2014 New Mexico elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of New Mexico on November 4, 2014. All of New Mexico's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of New Mexico's three seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2014.

Governor

[edit]

Incumbent Republican Governor Susana Martinez ran for re-election to a second term in office.[1]

Four Democrats ran for their party's nomination: Attorney General of New Mexico Gary King,[2] State Senator Linda M. Lopez,[3] State Senator Howie Morales,[4] former State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency Lawrence Rael[5] and businessman Alan Webber.[6]

King won the primary with 35% of the vote.[7]

New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Susana Martinez/John Sanchez (incumbent) 293,443 57.2
Democratic Gary King/Debra Haaland 219,362 42.8
Total votes 512,805 100.0
Republican hold

Lieutenant governor

[edit]

Unlike most states, in New Mexico, the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor were elected in separate primaries. The winning candidates then run together on the same ticket.

Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor John Sanchez was running for re-election to a second term.[1]

Deb Haaland was running for the Democrats. Marie Julienne had been running, but was disqualified.[8] Chocolatier Chuck Higgins had also been in the running, but he withdrew.[9]

Democratic primary

[edit]
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Debra A. Haaland 95,134 100.0
Total votes 95,134 100.0

Republican primary

[edit]
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Sanchez (incumbent) 58,672 100.0
Total votes 58,672 100.0

Attorney general

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Gary King was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He instead ran for governor.[1]

Hector Balderas, the State Auditor of New Mexico, was the only Democrat running.[1] In January 2013, former Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks formed an exploratory committee, but he suspended his campaign in July, citing poor fundraising.[10][11]

Former Las Cruces Chief Deputy District Attorney and former Third Judicial District Judge Susan Riedel ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.[1] Attorney James Paul "Jim" Baiamonte had been running, but withdrew from the race. Matthew Chandler, the former District Attorney for the 9th Judicial District and Republican nominee for attorney general in 2010, had considered running again, but instead resigned as district attorney and opened a private law practice.[12][13]

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Hector
Balderas (D)
Susan
Riedel (R)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing[14] September 27–October 1, 2014 727 ± 4% 52% 37% 11%
New Mexico Attorney General election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hector Balderas 295,008 58.3
Republican Susan Riedel 211,303 41.7
Total votes 506,311 100.0
Democratic hold

Secretary of State

[edit]

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran won a second term in office, defeating Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver.[1]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Dianna
Duran (R)
Maggie
Toulouse
Oliver (D)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing[14] September 27–October 1, 2014 727 ± 4% 38% 44% 19%

Results

[edit]
New Mexico Secretary of State election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dianna Duran (incumbent) 262,117 51.6
Democratic Maggie Toulouse Oliver 245,508 48.4
Total votes 507,625 100.0
Republican hold

Treasurer

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer James B. Lewis was term-limited and cannot run for re-election to a third term in office.[1]

Former state senator Tim Eichenberg and former chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico John Wertheim ran for the Democratic nomination.[1] Former Bernalillo County Treasurer Patrick Padilla had been running, but he was disqualified from the ballot after he failed to collect enough petition signatures. Wertheim raised the challenge and Padilla was disqualified after a district judge found he was 93 valid signatures short of the minimum requirement of 4,373. Padilla may appeal the ruling.[15] State Senator Tim Keller had considered running, but chose to run for State Auditor instead.[16] Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima also considered running, but decided not to.[17]

Democratic primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Eichenberg 59,683 52.72
Democratic John Wertheim 53,523 47.28
Total votes 113,206 100.0

Rick Lopez was the only Republican running.[1]

New Mexico Treasurer election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Eichenberg 261,203 52.5
Republican Rick Lopez 236,699 47.5
Total votes 497,902 100.0
Democratic hold

State Auditor

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic State Auditor Hector Balderas was term-limited and cannot run for re-election to a third term in office. He was instead running for attorney general.[1] Democratic former state auditor Domingo Martinez had been running,[19] but he withdrew from the race.[20]

Democrat Tim Keller and Republican Robert Aragon were the only candidates running.

New Mexico State Auditor, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Keller 270,386 54.3
Republican Robert Aragon 228,019 45.7
Total votes 498,405 100.0
Democratic hold

Commissioner of Public Lands

[edit]
2014 New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands election

← 2010
2018 →
 
Nominee Aubrey Dunn Jr. Ray Powell
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 250,185 249,481
Percentage 50.1% 49.9%

County results
Dunn:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Powell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Commissioner before election

Ray Powell
Democratic

Elected Commissioner

Aubrey Dunn Jr.
Republican

Incumbent Democratic Commissioner of Public Lands Ray Powell was running for re-election to a second term in office.[1]

Republican Aubrey Dunn was the only other candidate running.[1]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Ray
Powell (D)
Aubrey
Dunn (R)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing[14] September 27–October 1, 2014 727 ± 4% 43% 37% 20%

Results

[edit]
New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aubrey Dunn, Jr. 250,185 50.1
Democratic Ray Powell (incumbent) 249,481 49.9
Total votes 499,666 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

Public Regulation Commission

[edit]

Three of the five seats on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission were up for election.

