2010 New Mexico gubernatorial election explained

See also: 2010 United States gubernatorial elections.

Election Name:	2010 New Mexico gubernatorial election
Country:	New Mexico
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2006 New Mexico gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	2006
Next Election:	2014 New Mexico gubernatorial election
Next Year:	2014
Election Date:	November 2, 2010
Image1:	File:Governor NewMexico.jpg
Nominee1:	Susana Martinez
Running Mate1:	John Sanchez
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	321,219
Percentage1:	53.29%
Nominee2:	Diane Denish
Running Mate2:	Brian Colón
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	280,614
Percentage2:	46.55%
Map Size:	215px
Governor
Before Election:	Bill Richardson
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Susana Martínez
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 2010 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Democratic governor Bill Richardson was term limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.

On June 1, 2010, the Republicans nominated Susana Martínez, the district attorney for Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and the Democrats nominated Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish.

While it was initially thought that Richardson would resign early to become Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration, Richardson withdrew from the position due to allegations of corruption that were later cleared and he remained governor until the conclusion of his term.^[1]

Susana Martínez won the election on November 2, 2010, and became New Mexico's first elected female governor, as well as the first Latina governor of any state.

Primary election

Democratic party

The Democratic primary election was held on June 1, 2010.^[2]

Candidates

• Diane Denish, lieutenant governor^[3]

Results

Republican party

The Republican primary was held on June 1, 2010.^[2] Susana Martinez won the Republican nomination by getting over 50 percent of the vote in the primary. A pre-primary convention was held on March 13 and Martinez received 47 percent of the pre-primary Republican vote.^[4]

Candidates

Declared

• Janice Arnold-Jones, state representative^[5]
• Pete Domenici, Jr., attorney and son of former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici^[6]
• Susana Martínez, Doña Ana County district attorney^[7]
• Allen Weh, former chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico^[7]

Declined

• Steve Pearce, former U.S. representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008 (ran for Congress)^[8]
• Heather Wilson, former U.S. representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008^[9]
• Gregory Zanetti, former Bernalillo County Republican Party chair and New Mexico National Guard brigadier general^[10]

Convention

A pre-primary nominating convention was held on March 13, 2010. Susana Martinez was victorious, winning the support of 46.65 percent of delegates, while Allen Weh received 26.32%, Janice Arnold-Jones received 13.16%, Doug Turner won 9.43%, and Pete Domenici, Jr. won 4.61%. Candidates who receive less than 20% of the convention vote are required to collect twice as many signatures as those who received 20% in order to appear on the primary ballot. Nonetheless, Arnold-Jones, Turner and Domenici all signaled their intention to remain in the race.^[4]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Janice Arnold-Jones	Pete Domenici, Jr.	Susana Martínez	Doug Turner	Allen Weh	Undecided
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	3%	8%	align=center	43%	8%	33%	5%
New Mexico State University	February 9–13, 2010	—	—	2.5%	align=center	29.3%	11.5%	6.8%	7.4%	42.6%

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Cook Political Report^[11]		October 14, 2010
Rothenberg^[12]		October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics^[13]		November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[14]		October 28, 2010
CQ Politics^[15]		October 28, 2010

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Diane Denish (D)	Susana Martínez (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	October 24, 2010	—	—	42%	align=center	52%	—	—
SurveyUSA	October 15, 2010	—	—	42%	align=center	54%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	October 10, 2010	—	—	43%	align=center	52%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	September 29, 2010	—	—	41%	align=center	51%	—	—
Albuquerque Journal	September 27–30, 2010	—	—	41%	align=center	47%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	September 25–26, 2010	—	—	42%	align=center	50%	—	—
Public Opinion Strategies	September 11–13, 2010	—	—	40%	align=center	50%	—	—
Albuquerque Journal	August 23–27, 2010	—	—	39%	align=center	45%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	August 24, 2010	—	—	43%	align=center	48%	—	—
Magellan Strategies	June 21, 2010	—	—	43%	align=center	44%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	June 3, 2010	—	—	42%	align=center	44%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	—	—	align=center	43%	42%	—	—
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	43%	align=center	49%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	March 24, 2010	—	—	align=center	51%	32%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	February 18–20, 2010	—	—	align=center	46%	32%	—	—

With Arnold-Jones

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Diane Denish (D)	Janice Arnold-Jones (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	—	—	align=center	45%	31%	—	—
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	align=center	49%	35%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	March 24, 2010	—	—	align=center	52%	30%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	February 18–20, 2010	—	—	align=center	47%	33%	—	—

