The 2020 primary election in New Mexico will be remembered for the ousting of several powerful veteran legislators and for the large number of mail-in ballots prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The presidential primaries were anti-climatic as both the incumbent and the challenger faced no real opposition, and both won easily. There were two spirited congressional primary races, but in the end, they were not close. (Results of all races can be found on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s home page at https://www.sos.state.nm.us/ ).

And one of NMAR’s leaders won his county commission election by one vote. James Russ II, NMAR’s current president, won his Lincoln County Commission race 317 to 316. James will be one that will tell you that every vote counts.

Donald J. Trump garnered almost 92 percent of the vote in the GOP primary to easily win the primary election in New Mexico. While all but Joe Biden had dropped out the race in the Democrat primary, a total of six candidates were listed on the ballot with Biden getting just over 73 percent of the vote. Bernie Sanders received just under 15 percent.

The most visible race—due perhaps to the extensive media presence in which the candidates traded barbs--was the GOP primary race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. In the end Yvette Herrell defeated Claire Chase and Chris Mathys and will face incumbent Xochitl Torres Small in November. Torres Small defeated Herrell in the 2018 election.

Up north in the 3rd Congressional District Teresa Leger Fernandez topped her six opponents, including Valerie Plame. Leger Fernandez captured over 41 percent of the vote to Plame’s 25 percent.

Leger Fernandez will face Alexis Johnson in November. Johnson won a close race over Harry Montoya in this heavily Democratic district.

In the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, Mark Ronchetti easily outdistanced his opponents and he will face Ben Ray Lujan in the November general election for the seat currently held by Tom Udall.

In the District 1 Republican Congressional race Michelle Garcia Holmes beat her two opponents and will face incumbent Deb Haaland in November.

The most surprising results of the 2020 primary election were in the New Mexico Senate with the defeat of several incumbents. There were five (5) incumbent Democrats that were defeated and two (2) incumbent Republicans that were defeated.

The incumbent Senate Democrats, which include some of the prominent leaders of the Senate, that were defeated are:

• Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D) – Senate President Pro Tem;
• Sen. John Arthur Smith (D) – Chair of the Senate Finance Committee;
• Sen. Clemente Sanchez (D) – Chair of the Senate Corporations & Transportation Committee;
• Sen. Richard Martinez (D) – Former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and
• Sen. Gabriel Ramos (D) – Appointed by Governor

The incumbent Republicans that were defeated are:

• Sen. Gregg Fulfer (R) – Member of the Senate Corporations & Transportation Committee; and
• Sen. Jim White (R) – Member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Going into the General Election, the Democrats control 26 seats and the Republicans control 16 seats in the battle for control of the Senate. The General Election will feature thirty-three (33) elections to determine which party controls the Senate.

In the New Mexico House of Representatives, several incumbent Democrats won their primary challenges and will move on to the general election. These incumbents include:

• Patricia Roybal Caballero (D) won easily over Edwina Pina Cisneros (D) in House District 13;
• Miguel Garcia (D) won over Robert Chavez (D) in House District 14;
• Deborah Armstrong (D) won over Laura E Lucero y Ruiz de Gutierrez (D) in House District 17;
• Raymundo Lara (D) leads in House District 34 over Bealquin “Bill” Gomez; and
• Matthew McQueen (D) easily defeated Rebecca “Becky” Spindle King (D) in House District 50.

Going into the General Election, the Democrats control 46 seats and the Republicans control 24 seats in the battle for control of the House. The General Election will feature fifty (50) elections to determine which party controls the House of Representatives. Given the numeric advantage that the Democrats have going into the General Election, the Republicans will have a difficult time regaining control of the House.

In the Public Regulation Commission’s District 1, Cynthia Hall (D) was unopposed in her attempt to retain her seat on the Commission, and Janice Arnold Jones (R) was unopposed in the Republican primary. This could be a competitive race in the general election.

In District 3, Joseph Maestas (D) defeated Brian Harris (D) to win the Democrat primary election. Maestas will face Christopher Luchini (L) in the general election. Given the numeric advantage of the Democrats in the District, Maestas will be the frontrunner in the race.

Statewide, out of 993,827 eligible voters (Democrat, Republican, Libertarian), only 365,435 voted.

Source: "New Mexico Association of REALTORS®"