2016 New Mexico Senate election

2016 New Mexico Senate election

November 8, 2016
All 42 seats in the New Mexico Senate 22 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mary Kay Papen Stuart Ingle Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 38th - Las Cruces 27th - Portales Last election 25 17 Seats before 24 18 Seats won 26 16 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 399,912 271,028 Percentage 59.60% 40.40%
Results:      Democratic gain      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold Vote share:      50–60%      60–70%      >90%      50–60%      60–70%      >90%
President pro tempore before election Mary Kay Papen Democratic Elected President pro tempore Mary Kay Papen Democratic

The 2016 New Mexico Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. New Mexico voters elected state senators in all 42 of the state senate's districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the New Mexico Senate. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including for President, U.S House, and state house.

A primary election on June 7, 2016 determined which candidates appeared on the November 8th general election ballot.

Summary of results

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected senator	Party
1	William Sharer		Rep	William Sharer		Rep
2	Steven Neville		Rep	Steven Neville		Rep
3	John Pinto		Dem	John Pinto		Dem
4	George Muñoz		Dem	George Muñoz		Dem
5	Richard Martinez		Dem	Richard Martinez		Dem
6	Carlos Cisneros		Dem	Carlos Cisneros		Dem
7	Pat Woods		Rep	Pat Woods		Rep
8	Pete Campos		Dem	Pete Campos		Dem
9	John Sapien		Dem	John Sapien		Dem
10	John Ryan		Rep	Candace Gould		Rep
11	Linda Lopez		Dem	Linda Lopez		Dem
12	Jerry Ortiz y Pino		Dem	Jerry Ortiz y Pino		Dem
13	Bill O'Neill		Dem	Bill O'Neill		Dem
14	Michael Padilla		Dem	Michael Padilla		Dem
15	Daniel Ivey-Soto		Dem	Daniel Ivey-Soto		Dem
16	Cisco McSorley		Dem	Cisco McSorley		Dem
17	Mimi Stewart		Dem	Mimi Stewart		Dem
18	Lisa Torraco		Rep	Bill Tallman		Dem
19	James White		Rep	James White		Rep
20	William Payne		Rep	William Payne		Rep
21	Mark Moores		Rep	Mark Moores		Rep
22	Benny Shendo		Dem	Benny Shendo		Dem
23	Sander Rue		Rep	Sander Rue		Rep
24	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem
25	Peter Wirth		Dem	Peter Wirth		Dem
26	Jacob Candelaria		Dem	Jacob Candelaria		Dem
27	Stuart Ingle		Rep	Stuart Ingle		Rep
28	Howie Morales		Dem	Howie Morales		Dem
29	Michael Sanchez		Dem	Gregory Baca		Rep
30	Clemente Sanchez		Dem	Clemente Sanchez		Dem
31	Joe Cervantes		Dem	Joe Cervantes		Dem
32	Cliff Pirtle		Rep	Cliff Pirtle		Rep
33	William Burt		Rep	William Burt		Rep
34	Ron Griggs		Rep	Ron Griggs		Rep
35	John Arthur Smith		Dem	John Arthur Smith		Dem
36	Lee Cotter		Rep	Jeff Steinborn		Dem
37	William Soules		Dem	William Soules		Dem
38	Mary Kay Papen		Dem	Mary Kay Papen		Dem
39	Ted Barela		Rep	Liz Stefanics		Dem
40	Craig Brandt		Rep	Craig Brandt		Rep
41	Carroll Leavell		Rep	Carroll Leavell		Rep
42	Gay Kernan		Rep	Gay Kernan		Rep

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	33	399,912	59.60%	26	2	61.90%
	Republican	24	271,028	40.40%	16	2	38.10%
Total		57	670,940	100%	42		100%

Popular vote Democratic   59.60% Republican   40.40%

Senate seats Democratic   61.90% Republican   38.10%

Retiring incumbents

• John Ryan (R-District 10)

Defeated incumbents

• Lisa Torraco (R-District 13), defeated by Bill Tallman (D)
• Michael Sanchez (D-District 29), defeated by Gregory Baca (R)
• Lee Cotter (R-District 36), defeated by Jeff Steinborn (D)
• Ted Barela (R-District 39), defeated by Liz Stefanics (D)

Detailed results

Source for primary election results: Source for general election results:

District 1

Incumbent Republican William Sharer has represented the 1st district since 2001.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 1st District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rebecca Morgan	984	64.23%
	Democratic	Matt Dodson	548	35.77%
Total votes			1,532	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 1st District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Sharer (incumbent)	11,170	69.80%
	Democratic	Rebecca Morgan	4,834	30.20%
Total votes			16,004	100%
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican Steven Neville has represented the 2nd district since 2005.

New Mexico Senate 2nd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steven Neville (incumbent)	15,057	100%
Total votes			15,057	100%
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat John Pinto has represented the 3rd district since 20.