With Domenici, Jr.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Diane Denish (D)	Pete Domenici, Jr. (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	—	—	align=center	47%	30%	—	—
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	align=center	46%	40%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	March 24, 2010	—	—	align=center	52%	35%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	February 18–20, 2010	—	—	align=center	45%	40%	—	—

With Turner

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Diane Denish (D)	Doug Turner (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	—	—	align=center	47%	31%	—	—
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	align=center	50%	36%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	March 24, 2010	—	—	align=center	43%	34%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	February 18–20, 2010	—	—	align=center	46%	32%	—	—

With Weh

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Diane Denish (D)	Allen Weh (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	May 25, 2010	—	—	align=center	45%	39%	—	—
SurveyUSA	May 23–25, 2010	—	—	align=center	47%	42%	—	—
Rasmussen Reports	March 24, 2010	—	—	align=center	45%	35%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	February 18–20, 2010	—	—	align=center	48%	30%	—	—

Results by county

Martinez was the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to carry Guadalupe County since Edwin L. Mechem in 1958.

County	Susana Martinez Republican		Diane Denish Democratic		Kenneth A. Gomez Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%
	Bernalillo		102,711		50.79%		99,278		49.10%		218		0.11%		3,433		1.70%		202,207
	Catron		1,472		77.60%		420		22.14%		5		0.26%		1,052		55.46%		1,897
	Chaves		11,279		70.32%		4,715		29.40%		46		0.29%		6,564		40.92%		16,040
	Cibola		3,176		48.52%		3,340		51.02%		30		0.46%		-164		-2.51%		6,546
	Colfax		2,916		60.21%		1,913		39.50%		14		0.29%		1,003		20.71%		4,843
	Curry		7,234		72.50%		2,700		27.06%		44		0.44%		4,534		45.44%		9,978
	De Baca		619		68.93%		276		30.73%		3		0.33%		343		38.20%		898
	Doña Ana		24,628		51.40%		23,190		48.40%		94		0.20%		1,438		3.00%		47,912
	Eddy		10,144		69.22%		4,498		30.69%		12		0.08%		5,646		38.53%		14,654
	Grant		5,165		48.76%		5,406		51.03%		22		0.21%		-241		-2.28%		10,593
	Guadalupe		1,100		57.05%		828		42.95%		0		0.00%		272		14.11%		1,928
	Harding		337		62.29%		204		37.71%		0		0.00%		133		24.58%		541
	Hidalgo		1,014		58.18%		728		41.77%		1		0.06%		286		16.41%		1,743
	Lea		9,661		74.18%		3,341		25.65%		21		0.16%		6,320		48.53%		13,023
	Lincoln		5,544		73.50%		1,990		26.38%		9		0.12%		3,554		47.12%		7,543
	Los Alamos		4,729		54.28%		3,972		45.59%		11		0.13%		757		8.69%		8,712
	Luna		3,588		58.73%		2,498		40.89%		23		0.38%		1,090		17.84%		6,109
	McKinley		5,850		34.69%		10,965		65.02%		50		0.30%		-5,115		-30.33%		16,865
	Mora		1,220		46.39%		1,410		53.61%		0		0.00%		-190		-7.22%		2,630
	Otero		11,085		69.70%		4,792		30.13%		27		0.17%		6,293		39.57%		15,904
	Quay		1,955		65.10%		1,036		34.50%		12		0.40%		919		30.60%		3,003
	Rio Arriba		4,818		40.47%		7,066		59.35%		22		0.18%		-2,248		-18.88%		11,906
	Roosevelt		3,162		71.59%		1,244		28.16%		11		0.25%		1,918		43.42%		4,417
	San Juan		24,857		69.59%		10,777		30.17%		86		0.24%		14,080		39.42%		35,720
	San Miguel		3,508		38.31%		5,641		61.60%		8		0.09%		-2,133		-23.29%		9,157
	Sandoval		24,097		56.50%		18,478		43.33%		72		0.17%		5,619		13.18%		42,647
	Santa Fe		17,441		32.61%		35,963		67.24%		82		0.15%		-18,522		-34.63%		53,486
	Sierra		2,887		65.78%		1,495		34.06%		7		0.16%		1,392		31.72%		4,389
	Socorro		3,317		52.93%		2,942		46.94%		8		0.13%		375		5.98%		6,267
	Taos		3,495		29.35%		8,415		70.65%		0		0.00%		-4,920		-41.31%		11,910
	Torrance		3,788		67.35%		1,827		32.49%		9		0.16%		1,961		34.87%		5,624
	Union		1,071		72.71%		400		27.16%		2		0.14%		671		45.55%		1,473
	Valencia		13,351		59.97%		8,866		39.83%		45		0.20%		4,485		20.15%		22,262
Total	321,219	53.29%	280,614	46.55%	994	0.16%	40,605	6.74%	602,827

