)

State House District 24

A Republican and a Democrat competed for the open seat left by the Republican incumbent.
☑ Elizabeth L. Thomson ☐ Christina Marie Hall

State House District 30

The Republican incumbent faced a Democratic opponent.
☐ Natalie R. Figueroa ☑ Nathaniel Gentry (Inc.)

State House District 32

A Republican and a Democrat competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
☑ Candie G. Sweetser ☐ Vicki K. Chavez

State House District 37

District 37 featured a candidate rematch.
☑ Joanne J. Ferrary ☐ Terry McMillan (Inc.)

State House District 39

District 39 featured a candidate rematch.
☑ Rodolpho Martinez ☐ John L. Zimmerman (Inc.)

## List of candidates[edit]

# General election[edit]

2016 New Mexico House candidates

District |  Democrat |  Republican | Other
1  |  No candidate |  Rodney Montoya: 10,717 (I) a |
2  |  Kenneth Robinson: 2,369  |  James R.J. Strickler: 6,083 (I) a |
3  |  No candidate |  Paul Bandy: 8,299 (I) a |
4  |  Glojean B. Todacheene: 4,257  |  Sharon E. Clahchischilliage: 5,056 (I) a |
5  |  D. Wonda Johnson: 7,558 (I) a |  No candidate |
6  |  Eliseo Alcon: 6,707 (I) a |  No candidate |
7  |  Arturo Fierro: 3,964  |  Kelly K. Fajardo: 5,149 (I) a |
8  |  Jim Danner: 4,493  |  Alonzo Baldonado: 7,251 (I) a |
9  |  Patricia Lundstrom: 6,446 (I) a |  No candidate |
10  |  G. Andres Romero: 4,821 (I) a |  No candidate |  Robert Schiller: 2,337 (Ind.)
11  |  Javier I. Martinez: 10,118 (I) a |  No candidate |
12  |  Patricio Ruiloba: 5,036 (I) a |  No candidate |
13  |  Patricia A. Roybal Caballero: 5,525 (I) a |  No candidate |
14  |  Miguel Garcia: 6,209 (I) a |  No candidate |
15  |  Ane Romero: 6,467  |  Sarah Maestas Barnes: 7,358 (I) a |
16  |  Antonio Maestas: 8,256 (I) a |  No candidate |
17  |  Deborah Armstrong: 8,640 (I) a |  No candidate |
18  |  Gail Chasey: 9,922 (I) a |  No candidate |
19  |  Sheryl Williams Stapleton: (I) 8,289 a |  No candidate |
20  |  Giovanni A. Haqani: 5,389  |  Jim Dines: 7,350 (I) a |
21  |  Debra Marie Sarinana: 4,685 a |  No candidate |
22  |  John Wallace: 7,510  |  James Smith: 9,630 (I) a |
23  |  Daymon B. Ely: 7,124 a |  Paul Pacheco: 7,022 (I) |
24  |  Elizabeth L. Thomson: 6,798 a |  Christina Marie Hall: 6,198  |
25  |  Christine Trujillo: 9,807 (I) a |  No candidate |
26  |  Georgene Louis: 4,800 (I) a |  No candidate |
27  |  Ronald E. Krise: 6,457  |  Lorenzo Larranaga: 9,110 (I) a |
28  |  No candidate |  Jimmie Hall: 10,279 (I) a |
