2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico explained

Election Name:	2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
Country:	New Mexico
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
Next Year:	2022
Seats For Election:	All 3 New Mexico seats to the United States House of Representatives
Election Date:	November 3, 2020
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election1:	3
Seats1:	2
Seat Change1:	1
Popular Vote1:	495,781
Percentage1:	54.86%
Swing1:	3.39%
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Last Election2:	0
Seats2:	1
Seat Change2:	1
Popular Vote2:	407,786
Percentage2:	45.12%
Swing2:	6.92%
Map Size:	220px

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of New Mexico, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

From the election until Deb Haaland's resignation to become Secretary of the Interior, New Mexico had a house delegation composed entirely of women of color, the second US state (after Hawaii) to do so.^[1] New Mexico is also the first state to have a majority of its house representatives be Native Americans.

Overview

Results of the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico by district:^[2]

scope=col rowspan=3	District	scope=col colspan=2	Democratic	scope=col colspan=2	Republican	scope=col colspan=2	Others	scope=col colspan=2	Total	scope=col rowspan=3	Result
scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2	!	scope=col colspan=2
scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	%
	186,953	58.19%	134,337	41.81%	0	0.00%	321,290	100.0%	Democratic hold
	122,546	45.40%	142,283	52.71%	117	0.04%	264,946	100.0%	Republican gain
	186,282	58.68%	131,166	41.32%	0	0.00%	317,448	100.0%	Democratic hold
Total	495,781	54.86%	407,786	45.12%	117	0.01%	903,684	100.0%

District 1

Election Name:	2020 New Mexico's 1st congressional district election
Country:	New Mexico
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico#District 1
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2021 New Mexico's 1st congressional district special election
Next Year:	2021 (special)
Image1:	File:Deb Haaland, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped2).jpg
Nominee1:	Deb Haaland
Party1:	Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote1:	186,953
Percentage1:	58.2%
Nominee2:	Michelle Garcia Holmes
Party2:	Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote2:	134,337
Percentage2:	41.8%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Deb Haaland
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Election:	Deb Haaland
After Party:	Democratic Party (US)
Map2 Image:	NM1 House 2020.svg
Map2 Caption:	Precinct results Haaland: Holmes: Tie:

See also: New Mexico's 1st congressional district. The 1st district is centered around Albuquerque, taking in most of Bernalillo County, Torrance County, and parts of Sandoval County, Santa Fe County and Valencia County. The incumbent was Democrat Deb Haaland, who was elected with 59.1% of the vote in 2018.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Deb Haaland, incumbent U.S. representative^[4]

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michelle Garcia Holmes, retired police detective and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2018^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Brett Kokinadis, founder of New Mexico Democrats for Democracy^[6]
• Jared Vanderdussen, attorney^[7]

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[8]		July 2, 2020
align=left	Inside Elections^[9]		June 2, 2020
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[10]		July 2, 2020
Politico^[11]		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos^[12]		June 3, 2020
RCP^[13]		June 9, 2020
Niskanen^[14]		June 7, 2020

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Deb Haaland (D)	Michelle Garcia Holmes (R)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc.	October 23–29, 2020	430 (LV)	±  4.7%		58%	37%	6%
Research & Polling Inc.	August 26 – September 2, 2020	404 (LV)	±  4.9%		58%	31%	11%

Results

District 2

Election Name:	2020 New Mexico's 2nd congressional district election
Country:	New Mexico
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico#District 2
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico#District 2
Next Year:	2022
Candidate1:	Yvette Herrell
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	142,283
Percentage1:	53.7%
Candidate2:	Xochitl Torres Small
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	122,546
Percentage2:	46.3%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Xochitl Torres Small
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Yvette Herrell
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Map2 Image:	NM2 House 2020.svg
Map2 Caption:	Precinct results Herrell: Torres Small: Tie:

See also: New Mexico's 2nd congressional district. The 2nd district covers southern New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Roswell, and the southern part of Albuquerque. The incumbent was Democrat Xochitl Torres Small, who flipped the district and was elected with 50.9% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Xochitl Torres Small, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Yvette Herrell, former state representative and nominee for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district in 2018^[15]

Eliminated in primary

• Claire Chase, oil company executive^[16]
• Chris Mathys, businessman, candidate for New Mexico Public Regulation Commission in 2018, and former Fresno city councilman^[17]

Declined

• Leland Gould, lobbyist^[18]
• Monty Newman, businessman, former chair of the New Mexico Republican Party, former mayor of Hobbs, and candidate for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district in 2018^[19]
• Steve Pearce, chair of the New Mexico Republican Party, former U.S. representative, and nominee for Governor of New Mexico in 2018^[20]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Claire Chase	Gavin Clarkson	Yvette Herrell	Chris Mathys	Undecided
The Tarrance Group (R)	December 2–3, 2019	450 (LV)	± 4.7%	13%	–		43%	12%	–
The Strategy Group Company (R)	January 23–27, 2019	537 (LV)	–	4%	7%		50%	2%	37%