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Bernalillo (largest city: Albuquerque)
• Chaves (largest village: Roswell)
• Colfax (largest city: Raton)
• Curry (largest village: Clovis)
• De Baca (largest city: Fort Sumner)
• Doña Ana (largest city: Las Cruces)
• Eddy (largest city: Carlsbad)
• Guadalupe (largest city: Santa Rosa)
• Harding (largest city: Roy)
• Hidalgo (largest city: Lordsburg)
• Lea (largest city: Hobbs)
• Lincoln (largest city: Roidoso)
• Los Alamos (largest city: Los Alamos)
• Luna (largest city: Deming)
• Otero (largest city: Alamogordo)
• Quay (largest city: Tucumcari)
• Roosevelt (largest city: Portales)
• San Juan (largest city: Farmington)
• Sandoval (largest city: Rancho)
• Sierra (largest city: Truth or Consequences)
• Socorro (largest city: Socorro)
• Torrance (largest city: Moriarty)
• Union (largest city: Clayton)
• Valencia (largest village: Los Lunas)

See also

• Governorship of Susana Martínez
• 2010 United States gubernatorial elections

External links

• New Mexico Secretary of State – Elections
• New Mexico Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for 2010 New Mexico Governor from Follow the Money
• New Mexico Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• 2010 New Mexico Governor General Election: Susana Martinez (R) vs Diane Denish (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: New Mexico Governor from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 New Mexico Governor - Martinez vs. Denish from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 New Mexico Governor's Race from CQ Politics
• Race Profile in The New York Times

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Diane Denish
• Susana Martínez
• Janice Arnold-Jones
• Peter Domenici, Jr.
• Doug Turner
• Allen Weh

Notes and References

1. Web site: Richardson withdrawal leaves cabinet gap. NBC News. January 6, 2009. January 4, 2009.
2. Web site: Your 2010 Election Calendar. January 25, 2010. February 14, 2010. National Public Radio. Ken. Rudin. Ken Rudin.
3. Web site: Denish, running for governor, steps into budgetary fray. November 5, 2009. February 14, 2010. The New Mexico Independent. Trip. Jennings.
4. Web site: Martinez takes impressive 47 percent of votes at GOP convention. March 13, 2010. March 13, 2010. The New Mexico Independent. Heath. Haussamen.
5. Web site: New Mexico Gov Field at Two With More Likely. August 1, 2009. February 14, 2010. CQ Politics. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090805080755/http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/08/new-mexico-gov-field-at-two-wi.html. August 5, 2009.
6. Web site: Pete Domenici Jr. to run for governor. January 16, 2010. February 14, 2010. KRQE. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100117205908/http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/pete-domenici-jr.-to-run-for-governor. January 17, 2010.
7. Web site: Susana Martinez officially declares candidacy for NM governor. February 9, 2010. February 14, 2010. Las Cruces Sun-News. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001022155/http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14366368. October 1, 2011.
8. Web site: Pearce Switches Races. July 6, 2009. February 14, 2010. Political Wire. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090709053337/http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/07/06/pearce_switches_races.html. July 9, 2009.
9. Web site: Wilson: I won't run for governor. October 29, 2009. February 14, 2010. KRQE. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110611193429/http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/politics_krqe_albuquerque_wilson_says_she_wont_run_for_governor_200910291151. June 11, 2011.
10. Web site: GOP gubernatorial candidate drops out. July 17, 2009. February 14, 2010. KOB. Chris. Ornelas.
11. Web site: 2010 Governors Race Ratings . https://web.archive.org/web/20101028141343/http://cookpolitical.com/charts/governors/raceratings_2010-10-14_12-35-09.php . dead . October 28, 2010 . . October 28, 2010.
12. Web site: Governor Ratings . . October 28, 2010.
13. Web site: 2010 Governor Races . . October 28, 2010.
14. Web site: THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS . . October 28, 2010.
15. Web site: Race Ratings Chart: Governor . . October 28, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101005231611/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=ratings-governor . October 5, 2010 .