29  |  Ronnie Martinez: 6,967  |  David Adkins: 6,976 (I) a |
30  |  Natalie R. Figueroa: 6,267  |  Nathaniel Gentry: 6,841 (I) a |
31  |  Robert L. Scott: 7,051  |  William Rehm: 10,760 (I) a |
32  |  Candie G. Sweetser: 4,486 a |  Vicki K. Chavez: 4,256  |
33  |  Bill McCamley: 6,605 (I) a |  Neal L. Hooks: 3,619  |
34  |  Bealquin Bill Gomez: 5,757 (I) a |  No candidate |
35  |  Angelica Rubio: 6,412 a |  Joseph E. Bishop: 3,782  |
36  |  Nathan P. Small: 5,435 a |  Andrew Nunez: 4,184 (I) |
37  |  Joanne J. Ferrary: 7,483 a |  Terry McMillan: 6,760 (I) |
38  |  Mary E. Hotvedt: 5,900  |  Rebecca L. Dow: 7,149 a |
39  |  Rodolpho Martinez: 5,103 a |  John L. Zimmerman: 4,880 (I) |
40  |  Nick Salazar: 9,038 (I) a |  No candidate |
41  |  Debbie Rodella: 8,088 (I) a |  No candidate |
42  |  Roberto Gonzales: 10,654 (I) a |  No candidate |
43  |  Stephanie Garcia Richard: 8,452 (I) a |  Sharon Stover: 5,910  |
44  |  No candidate |  Jane Powdrell-Culbert: 12,245 (I) a |
45  |  Jim Trujillo: 9,425 (I) a |  No candidate |
46  |  Carl Trujillo: 11,563 (I) a |  No candidate |
47  |  Brian Egolf, Jr.: 13,740 (I) a |  Roger A. Gonzales: 3,675  |
48  |  Linda Trujillo: 10,572 a |  No candidate |
49  |  No candidate |  Don Tripp: 8,864 (I) a |
50  |  Matthew McQueen: 8,187 (I) a |  Jeremy R. Tremko: 5,805  |
51  |  Denise A. Lang: 3,353  |  Yvette Herrell: 6,447 (I) a |
52  |  Doreen Y. Gallegos: 5,796 (I) a |  No candidate |
53  |  Willie Madrid: 2,666  |  Ricky Little: 2,803 (I) a |
54  |  No candidate |  James Townsend: 7,098 (I) a |  Freddie Joe Nichols, III: 2,292 (Ind.)
55  |  No candidate |  Cathrynn Brown: 9,280 (I) a |
56  |  No candidate |  Zachary Cook: 7,672 (I) a |
57  |  Donna I. Tillman: 5,013  |  Jason C. Harper: 6,117 (I) a |
58  |  No candidate |  Candy Spence Ezzell: 5,001 (I) a |
59  |  Richard Garcia: 3,465  |  Greg Nibert: 8,594 a |
60  |  No candidate |  Timothy Lewis: 9,824 (I) a |
61  |  No candidate |  David M. Gallegos: 4,735 (I) a |
62  |  No candidate |  Larry Scott: 7,948 (I) a |
63  |  George Dodge Jr.: 5,142 (I) a |  No candidate |
64  |  No candidate |  Randal Crowder: 7,732 (I) a |
65  |  Derrick J. Lente: 7,162 a |  No candidate |
66  |  No candidate |  Bob Wooley: 8,427 (I) a |
67  |  No candidate |  Dennis Roch: 8,464 (I) a |
68  |  No candidate |  Monica Youngblood: 9,637 (I) a |
69  |  Harry Garcia: 6,155 (I) a |  No candidate |
70  |  Tomas E. Salazar: 8,125 (I) a |  No candidate |
|  |  |
Notes:

* An (I) denotes an incumbent.
* Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

# Primary election[edit]

2016 New Mexico House primary candidates

District |  Democrat |  Republican | Other
1 | No candidate | Rodney Montoya (I) a |
2 | Kenneth Robinson a | James R.J. Strickler (I) a |
3 | No candidate | Paul Bandy (I) a |
4 | Glojean B. Todacheene a | Sharon E. Clahchischilliage (I) a |
5 | D. Wonda Johnson: 1,904 (I) a
Kevin M. Mitchell: 1,783 | No candidate |
6 | Eliseo Alcon (I) a | No candidate |
7 | Arturo Fierro a | Kelly K. Fajardo (I) a |
8 | Jim Danner a | Alonzo Baldonado (I) a |
9 | Patricia Lundstrom (I) a | No candidate |
10 | G. Andres Romero (I) a | No candidate |
11 | Javier I. Martinez (I) a | No candidate |
12 | Patricio Ruiloba (I) a | No candidate |
13 | Patricia A. Roybal Caballero (I) a | No candidate |
14 | Miguel Garcia (I) a | No candidate |
15 | Ane Romero a | Sarah Maestas Barnes (I) a |
16 | Antonio Maestas (I) a | No candidate |
17 | Deborah Armstrong (I) a | No candidate |
18 | Gail Chasey (I) a | No candidate |
19 | Sheryl Williams Stapleton (I) a | No candidate |
20 | Giovanni A. Haqani a | Jim Dines (I) a |
21 | Amanda E. Kinkaid: 305
Debra Marie Sarinana: 706 a
Idalia Lechuga-Tena: 322 (I) | No candidate |
22 | John Wallace a | James Smith (I) a |
23 | Daymon B. Ely a | Paul Pacheco (I) a |
24 | Elizabeth L. Thomson a | Christina Marie Hall: 1,007 a
Ryan N. Boyle: 690 |
25 | Chris Berkheimer: 975
Christine Trujillo: 3,157 (I) a | No candidate |
26 | Georgene Louis (I) a | No candidate |
27 | Ronald E. Krise a | Lorenzo Larranaga (I) a |
28 | No candidate | Jimmie Hall (I) a |
29 | Ronnie Martinez a | David Adkins (I) a |
30 | Natalie R. Figueroa a | Nathaniel Gentry (I) a |
31 | Robert L. Scott a | William Rehm (I) a |
32 | Candie G. Sweetser: 1,384 a
Frederick H. Sherman: 1,030 | Vicki K. Chavez: 892 a
J. Scott Chandler: 876  |
33 | Bill McCamley (I) a | Neal L. Hooks a |
34 | Bealquin Bill Gomez: 767 (I) a
Raymundo Lara: 558
Paul C. Maxwell: 382  | No candidate |
35 | Ray Jaramillo: 852
Angelica Rubio: 1,248a
Paul Martinez: 667  | Joseph E. Bishop a |
36 | Nathan P. Small a | Andrew Nunez (I) a |
37 | Joanne J. Ferrary a | Terry McMillan (I) a |
38 | Mary E. Hotvedt: 1,761 a
Karen C. Whitlock: 1,732 | Rebecca L. Dow: 1,904 a
Daniel A. Galindo: 479 |
39 | Rodolpho Martinez a | John L. Zimmerman (I) a |
40 | Barney R. Trujillo: 2,736
Nick Salazar (I): 3,637 a | No candidate |
41 | Debbie Rodella (I) a | No candidate |
42 | Roberto Gonzales (I) a | No candidate |
43 | Stephanie Garcia Richard (I) a | Sharon Stover a |
44 | No candidate | Jane Powdrell-Culbert (I) a |
45 | Jim Trujillo (I) a | No candidate |
46 | Carl Trujillo (I) a | No candidate |
47 | Brian Egolf, Jr. (I) a | Roger A. Gonzales a |
48 | Linda Trujillo: 2,415 a
Jeff A. Varela: 1,773
Paul D. Campos: 1,931 | No candidate |
49 | Conrad G. Guajardo a | Don Tripp (I) a |
50 | Matthew McQueen (I) a | Jeremy R. Tremko a |
51 | Denise A. Lang a | Yvette Herrell (I) a |
52 | Doreen Y. Gallegos (I) a | No candidate |
53 | Cliff Reed a | Ricky Little (I) a |
54 | No candidate | James Townsend (I) a |
55 | No candidate | Cathrynn Brown (I) a |
56 | No candidate | Zachary Cook (I) a |
57 | Donna I. Tillman a | Jason C. Harper (I) a |
58 | No candidate | Candy Spence Ezzell (I) a |
59 | Richard Garcia a | Greg Nibert a |
60 | No candidate | Timothy Lewis (I) a |
61 | No candidate | David M. Gallegos (I) a |
62 | No candidate | Larry Scott (I) a |
63 | George Dodge Jr. (I) a | No candidate |
64 | No candidate | Randal Crowder (I) a |
65 | Darryl F. Madalena: 1,430
Derrick J. Lente: 2,125 a | No candidate |
66 | No candidate | Bob Wooley (I) a |
67 | No candidate | Dennis Roch (I) a |
68 | No candidate | Monica Youngblood (I) a |
69 | Terry L. Fletcher: 629
Harry Garcia: 1,097a
Bennie Shelly: 568
Lloyd F. Felipe: 707 | No candidate |
70 | Tomas E. Salazar (I) a | No candidate |
|  |  |
Notes:

* An (I) denotes an incumbent.
* Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

## Margins of victory[edit]

The average margin of victory for contested races in the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 70 races in the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2016, 29 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 18 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[9]

Republican candidates in the New Mexico House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Democratic candidates in 2016. Republicans won 32 races. In the 17 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 18.4 percent. Democrats won 38 races in 2016. In the 12 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 17.5 percent.

More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. 12 of the 29 contested races in 2016—41.4 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Seven races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won seven races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less.

New Mexico House of Representatives: 2016 Margins of Victory Less than 10 Percent

District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory
District 4 | R | 8.6 percent
District 15 | R | 6.4 percent
District 23 | D | 0.7 percent
District 24 | D | 4.6 percent
District 29 | R | 0.1 percent
District 30 | R | 4.4 percent
District 32 | D | 2.6 percent
District 37 | D | 5.1 percent
District 38 | R | 9.6 percent
District 39 | D | 2.2 percent
District 53 | R | 2.5 percent
District 57 | R | 9.9 percent
The average margin of victory for incumbents in the New Mexico House of Representatives who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was lower than the national average. 56 incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 20 winning New Mexico House of Representatives incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 20.9 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent.

Democratic incumbents in the New Mexico House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Republican incumbents. 26 Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the five races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 31.3 percent. 30 Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 15 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 17.4 percent.

New Mexico House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis

Party | Elections won | Average margin of victory[10] | Races with incumbent victories | Average margin of victory for incumbents[10] | Unopposed incumbents | Unopposed races | Percent unopposed
Democratic | 38 | 17.5 percent | 26 | 31.3 percent | 21 | 26 | 68.4 percent
Republican | 32 | 18.4 percent | 30 | 17.4 percent | 15 | 15 | 46.9 percent
Total | 70 | 18.0 percent | 56 | 20.9 percent | 36 | 41 | 58.6 percent

Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in New Mexico House of Representatives districts in 2016.

New Mexico House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory by District