Results

General election

Debates

2020 New Mexico's 2nd congressional district debates

	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican
Key: Participant  Absent  Not invited  Invited Withdrawn
					Xochitl Torres Small	Yvette Herrell
2	Sep. 27, 2020	KOAT-TV The Albuquerque Journal	Doug Fernandez Shelly Ribando Kent Walz	YouTube
2	Oct. 9, 2020	KOB (TV)	Tessa Mentus Chris Ramirez	YouTube
3	Oct. 11, 2020	KNME-TV	Gene Grant	YouTube

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
align=left	Inside Elections		October 16, 2020
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball		November 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Xochitl	Yvette Herrell (R)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc.	October 23–29, 2020	403 (LV)	±  4.9%	46%		48%	5%
Strategies 360 (D)	October 16–20, 2020	406 (LV)	±  4.9%		47%	46%	–
The Tarrance Group (R)	September 26–29, 2020	400 (LV)	±  4.9%	47%		48%	5%
Research & Polling Inc.	August 26 – September 2, 2020	418 (LV)	±  4.8%		47%	45%	9%
The Tarrance Group (R)	July 7–9, 2020	400 (LV)	±  4.9%	46%	46%	8%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)	December 18–19, 2019	400 (LV)	±  4.9%	46%		48%	–
The Strategy Group Company (R)	January 23–27, 2019	1,070 (LV)	–	38%		51%	11%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Generic Republican
Strategies 360/Xochitl Torres Small	October 16–20, 2020	406 (LV)	±  4.9%	45%		50%
The Tarrance Group (R)	September 26–29, 2020	400 (LV)	±  4.9%	45%		49%

Results

District 3

Election Name:	2020 New Mexico's 3rd congressional district election
Country:	New Mexico
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico#District 3
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico#District 3
Next Year:	2022
Image1:	File:Teresa Leger Fernandez 117th U.S Congress (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Teresa Leger Fernandez
Party1:	Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote1:	186,282
Percentage1:	58.7%
Nominee2:	Alexis Martinez Johnson
Party2:	Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote2:	131,166
Percentage2:	41.3%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:	Ben Ray Luján
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Election:	Teresa Leger Fernandez
After Party:	Democratic Party (US)
Map2 Image:	NM3 House 2020.svg
Map2 Caption:	Precinct results Leger Fernandez: Martinez Johnson: Tie:

See also: New Mexico's 3rd congressional district. The 3rd district encompasses all of northern New Mexico, including the city of Santa Fe, and includes most of the Navajo Nation and Puebloans within New Mexico. The incumbent was Democrat Ben Ray Luján, who was re-elected with 63.4% of the vote in 2018,^[3] and announced on April 1, 2019 that he would seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2020.^[21] Luján won the primary, and ultimately the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Teresa Leger Fernandez, attorney and daughter of former state senator Ray Leger^[22]

Eliminated in primary

• John Blair, former New Mexico Deputy Secretary of State and former political aide to U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich^[23]
• Laura Montoya, Sandoval County treasurer^[24]
• Valerie Plame, former CIA operations officer^[25]
• Joseph L. Sanchez, state representative^[26]
• Marco Serna, Santa Fe County District Attorney^[27]
• Kyle Tisdel, environmental attorney^[28]

Withdrawn

• Robert Apodaca, businessman and former United States Department of Agriculture regional official^[28]
• Mark McDonald, chair of the Colfax County Democratic Party (endorsed Serna)^[29]

Declined

• Hector Balderas, Attorney General of New Mexico
• Brian Egolf, speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives
• Valerie Espinoza, New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner for the 3rd district and former Santa Fe County clerk^[30]
• Paula Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association^[31]
• Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands
• Ben Ray Luján, incumbent U.S. representative (running for U.S. Senate)^[21]
• Joseph Maestas, mayor of Española and former Santa Fe city councilman^[32]
• Andrea Romero, state representative^[33]
• John Sapien, state senator
• Victor Snover, mayor of Aztec^[34]
• Carl Trujillo, former state representative^[33]
• Linda Trujillo, state representative^[33]
• JoAnne Vigil Coppler, Santa Fe city councilwoman^[35]
• Renee Villarreal, Santa Fe city councilwoman^[33]
• Alan Webber, mayor of Santa Fe^[32]
• Peter Wirth, majority leader of the New Mexico Senate^[36]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Teresa Fernandez	Valerie Plame	Joseph Sanchez	Marco Serna	Other	Undecided
Clarity Campaign Labs	May 20–21, 2020	661 (LV)	± 3.76%		33%	24%	7%	9%	9%	–
Anzalone Liszt Grove Research	February 11–16, 2020	500 (LV)	–	11%		21%	–	7%	–	–

