2016 New Mexico elections

2016 New Mexico Supreme Court election
← 2012 November 8, 2016 2020 →
	County results; Nakamura: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Vigil: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Supreme Court Justice before election; Judith Nakamura; Republican	Elected Supreme Court Justice ; Judith Nakamura; Republican

2016 New Mexico Secretary of State special election
← 2014 November 8, 2016 2018 →
	Toulouse Oliver: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% ; Espinoza: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Secretary of State before election; Brad Winter; Republican	Elected Secretary of State ; Maggie Toulouse Oliver; Democratic

A general election was held in the U.S. state of New Mexico on November 8, 2016. In the presidential election, voters in the state chose five electors to represent them in the Electoral College via popular vote. All three New Mexico seats to the United States House of Representatives were up for election. A special election was held for Secretary of State, along with all seats in both houses of the New Mexico Legislature. Primary elections were held on June 7.

Federal elections

U.S. President

2016 United States presidential election in New Mexico^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Hillary Clinton	385,234	48.26	4.73
	Republican	Donald Trump	319,667	40.04	2.80
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson	74,541	9.34	5.79
	Green	Jill Stein	9,879	1.24	0.90
	Independent	Evan McMullin	5,825	0.73
	Constitution	Darrell Castle	1,514	0.15	0.02
	Socialism and Liberation	Gloria La Riva	1,184	0.15
	American Delta	Rocky De La Fuente	475	0.06
Majority			65,567	8.21	1.94
Total votes			798,319	100.00

U.S. House of Representatives

All three incumbents were reelected: Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham of the 1st district, Republican Steve Pearce of the 2nd district, and Democrat Ben Ray Luján of the 3rd district.

State elections

Secretary of State (special election)

On October 22, 2015, incumbent Secretary of State Dianna Duran resigned amid a corruption and campaign law investigation.^[2] Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who ran against Duran in 2014, defeated Republican Nora Espinoza to fill the remainder of her term.^[3]

Republican primary

Republican Brad Winter, who was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez following Duran's resignation, chose not to run for a full term.^[4] Because of this, state representative Nora Espinoza ran unopposed in the primary election.

Republican primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Nora Espinoza	83,759	100.0%
Total votes			83,759	100.0%

Democratic primary

Bernalillo County clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver was the only Democrat to declare her candidacy, and ran unopposed in the primary election.

Democratic primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maggie Toulouse Oliver	172,837	100.0%
Total votes			172,837	100.0%

General election

2016 New Mexico Secretary of State special election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Maggie Toulouse Oliver	433,227	56.41%	+8.05%
	Republican	Nora Espinoza	334,733	43.59%	−8.05%
Total votes			767,960	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

New Mexico Legislature

All seats of the New Mexico Legislature were up for election in 2016. The New Mexico Senate has 42 members elected to four-year terms, while the New Mexico House of Representatives has 70 members elected to two-year terms.

Senate

Party		Before	Won	+/-
	Democratic	24	26	2
	Republican	18	16	2
Total		42	42

House of Representatives

Party		Before	Won	+/-
	Democratic	33	38	5
	Republican	37	32	5
Total		70	70

Democrats strengthened their control of the Senate and regained control of the House, securing both legislative chambers.^[7]^[8]

Ballot measures

Constitutional Amendment 1

The New Mexico Denial of Bail Measure is a constitutional amendment that allows courts to deny bail to a defendant charged with a felony, but only if the defendant is deemed a threat to the public. It was designed to retain the right to pretrial release for non-dangerous defendants.^[9]

New Mexico Denial of Bail Measure
Choice	Votes	%
For	616,887	87.23
Against	90,293	12.77
Total	707,180	100.00

Source: Ballotpedia

Judicial elections

Supreme Court

Incumbent justice Judith Nakamura was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez on November 12, 2015, after Justice Richard C. Bosson retired.^[10] Justice Nakamura ran to complete the remainder of Justice Bosson's term ending in 2020, and was challenged by Democratic candidate Michael Vigil, the chief judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

To date, this the last time Republicans have won a statewide election in New Mexico.

