‘It represents hope’: New Mexico Democrats cement control following historic blue wave

The historic wave of Democratic enthusiasm that wrested control of Congress from Republicans on Tuesday also cemented Democrats’ control up and down the ballot in New Mexico, where the party continues to hold all state and federal elected offices and expanded its hold in the state House of Representatives.

Incumbent Democrats retained their U.S. Senate seat and all three U.S. House seats, and new Democrats running for statewide offices successfully beat Republican challengers for offices including governor, secretary of state and land commissioner. Democrats also successfully secured second terms in races for attorney general, auditor and treasurer.

All those Democrats won their races by 10 percentage points or more. Democrats in the state House of Representatives also expanded their majority after defeating four incumbent Republicans.

In New Mexico’s closely watched 2nd Congressional District race, incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) defeated Republican challenger Greg Cunningham with nearly 58% of the vote, despite the Republican National Congressional Committee targeting the race with fundraisers and donations, and outside donors promising to spend at least $10 million on the race. 

Vasquez, in a statement late Tuesday night touting his “double digits victory” against Cunningham, said the results are “a reminder that in America, the people — not political parties, big corporations, or special interests — have the power.”

Democrat Amanda López Askin, the Doña Ana County clerk who handily defeated Republican challenger Ramona Goolsby in the race for secretary of state, summed up the results in a speech to supporters Tuesday night in Las Cruces. 

“Not only is it a mandate, it represents hope. We can get out of this,” she said. “You know what this is? This is step one to 2028. This is step one of getting humanity and reason and compassion back into leadership in our country.”

Nearly half of the state’s registered voters had cast ballots by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, driven primarily by Democrats, who turned out at a rate of at least 62%, according to Secretary of State’s Office figures. That’s higher than 57% of registered Democrats who cast ballots in the 2022 midterm elections.

Republicans turned out at a rate of 53% this year, compared with 61% in 2022, according to Secretary of State’s office figures. 

The state’s overall turnout remained at slightly less than in the previous midterm elections in 2022, in which 52% of statewide registered voters cast ballots.

The shortfall appears to be a result of relatively low turnout by the state’s third major voting bloc: unaffiliated or Decline to State voters.

Those unaffiliated voters represent more than 28% of the state’s registered voters. But only about one-third of them cast ballots this year, according to Secretary of State’s Office figures.

Still, Democratic turnout, predominately in the state’s most populous counties, exceeded that of 2022, and contributed to the seismic Democratic victories locally and nationally. 

“With Democrats winning a majority in the U.S. House and Senate,” Vasquez noted Tuesday in his victory speech, “the time for real accountability and reform is finally here. The day of reckoning for the corrupt Trump administration has come.”

Source New Mexico freelance reporter Leah Romero contributed to this report.