Pre-primary convention results

Candidates for the Democratic nomination needed to either receive the votes of 20% of the delegates at the pre-primary convention on March 7, or collect and submit signatures to the secretary of state to have made it to the June 2 primary.^[37]

Candidate	Delegates
	Vote	%
John Blair	19	4.5%
Teresa Leger Fernandez	178	41.9%
Laura Montoya	87	20.5%
Valerie Plame	22	5.2%
Joseph Sanchez	52	12.2%
Marco Serna	57	13.4%
Kyle Tisdel	10	2.4%
Total	425	100.0%

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Alexis Johnson, environmental engineer and rancher^[38]

Eliminated in primary

• Karen Bedonie, member of the Navajo Nation and small business owner^[39]
• Harry Montoya, former Santa Fe County commissioner^[40]

Disqualified

• Audra Lee Brown, businesswoman
• Anastacia Golden Morper, real estate agent^{[41] [42]}

Withdrawn

• Brett Kokinadis, founder of New Mexico Democrats for Democracy^[6]

Declined

• Jefferson Byrd, New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner for the 2nd district and nominee for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in 2014^[32]
• Gregg Hull, mayor of Rio Rancho^[32]
• Patrick H. Lyons, former New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner for the 2nd district, former New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, and former state senator^[32]
• Thomas Mullins, businessman and nominee for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in 2010^[32]

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michael Lucero, rancher and nominee for New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands in 2018^[43]

Green primary

Candidates

Declined

• Carol Miller, activist and nominee for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in 1997, 1998, and 2008^[32]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
align=left	Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Teresa Leger Fernandez (D)	Alexis Johnson (R)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc.	October 23–29, 2020	347 (LV)	±  5.3%		58%	35%	6%
Research & Polling Inc.	August 26 – September 2, 2020	301 (LV)	±  5.6%		50%	35%	15%

Results

See also

• 2020 New Mexico elections

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

• • • Web site: League of Women Voters of New Mexico . (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)

Official campaign websites for 1st district candidates

• Michelle Garcia Holmes (R) for Congress
• Deb Haaland (D) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 2nd district candidates

• Yvette Herrell (R) for Congress
• Xochitl Torres Small (D) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 3rd district candidates

• Alexis Johnson (R) for Congress
• Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) for Congress
• Michael Lucero (L) for Congress