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Judith Nakamura (R)	Michael Vigil (D)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc.^[11]	November 1–3, 2016	504 (LV)	± 4.4%	45%	45%	10%

Results

2016 New Mexico Supreme Court election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Judith K. Nakamura (incumbent)	396,303	52.00%
	Democratic	Michael E. Vigil	365,790	48.00%
Total votes			762,093	100.0%
	Republican hold

Retention election

Incumbent justice Barbara Vigil was up for retention for a full 8-year term.

2016 New Mexico Supreme Court, Justice Barbara J. Vigil (D) Retention election^[6]
Choice	Votes	%
For	448,125	71.60
Against	177,735	28.40
Total	625,860	100.00

Court of Appeals

Incumbent Judge Stephen French was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez on February 18, 2016, after Judge Cynthia Fry retired.^[12] Judge French ran for re-election to complete the remainder of Judge Fry's term ending in 2022. He was challenged by Democratic candidate Julie Vargas, a private attorney.

General election

2016 New Mexico Court of Appeals election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Julie J. Vargas	395,227	52.48%
	Republican	Stephen French (incumbent)	357,837	47.52%
Total votes			753,064	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Retention election

Incumbent Judges Jonathan Sutin, Timothy Garcia, and Monica Zamora were up for retention for a full 8-year term.

2016 New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge Jonathan B. Sutin (R) Retention election^[6]
Choice	Votes	%
For	426,481	70.42
Against	179,122	29.58
Total	605,603	100.00

2016 New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge Tim L. Garcia (D) Retention election^[6]
Choice	Votes	%
For	424,372	70.28
Against	179,423	29.72
Total	603,795	100.00

2016 New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge M. Monica Zamora (D) Retention election^[6]
Choice	Votes	%
For	432,540	71.05
Against	176,230	28.95
Total	608,770	100.00

References

↑ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

↑ "Federal Elections 2016" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. December 2017.
↑ "New Mexico Secretary Of State Dianna Duran Resigns Amid Fraud Investigation". Associated Press. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
↑ Yingling, Sara (November 9, 2016). "Toulouse Oliver becomes New Mexico's Secretary of State". KRQE. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
↑ "Gov. Martinez appoints Brad Winter as NM Sec. of State". www.KOB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
1 2 "Official Results 2016 PRIMARY JUNE 7, 2016".
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Official Results 2016 GENERAL NOVEMBER 8, 2016". New Mexico Secretary of State.
↑ "New Mexico State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia.
↑ "New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2016". Ballotpedia.
↑ "Senate Join Resolution 1" (PDF). New Mexico Legislature.
↑ Sandlin, Scott (November 13, 2015). "Gov. Martinez picks Nakamura for New Mexico Supreme Court". Albuquerque Journal.
↑ Research & Polling Inc.
↑ "Governor makes appointment to New Mexico Court of Appeals". CT Insider. February 18, 2016.

[Key-11] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[1] "Federal Elections 2016" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. December 2017.

[2] "New Mexico Secretary Of State Dianna Duran Resigns Amid Fraud Investigation". Associated Press. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.

[3] Yingling, Sara (November 9, 2016). "Toulouse Oliver becomes New Mexico's Secretary of State". KRQE. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[4] "Gov. Martinez appoints Brad Winter as NM Sec. of State". www.KOB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2015.

[prim1-5] 1 2 "Official Results 2016 PRIMARY JUNE 7, 2016".

[gen1-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Official Results 2016 GENERAL NOVEMBER 8, 2016". New Mexico Secretary of State.

[7] "New Mexico State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia.

[8] "New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2016". Ballotpedia.

[9] "Senate Join Resolution 1" (PDF). New Mexico Legislature.

[10] Sandlin, Scott (November 13, 2015). "Gov. Martinez picks Nakamura for New Mexico Supreme Court". Albuquerque Journal.

[12] Research & Polling Inc.

[13] "Governor makes appointment to New Mexico Court of Appeals". CT Insider. February 18, 2016.

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