District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory
District 1 | R | Unopposed
District 2 | R | 43.9 percent
District 3 | R | Unopposed
District 4 | R | 8.6 percent
District 5 | D | Unopposed
District 6 | D | Unopposed
District 7 | R | 13.0 percent
District 8 | R | 23.5 percent
District 9 | D | Unopposed
District 10 | D | 34.7 percent
District 11 | D | Unopposed
District 12 | D | Unopposed
District 13 | D | Unopposed
District 14 | D | Unopposed
District 15 | R | 6.4 percent
District 16 | D | Unopposed
District 17 | D | Unopposed
District 18 | D | Unopposed
District 19 | D | Unopposed
District 20 | R | 15.4 percent
District 21 | D | Unopposed
District 22 | R | 12.4 percent
District 23 | D | 0.7 percent
District 24 | D | 4.6 percent
District 25 | D | Unopposed
District 26 | D | Unopposed
District 27 | R | 17.0 percent
District 28 | R | Unopposed
District 29 | R | 0.1 percent
District 30 | R | 4.4 percent
District 31 | R | 20.8 percent
District 32 | D | 2.6 percent
District 33 | D | 29.2 percent
District 34 | D | Unopposed
District 35 | D | 25.8 percent
District 36 | D | 13.0 percent
District 37 | D | 5.1 percent
District 38 | R | 9.6 percent
District 39 | D | 2.2 percent
District 40 | D | Unopposed
District 41 | D | Unopposed
District 42 | D | Unopposed
District 43 | D | 17.7 percent
District 44 | R | Unopposed
District 45 | D | Unopposed
District 46 | D | Unopposed
District 47 | D | 57.8 percent
District 48 | D | Unopposed
District 49 | R | Unopposed
District 50 | D | 17.0 percent
District 51 | R | 31.6 percent
District 52 | D | Unopposed
District 53 | R | 2.5 percent
District 54 | R | 51.2 percent
District 55 | R | Unopposed
District 56 | R | Unopposed
District 57 | R | 9.9 percent
District 58 | R | Unopposed
District 59 | R | 42.5 percent
District 60 | R | Unopposed
District 61 | R | Unopposed
District 62 | R | Unopposed
District 63 | D | Unopposed
District 64 | R | Unopposed
District 65 | D | Unopposed
District 66 | R | Unopposed
District 67 | R | Unopposed
District 68 | R | Unopposed
District 69 | D | Unopposed
District 70 | D | Unopposed

## Important dates and deadlines[edit]

See also: New Mexico elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in New Mexico in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016

Deadline  |  Event type  |  Event description
February 2, 2016 | Ballot access  |  Filing deadline for major party candidates for federal and statewide office
March 8, 2016 | Ballot access  |  Filing deadline for major party candidates for all other offices
April 11, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  First primary report due
May 9, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Second primary report due
June 2, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Third primary report due
June 7, 2016 | Election date  |  Primary election
June 30, 2016 | Ballot access  |  Filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates
July 7, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Fourth primary report due
September 12, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  First general report due
October 10, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Second general report due
November 3, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Third general report due
November 8, 2016 | Election date  |  General election
December 8, 2016 | Campaign finance  |  Fourth general report due
Sources: New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Election FAQ's," accessed June 12, 2015
New Mexico Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule," accessed August 7, 2015

## Competitiveness[edit]

### Candidates unopposed by a major party[edit]

In 43 of the 70 districts up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 27 Democrats and 16 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 27 (38.5 percent) of the 70 districts up for election.

### Primary challenges[edit]

Five incumbents faced primary competition on June 7. Seven incumbents did not seek re-election and another 58 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition.

### Retired incumbents[edit]

Seven incumbents did not run for re-election, while 63 ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents—four Democrats and three Republicans—can be found above. Another incumbent, W. Ken Martinez (D), did not seek re-election, but he resigned before the end of his term and a new member was appointed to the seat.

### Results from 2014[edit]

See also: 2014 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.

Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.

Overall Competitiveness

|  2010  |  2012  |  2014
Competitiveness Index  | 36.2  | 35.8  | 31.4
% Open Seats  | 18.6%  | 21.2%  | 17.0%
% Incumbent with primary challenge  | 22.7%  | 24.6%  | 20.1%
% Candidates with major party opposition  | 67.3%  | 61.7%  | 57.0%

The following table details New Mexico's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.

New Mexico Legislature 2014 Competitiveness

% Open Seats  |  % Incumbent with primary challenge  |  % Candidates with major party opposition  |  Competitiveness Index  |  Overall rank
15.7%  |  11.9%  |  45.7%  |  24.4  |  34

### Historical context[edit]

See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

## Campaign contributions[edit]

The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in New Mexico in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[11]

New Mexico House of Representatives Donations

Year  | Candidates  | Amount
2014  |  129  |  $5,732,203
2012  |  142  |  $4,834,065
2010  |  136  |  $4,620,384
2008  |  125  |  $3,954,763
2006  |  124  |  $3,866,403

### State comparison[edit]

The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. New Mexico, at $44,436 per candidate, is ranked 23 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[11][12]

## Qualifications[edit]

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."