Notes and References

1. Web site: Williams . Jordan . New Mexico elects all women of color to House delegation for first time . The Hill . November 6, 2020 . en . November 4, 2020.
2. Web site: Johnson. Cheryl L.. Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 2020. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. February 28, 2019.
3. Web site: Wasserman. David. Flinn. Ally. 2018 House Popular Vote Tracker. Cook Political Report. November 7, 2018. February 15, 2019. April 3, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403141334/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WxDaxD5az6kdOjJncmGph37z0BPNhV1fNAH_g7IkpC0/htmlview. dead.
4. Web site: Congresswoman Haaland says she will not run for US Senate. The Washington Times. Associated Press. April 10, 2019. June 25, 2019.
5. Web site: Turner. Scott. October 25, 2019. Garcia Holmes enters U.S. House race. Albuquerque Journal.
6. News: Reichbach. Matthew. Kokinadis switches races, running for Congress in CD1 instead of CD3. July 20, 2019. New Mexico Political Report. July 20, 2019.
7. Web site: Turner . Scott . UNM law school grad enters U.S. House race . Albuquerque Journal . November 19, 2019.
8. Web site: 2020 Senate Race Ratings for April 19, 2019 . The Cook Political Report . September 20, 2019.
9. Web site: 2020 Senate Ratings . Senate Ratings . The Rothenberg Political Report . October 3, 2019.
10. Web site: 2020 Senate race ratings . Sabato's Crystal Ball . August 28, 2019 . August 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822073139/http://crystalball.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-senate/ . dead .
11. Web site: 2020 Election Forecast. November 19, 2019 . Politico.
12. Web site: Daily Kos Elections releases initial Senate race ratings for 2020 . Daily Kos Elections. February 28, 2020.
13. Web site: Battle for White House. April 19, 2019 . RCP.
14. Web site: 2020 Negative Partisanship and the 2020 Congressional Elections. April 28, 2020. Niskanen Center. May 1, 2020. June 21, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200621124503/https://www.niskanencenter.org/negative-partisanship-and-the-2020-congressional-elections/. dead.
15. News: January 8, 2019. Republican Herrell to run against Torres Small in 2020. KOB. Associated Press. February 15, 2019. February 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153109/https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/republican-herrell-to-run-against-torres-small-in-2020/5202659/. dead.
16. Web site: Contreras . Russell . GOP oil executive to seek southern New Mexico US House seat . Associated Press . August 27, 2019 . August 27, 2019 . August 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190827213609/https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/GOP-oil-exec-to-seek-US-House-seat-in-southern-14381442.php . dead .
17. News: Contreras. Russell. Las Cruces businessman hopes to unseat congresswoman in 2020. Associated Press. April 10, 2019. April 10, 2019.
18. Web site: Here Comes Claire And Yvette Isn't Yawning; Chase About To Enter Southern Congress Race Setting Up Major GOP Battle For Nomination, Plus: Oil Boom; Where's The Plan? . New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan . August 19, 2019 . August 19, 2019.
19. News: Monahan. Joe. GOP Insiders Say Herrell Set To Make Second Run For 2nd Congressional District, And: Big Bill's Spaceport Suddenly Not Looking So Bad. New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan. December 17, 2018. February 15, 2019.
20. News: Boyd. Dan. Steve Pearce elected NM Republican Party chair. Albuquerque Journal. December 8, 2018. February 15, 2019.
21. News: Rep. Ben Ray Lujan will run for U.S. Senate. Associated Press. KOAT. April 1, 2019. April 1, 2019.
22. News: Bennett. Megan. May 17, 2019. Santa Fe lawyer kicks off campaign for Congress. Albuquerque Journal. May 17, 2019.
23. Web site: Lee . Morgan . Former elections regulator joins field for House seat . Associated Press . August 20, 2019 . August 19, 2019.
24. News: Oswald. Mark. Sandoval Treasurer Laura Montoya enters 3rd CD race. Albuquerque Journal. July 2, 2019. July 3, 2019.
25. News: Wilson . Reid . Valerie Plame to run for Congress in New Mexico . May 9, 2019 . The Hill . May 9, 2019.
26. Sanchez. Joseph. josephsancheznm. 1112812731965485056. I wanted you all to be the first to know. I am excited to announce I am running for Congress in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District! Follow our social media for more information in the coming days. #nmpol. April 1, 2019. April 1, 2019.
27. News: Carrillo. Edmundo. Serna makes formal announcement he's in 3rd CD race. Albuquerque Journal. May 30, 2019. May 31, 2019.
28. Web site: Oswald . Mark . Environmental lawyer Kyle Tisdel enters 3rd CD race; Apodaca out . Albuquerque Journal . August 15, 2019 . August 14, 2019.
29. News: Congressional candidate drops out, endorses local prosecutor. Associated Press. May 8, 2019. May 8, 2019.
30. News: Espinoza says she won't seek congressional seat . April 24, 2019 . Santa Fe New Mexican . April 24, 2019.
31. News: Simonich . Milan . It takes a scorecard to follow these candidate . April 4, 2019 . Santa Fe New Mexican . April 4, 2019.
32. News: Bennett. Megan. Two candidates join the race for Luján's seat; 8 more ponder a run. Albuquerque Journal. April 2, 2019. April 2, 2019.
33. News: Monahan. Joe. A Wild Week Riding The La Politica Roller Coaster: Udall Retires; Ben Ray Emerges; Balderas Bows Out And Plame Plays. New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan. March 29, 2019. April 1, 2019.
34. News: Grover . Hannah . Aztec mayor could throw his hat into the ring for the Congressional District 3 seat . May 22, 2019 . Farmington Daily Times . May 22, 2019.
35. News: Oxford. Andrew. Santa Fe lawyer poised to enter race for Luján's House seat. Santa Fe New Mexican. April 26, 2019. April 26, 2019.
36. News: District Attorney Serna thinking about U.S. House race. Albuquerque Journal. April 2, 2019. April 3, 2019.
37. Web site: Dems favor Leger Fernandez by wide margin in CD3 race. T.S.. Last. Albuquerque Journal. March 7, 2020.
38. Web site: Santa Fe Republican Alexis Johnson Announces Candidacy For Congressional District 3. December 13, 2019. Los Alamos Daily Post. en. December 14, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191214003232/https://www.ladailypost.com/content/santa-fe-republican-alexis-johnson-announces-candidacy-congressional-district-3-0. dead.
39. Web site: Native American woman seeks GOP nomination for New Mexico House seat . KRQE . en . October 3, 2019.
40. Web site: Grimm . Julie Ann . Harry Montoya to run for CD3 as GOP . Santa Fe Reporter . December 18, 2019 . December 13, 2019.
41. Web site: Grover . Hannah . A fourth Republican woman has announced her candidacy for Congressional District 3 . Farmington Daily Times . December 12, 2019 . October 19, 2019.
42. Web site: Last . T.S. . GOP candidate disqualified from CD3 race . Albuquerque Journal . February 12, 2020.
43. News: Oxford. Andrew. Seat Luján is vacating already drawing interest. Santa Fe New Mexican. April 1, 2019. April 2, 2019.