New Mexico Senate 3rd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	12,519	100%
Total votes			12,519	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat George Muñoz has represented the 4th district since 2009.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 4th District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George Muñoz (incumbent)	3,475	63.90%
	Democratic	Felisha Adams	1,150	21.15%
	Democratic	Jordon Johnson	813	14.95%
Total votes			5,438	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 4th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George Muñoz (incumbent)	12,029	100%
Total votes			12,029	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Richard Martinez has represented the th district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 5th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Martinez (incumbent)	15,535	100%
Total votes			15,535	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Carlos Cisneros has represented the 6th district since 20.

New Mexico Senate 6th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	17,697	100%
Total votes			17,697	100%
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Pat Woods has represented the 7th district since 2012.

New Mexico Senate 7th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Woods (incumbent)	12,778	100%
Total votes			12,778	100%
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Pete Campos has represented the 8th district since 1991.

New Mexico Senate 8th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Campos (incumbent)	14,258	100%
Total votes			14,258	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat John Sapien has represented the 9th district since 2009.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 9th District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sapien (incumbent)	3,878	61.56%
	Democratic	Jodilynn Ortiz	2,422	38.44%
Total votes			6,300	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 9th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sapien (incumbent)	12,724	50.38%
	Republican	Diego Espinoza	12,534	49.62%
Total votes			25,258	100%
	Democratic hold

District 10

Incumbent Republican John Ryan has represented the 10th district since 2005. Ryan didn't seek re-election. Fellow Republican Candace Gould narrowly won the open seat.

New Mexico Senate 10th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Candace Gould	10,530	50.92%
	Democratic	David Simon	10,151	49.08%
Total votes			20,681	100%
	Republican hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Linda Lopez has represented the 11th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 11th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda Lopez (incumbent)	8,776	100%
Total votes			8,776	100%
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jerry Ortiz y Pino has represented the 12th district since 2005.

New Mexico Senate 12th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Ortiz y Pino (incumbent)	12,922	100%
Total votes			12,922	100%
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Bill O'Neill has represented the 13th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 13th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill O'Neill (incumbent)	14,089	65.89%
	Republican	A. Blair Dunn	7,294	34.11%
Total votes			21,383	100%
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat Michael Padilla has represented the 14th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 14th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Padilla (incumbent)	9,668	100%
Total votes			9,668	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Democrat Daniel Ivey-Soto has represented the 15th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 15th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Ivey-Soto (incumbent)	11,321	55.76%
	Republican	Eric Burton	8,981	44.24%
Total votes			20,302	100%
	Democratic hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Cisco McSorley has represented the 16th district since 20.

New Mexico Senate 16th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cisco McSorley (incumbent)	16,721	100%
Total votes			16,721	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Mimi Stewart has represented the 17th district since her appointment in 2015. Stewart was elected to a full term.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 17th District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mimi Stewart (incumbent)	1,745	58.58%
	Democratic	Shannon Robinson	1,234	41.42%
Total votes			2,979	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 17th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mimi Stewart (incumbent)	8,456	100%
Total votes			8,456	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican Lisa Torraco has represented the 18th district since 2013. She lost re-election to Democrat Bill Tallman.

New Mexico Senate 18th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Tallman	12,203	50.95%
	Republican	Lisa Torraco (incumbent)	11,750	49.05%
Total votes			23,953	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 19

Incumbent Republican James White has represented the 19th district since his appointment in 2016.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 19th District Republican primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James White (incumbent)	2,431	51.43%
	Republican	Anthony Linn Thornton	1,408	29.79%
	Republican	James Roger Wilder	480	10.15%
	Republican	Herb Gadberry	408	8.63%
Total votes			4,727	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 19th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James White (incumbent)	14,905	61.29%
	Democratic	Harold Murphree	9,415	38.71%
Total votes			24,320	100%
	Republican hold

District 20

Incumbent Republican William Payne has represented the 20th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 20th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Payne (incumbent)	16,893	100%
Total votes			16,893	100%
	Republican hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican Mark Moores has represented the 21st district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 21st District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Moores (incumbent)	14,164	56.09%
	Democratic	Gregory Frazier	11,087	43.91%
Total votes			25,251	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Democrat Benny Shendo has represented the 22nd district since 2013.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 22nd District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benny Shendo (incumbent)	3,554	63.17%
	Democratic	Sandra Jeff	2,072	36.83%
Total votes			5,626	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 22nd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benny Shendo (incumbent)	12,472	100%
Total votes			12,472	100%
	Democratic hold

District 23

Incumbent Republican Sander Rue has represented the 23rd district since 2009.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 23rd District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joy Garratt	2,392	51.40%
	Democratic	Joe Chavez	2,262	48.60%
Total votes			4,654	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 23rd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sander Rue (incumbent)	11,794	51.74%
	Democratic	Joy Garratt	11,001	48.26%
Total votes			22,795	100%
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Nancy Rodriguez has represented the 24th district since 1996.