## See also[edit]

* New Mexico House of Representatives
* New Mexico State Legislature
* State legislative elections, 2016

## External links[edit]

|  Suggest a link

|

* New Mexico Secretary of State \- Candidate list

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `rslc`
3. ↑ Republican State Leadership Committee, "RSLC Announces First Round of “16 in ’16: Races to Watch”," accessed October 5, 2016
4. ↑ Republican State Leadership Committee, "RSLC Releases Second Round of “16 in ’16: Races to Watch”," accessed October 5, 2016
5. ↑ Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, "DLCC Expands List of 2016 Essential Races," accessed October 7, 2016
6. ↑ Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, "DLCC ANNOUNCES 2016 ESSENTIAL RACES," accessed October 7, 2016
7. ↑ The Atlantic, "Will Donald Trump Hand State Capitols to Democrats?" accessed September 13, 2016
8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `roswell`
9. ↑ This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Excludes unopposed elections
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in New Mexico," accessed July 28, 2015
12. ↑ This map relies on data collected in July 2015.

[show]

Current members of the New Mexico House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Brian Egolf

Representatives

District 1

Rodney Montoya (R)

District 2

James Strickler (R)

District 3

T. Ryan Lane (R)

District 4

Anthony Allison (D)

District 5

Doreen Johnson (D)

District 6

Eliseo Alcon (D)

District 7

Kelly Fajardo (R)

District 8

Alonzo Baldonado (R)

District 9

Patricia Lundstrom (D)

District 10

G. Romero (D)

District 11

Javier Martínez (D)

District 12

Brittney Barreras (D)

District 13

Patricia Caballero (D)

District 14

Miguel Garcia (D)

District 15

Dayan Hochman (D)

District 16

Antonio Maestas (D)

District 17

Deborah Armstrong (D)

District 18

Gail Chasey (D)

District 19

Viengkeo Kay Bounkeua (D)

District 20

Meredith Dixon (D)

District 21

Debra Sariñana (D)

District 22

Stefani Lord (R)

District 23

Daymon Ely (D)

District 24

Elizabeth Thomson (D)

District 25

Christine Trujillo (D)

District 26

Georgene Louis (D)

District 27

Marian Matthews (D)

District 28

Pamelya Herndon (D)

District 29

Joy Garratt (D)

District 30

Natalie Figueroa (D)

District 31

William Rehm (R)

District 32

Candie Sweetser (D)

District 33

Micaela Lara Cadena (D)

District 34

Raymundo Lara (D)

District 35

Angelica Rubio (D)

District 36

Nathan Small (D)

District 37

Joanne Ferrary (D)

District 38

Rebecca Dow (R)

District 39

Luis Terrazas (R)

District 40

Roger Montoya (D)

District 41

Susan Herrera (D)

District 42

Kristina Ortez (D)

District 43

Christine Chandler (D)

District 44

Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R)

District 45

Linda Serrato (D)

District 46

Andrea Romero (D)

District 47

Brian Egolf (D)

District 48

Tara Lujan (D)

District 49

Gail Armstrong (R)

District 50

Matthew McQueen (D)

District 51

Rachel Black (R)

District 52

Doreen Gallegos (D)

District 53

Willie Madrid (D)

District 54

James Townsend (R)

District 55

Cathrynn Brown (R)

District 56

Zachary Cook (R)

District 57

Jason Harper (R)

District 58

Candy Ezzell (R)

District 59

Greg Nibert (R)

District 60

Joshua Hernandez (R)

District 61

Randall Pettigrew (R)

District 62

Larry Scott (R)

District 63

Martin Ruben Zamora (R)

District 64

Randal Crowder (R)

District 65

Derrick Lente (D)

District 66

Phelps Anderson (I)

District 67

Jack Chatfield (R)

District 68

Karen Bash (D)

District 69

Harry Garcia (D)

District 70

Ambrose Castellano (D)

Democratic Party (45)

Republican Party (24)

Independent (1)

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