District 2 Republican incumbent Patrick Lyons was unopposed for re-election to a second term in office.[1]

District 4 Democratic incumbent Theresa Becenti-Aguilar was running for re-election to a second term in office.[1] Democrats Edward J. Michael and Lynda Lovejoy were also running.[1] No Republican filed to run for the seat.[1]

District 5 Republican incumbent Ben Hall, the current chairman of the commission, was running for re-election to a second term in office.[1] Democrats Donald L. Wolberg, Merrie Lee Soules, and Sandy R. Jones were also running.[1]

Democrat Ken Miyagishima, the Mayor of Las Cruces, had considered running for a seat on the commission, but decided not to.[17]

Public Education Commission

[edit]

Seven of the ten seats on the New Mexico Public Education Commission were up for election. Five of the seats were up for regularly-scheduled elections. The other two were special elections following resignations.

District 2 incumbent Republican Millie Pogna, District 3 incumbent Democrat Carmie Lynn Toulouse, District 5 incumbent Democrat James F. Conyers and District 6 incumbent Democrat Gilbert Peralta were all running for re-election to a second term unopposed.[1]

District 7 incumbent Democrat Eugene Gant was not running for re-election to a second term. Democrat Patricia E Gipson was running unopposed.[1]

In the District 1 and District 4 vacancies, Democrats former state representative Eleanor Chavez and former president of the American Federation of Teachers Karyl Ann Armbruster ran, respectively, against to-be-determined incumbents, who would be appointed to the office by Governor Martinez.[1][21]

United States Senate

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Udall was running for re-election to a second term.[22][23]

Businessman and candidate for Governor of New Mexico in 2010 Allen Weh.[24] defeated assistant district attorney and former chairman of the Doña Ana County Republican Party David Clements[25][26] for the Republican nomination.

United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2014[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Udall (incumbent) 286,409 55.6
Republican Allen Weh 229,097 44.4
Total votes 515,506 100.0
Democratic hold

United States House of Representatives

[edit]

All of New Mexico's three seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election in 2014.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "2014 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List". New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  2. ^ Monteleone, James (July 10, 2012). "Attorney General King To Run for Gov". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014.
  3. ^ Monteleone, James (April 17, 2013). "Sen. Lopez to run for governor". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013.
  4. ^ Reichbach, Matthew (October 16, 2013). "State Sen. Morales jumps in gubernatorial race". New Mexico Telegram. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Boyd, Dan (November 16, 2013). "Politics Notebook: Fifth Democrat joining race for governor". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on November 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Terrell, Steve (October 25, 2013). "Santa Fe Democrat could shake up governor's race". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  7. ^ Monteleone, James (June 4, 2014). "King vs. Martinez in NM governor race". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Terrell, Steve (19 February 2014). "Failed candidate for lieutenant gov. challenges Democratic rival". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  9. ^ Nikolewski, Rob (January 20, 2013). "Chocolatier from Santa Fe runs for Lt. Governor — just don't call him a liberal". Capitol Report - New Mexico. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  10. ^ Nikolewski, Rob (February 20, 2013). "Jason Marks looks at running for NM Attorney General". Capitol Report - New Mexico. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  11. ^ Associated Press (July 27, 2013). "Jason Marks abandons race for NM attorney general". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  12. ^ "District Attorney Chandler resigning March 1". Clovis News Journal. January 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Former Martinez deputy Susan Riedel running for state attorney general". Las Cruces Sun-News. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  14. ^ a b c Gravis Marketing
  15. ^ Monteleone, James (April 8, 2014). "Former Bernco treasurer now out of state race". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014.
  16. ^ Terrell, Steve (April 15, 2013). "Sen. Linda Lopez prepares to run for governor". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima nixed as next Doña Ana County manager". Las Cruces Sun-News. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  18. ^ "Official Results Primary Election - June 3, 2014". New Mexico Secretary of State. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014.
  19. ^ Boyd, Dan (May 3, 2013). "Santa Fe County Assessor Domingo Martinez to seek state auditor post". The Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014.
  20. ^ Terrell, Steve (September 5, 2013). "Domingo Won't Run For Auditor". Roundhouse Roundup. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014.
  21. ^ Clark, Carol A. (March 11, 2014). "Karyl Ann Armbruster Files For Public Education Commission District 4". Los Alamos Daily Post. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  22. ^ Intorcio, Tom (November 20, 2012). "N.M. Sen. Tom Udall tries fundraising off energy ad targeting him". WhoSaidYouSaid Network. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  23. ^ Bland, Scott (February 19, 2013). "'Most Liberal' Label Probably Won't Hurt Sen. Tom Udall". National Journal. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  24. ^ Terrell, Steve (January 8, 2014). "Weh's bid for Udall's seat heats up GOP Senate primary". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  25. ^ Nikolewski, Rob (October 16, 2013). "'Constitutional conservative' wants to take on NM Sen. Tom Udall". Watchdog.org (Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity). Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  26. ^ Peters, Joey (October 22, 2013). "Insurgency: Long-shot GOP candidate for Senate has unconventional message". Santa Fe Reporter. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  27. ^ "Official Results General Election - November 4, 2014". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.