New Mexico Senate 24th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nancy Rodriguez (incumbent)	16,155	100%
Total votes			16,155	100%
	Democratic hold

District 25

Incumbent Democratic Majority Leader Peter Wirth has represented the 25th district since 2009.

New Mexico Senate 25th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Wirth (incumbent)	26,958	100%
Total votes			26,958	100%
	Democratic hold

District 26

Incumbent Democrat Jacob Candelaria has represented the 26th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 26th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jacob Candelaria (incumbent)	11,330	100%
Total votes			11,330	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Republican Minority Leader Stuart Ingle has represented the 27th district since 1985.

New Mexico Senate 27th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stuart Ingle (incumbent)	12,589	100%
Total votes			12,589	100%
	Republican hold

District 28

Incumbent Democrat Howie Morales has represented the 28th district since 20.

New Mexico Senate 28th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howie Morales (incumbent)	15,063	100%
Total votes			15,063	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Democrat Michael Sanchez has represented the 29th district since 1993. He lost re-election to Republican Gregory Baca.

New Mexico Senate 29th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gregory Baca	8,965	54.96%
	Democratic	Michael Sanchez (incumbent)	7,348	45.04%
Total votes			16,313	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 30

Incumbent Democrat Clemente Sanchez has represented the 30th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 30th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clemente Sanchez (incumbent)	11,973	100%
Total votes			11,973	100%
	Democratic hold

District 31

Incumbent Democrat Joe Cervantes has represented the 31st district since 2012.

New Mexico Senate 31st District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Cervantes (incumbent)	9,443	100%
Total votes			9,443	100%
	Democratic hold

District 32

Incumbent Republican Cliff Pirtle has represented the 32nd district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 32nd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cliff Pirtle (incumbent)	8,480	100%
Total votes			8,480	100%
	Republican hold

District 33

Incumbent Republican William Burt has represented the 33rd district and its predecessors since 2011.

New Mexico Senate New Mexico Senate 33rd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Burt (incumbent)	14,648	100%
Total votes			14,648	100%
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Ron Griggs has represented the 34th district since 2012.

New Mexico Senate 34th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Griggs (incumbent)	11,542	100%
Total votes			11,542	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

Incumbent Democrat John Arthur Smith has represented the 35th district since 1989.

New Mexico Senate 35th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Arthur Smith (incumbent)	12,502	100%
Total votes			12,502	100%
	Democratic hold

District 36

Incumbent Republican Lee Cotter has represented the 36th district since 2013. He lost re-election to Democrat Jeff Steinborn.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 36th District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Steinborn	2,952	65.48%
	Democratic	Oscar Vasquez Butler	1,556	34.52%
Total votes			4,508	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 36th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeff Steinborn	10,579	59.64%
	Republican	Lee Cotter (incumbent)	7,158	40.36%
Total votes			17,737	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 37

Incumbent Democrat William Soules has represented the 37th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 37th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Soules (incumbent)	11,374	55.47%
	Republican	Cecelia Levatino	9,131	44.53%
Total votes			20,505	100%
	Democratic hold

District 38

Incumbent Democrat President Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen has represented the 38th district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 38th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Kay Papen (incumbent)	9,588	67.04%
	Republican	Charles Wendler	4,713	32.96%
Total votes			14,301	100%
	Democratic hold

District 39

Incumbent Republican Ted Barela has represented the 39th district since his appointment on April 3, 2015. He ran for re-election to a full term, but he was defeated for re-election by Democrat Liz Stefanics.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 39th District Democratic primary election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Liz Stefanics	2,377	38.38%
	Democratic	Mike Dale Anaya	1,398	22.57%
	Democratic	Ambrose Castellano	1,298	20.96%
	Democratic	Hugh Ley	1,120	18.08%
Total votes			6,193	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 39th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Liz Stefanics	9,622	50.99%
	Republican	Ted Barela (incumbent)	9,250	49.01%
Total votes			18,872	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 40

Incumbent Republican Craig Brandt has represented the 40th district since 2013.

New Mexico Senate 40th District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig Brandt (incumbent)	12,490	55.29%
	Democratic	Linda Sanchez Allison	10,099	44.71%
Total votes			22,589	100%
	Republican hold

District 41

Incumbent Republican Carroll Leavell has represented the 41st district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 41st District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carroll Leavell (incumbent)	9,006	100%
Total votes			9,006	100%
	Republican hold

District 42

Incumbent Republican Gay Kernan has represented the th district since 2002.

New Mexico Senate 42nd District general election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gay Kernan (incumbent)	15,206	100%
Total votes			15,206	100%
	Republican hold

See also

• 2016 New Mexico elections
• 2016 United States elections
• 2016 United States presidential election in New Mexico
• 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
• 2016 New Mexico House of Representatives election

External links

• New Mexico at Ballotpedia