1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election

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| <- 1974 | November 7, 1978 | 1982 ->

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Nominee  | Bruce King | Joe Skeen |
Party  | Democratic | Republican
Popular vote  | 174,631 | 170,848
Percentage  | 50.55% | 49.45%

* * *

County results
King: 50–60% 60–70%
Skeen: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

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| Governor before election

Jerry Apodaca
Democratic

| Elected Governor

Bruce King
Democratic

|

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The 1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, in order to elect the Governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democrat Jerry Apodaca was ineligible to seek a second term as governor. Bruce King, a member of the Democratic Party who had previously served as governor from 1971 to 1975, won the open seat. With a margin of victory of just 1.09% this was the second closest contest of the 1978 Gubernatorial Cycle, behind only the election in Texas.

## Primary election

[edit]

### Democratic primary

[edit]

The Democratic primary was won by former Governor Bruce King.

#### Results

[edit]

New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1978[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

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| Democratic | Bruce King | 92,432  | 61.31%
| Democratic | Robert E. Ferguson | 58,334  | 38.69%
Total votes  | 150,766  | 100.00%

### Republican primary

[edit]

The Republican primary was won by former state senator Joe Skeen.

#### Results

[edit]

New Mexico Republican gubernatorial primary, 1978[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | Joe Skeen | 38,638  | 81.17%
| Republican | Philip R. Grant  | 8,966  | 18.84%
Total votes  | 47,604  | 100.00%

## General election

[edit]

### Results

[edit]

1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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|
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| Democratic | Bruce King | 174,631  | 50.55%  | +0.61%
| Republican | Joseph R. Skeen | 170,848  | 49.45%  | −0.65%
Majority  | 3,783  | 1.10%  |
Total votes  | 345,479  | 100.00%  |
| Democratic hold | Swing | -0.04%  |

### Results by county

[edit]

County  | Bruce King
Democratic  | Joe Skeen
Republican  | Margin  | Total votes cast

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#  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %
Bernalillo | 55,448  | 48.26%  | 59,443  | 51.74%  | -3,995  | -3.48%  | 114,891
Catron | 649  | 49.13%  | 672  | 50.87%  | -23  | -1.74%  | 1,321
Chaves | 5,134  | 33.94%  | 9,991  | 66.06%  | -4,857  | -32.11%  | 15,125
Colfax | 2,187  | 53.12%  | 1,930  | 46.88%  | 257  | 6.24%  | 4,117
Curry | 4,054  | 48.51%  | 4,303  | 51.49%  | -249  | -2.98%  | 8,357
De Baca | 521  | 52.31%  | 475  | 47.69%  | 46  | 4.62%  | 996
Doña Ana | 9,539  | 45.12%  | 11,603  | 54.88%  | -2,064  | -9.76%  | 21,142
Eddy | 7,419  | 54.02%  | 6,314  | 45.98%  | 1,105  | 8.05%  | 13,733
Grant | 4,624  | 59.74%  | 3,116  | 40.26%  | 1,508  | 19.48%  | 7,740
Guadalupe | 1,591  | 69.72%  | 691  | 30.28%  | 900  | 39.44%  | 2,282
Harding | 259  | 41.77%  | 361  | 58.23%  | -102  | -16.45%  | 620
Hidalgo | 766  | 54.36%  | 643  | 45.64%  | 123  | 8.73%  | 1,409
Lea | 4,665  | 44.48%  | 5,824  | 55.52%  | -1,159  | -11.05%  | 10,489
Lincoln | 1,009  | 29.46%  | 2,416  | 70.54%  | -1,407  | -41.08%  | 3,425
Los Alamos | 2,349  | 32.65%  | 4,845  | 67.35%  | -2,496  | -34.70%  | 7,194
Luna | 2,117  | 45.29%  | 2,557  | 54.71%  | -440  | -9.41%  | 4,674
McKinley | 5,244  | 59.29%  | 3,600  | 40.71%  | 1,644  | 18.59%  | 8,844
Mora | 1,494  | 62.07%  | 913  | 37.93%  | 581  | 24.14%  | 2,407
Otero | 4,140  | 44.43%  | 5,178  | 55.57%  | -1,038  | -11.14%  | 9,318
Quay | 1,632  | 47.65%  | 1,793  | 52.35%  | -161  | -4.70%  | 3,425
Rio Arriba | 7,106  | 68.78%  | 3,226  | 31.22%  | 3,880  | 37.55%  | 10,332
Roosevelt | 1,793  | 36.87%  | 3,070  | 63.13%  | -1,277  | -26.26%  | 4,863
San Juan | 6,866  | 44.31%  | 8,631  | 55.69%  | -1,765  | -11.39%  | 15,497
San Miguel | 4,729  | 62.29%  | 2,863  | 37.71%  | 1,866  | 24.58%  | 7,592
Sandoval | 5,303  | 59.77%  | 3,570  | 40.23%  | 1,733  | 19.53%  | 8,873
Santa Fe | 14,080  | 60.44%  | 9,217  | 39.56%  | 4,863  | 20.87%  | 23,297
Sierra | 1,486  | 47.66%  | 1,632  | 52.34%  | -146  | -4.68%  | 3,118
Socorro | 2,524  | 57.39%  | 1,874  | 42.61%  | 650  | 14.78%  | 4,398
Taos | 4,418  | 66.07%  | 2,269  | 33.93%  | 2,149  | 32.14%  | 6,687
Torrance | 1,858  | 62.06%  | 1,136  | 37.94%  | 722  | 24.11%  | 2,994
Union | 704  | 41.46%  | 994  | 58.54%  | -290  | -17.08%  | 1,698
Valencia | 8,923  | 61.03%  | 5,698  | 38.97%  | 3,225  | 22.06%  | 14,621
Total | 174,631 | 50.55% | 170,848 | 49.45% | 3,783 | 1.10% | 345,479

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

* Colfax
* De Baca
* Hidalgo
* Torrance

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

* Doña Ana

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NM Governor D Primary 1978". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
2. ^ "NM Governor R Primary 1978". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
3. ^ New Mexico State Records Center & Archives, Canvass of Returns of General Election Held on November 7, 1978 - State of New Mexico

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