2010_New_Mexico_gubernatorial_election
2010 New Mexico gubernatorial election
Election for the governorship of New Mexico
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.
Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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 County results
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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.
The Democratic primary election was held on June 1, 2010.[2]
Candidate
Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Diane Denish | 108,302 | 99.1 | |
| Democratic | Billy J. Driggs (write-in) | 1,106 | 0.9 | |
| Total votes | 109,318 | 100 | ||
Close
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.[5]
Candidates
Declared
- Janice Arnold-Jones, state representative[6]
- Pete Domenici, Jr., attorney and son of former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici[7]
- Susana Martínez, Doña Ana County district attorney[8]
- Allen Weh, former chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico[8]
Declined
- Steve Pearce, former U.S. representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008 (ran for Congress)[9]
- Heather Wilson, former U.S. representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008[10]
- Gregory Zanetti, former Bernalillo County Republican Party chair and New Mexico National Guard brigadier general[11]
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.[5]
Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
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% | 43% | 8% | 33% | 5% |
| New Mexico State University | February 9–13, 2010 | — | — | 2.5% | 29.3% | 11.5% | 6.8% | 7.4% | 42.6% |
Close
Results
Martínez
- 60–70%
- 50–60%
- 40–50%
- <40%
Weh
- <40%
- 40–50%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susana Martínez | 62,006 | 50.7 | |
| Republican | Allen Weh | 33,727 | 27.6 | |
| Republican | Doug Turner | 14,166 | 11.6 | |
| Republican | Pete Domenici, Jr. | 8,630 | 7.0 | |
| Republican | Janice Arnold-Jones | 3,740 | 3.1 | |
| Total votes | 122,269 | 100 | ||
Close
Predictions
More information Source, Ranking ...
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[12] | Tossup | October 14, 2010 |
| Rothenberg[13] | Lean R (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics[14] | Lean R (flip) | November 1, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] | Likely R (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| CQ Politics[16] | Likely D | October 28, 2010 |
Close
Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Diane Denish (D) |
Susana Martínez (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | October 24, 2010 | — | — | 42% | 52% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | October 15, 2010 | — | — | 42% | 54% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 10, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 52% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 29, 2010 | — | — | 41% | 51% | — | — |
| Albuquerque Journal | September 27–30, 2010 | — | — | 41% | 47% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | September 25–26, 2010 | — | — | 42% | 50% | — | — |
| Public Opinion Strategies | September 11–13, 2010 | — | — | 40% | 50% | — | — |
| Albuquerque Journal | August 23–27, 2010 | — | — | 39% | 45% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | August 24, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 48% | — | — |
| Magellan Strategies | June 21, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 44% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 3, 2010 | — | — | 42% | 44% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | May 25, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 42% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | May 23–25, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 49% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 24, 2010 | — | — | 51% | 32% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | February 18–20, 2010 | — | — | 46% | 32% | — | — |
Close
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Diane Denish (D) |
Janice Arnold-Jones (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 25, 2010 | — | — | 45% | 31% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | May 23–25, 2010 | — | — | 49% | 35% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 24, 2010 | — | — | 52% | 30% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | February 18–20, 2010 | — | — | 47% | 33% | — | — |
Close
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Diane Denish (D) |
Pete Domenici, Jr. (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 25, 2010 | — | — | 47% | 30% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | May 23–25, 2010 | — | — | 46% | 40% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 24, 2010 | — | — | 52% | 35% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | February 18–20, 2010 | — | — | 45% | 40% | — | — |
Close
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Diane Denish (D) |
Doug Turner (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 25, 2010 | — | — | 47% | 31% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | May 23–25, 2010 | — | — | 50% | 36% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 24, 2010 | — | — | 43% | 34% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | February 18–20, 2010 | — | — | 46% | 32% | — | — |
Close
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Diane Denish (D) |
Allen Weh (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 25, 2010 | — | — | 45% | 39% | — | — |
| SurveyUSA | May 23–25, 2010 | — | — | 47% | 42% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 24, 2010 | — | — | 45% | 35% | — | — |
| Public Policy Polling | February 18–20, 2010 | — | — | 48% | 30% | — | — |
Close
Hypothetical polling
- With Arnold-Jones
- With Domenici, Jr.
- With Turner
- With Weh
Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susana Martinez | 321,219 | 53.29% | +22.10% | ||
| Democratic | Diane Denish | 280,614 | 46.55% | -22.27% | ||
| Write-ins | Kenneth A. Gomez | 994 | 0.16% | |||
| Majority | 40,605 | 6.74% | -30.90% | |||
| Turnout | 602,832 | |||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
Close
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Bernalillo (largest city: Albuquerque)
- Chaves (largest village: Roswell)
- Curry (largest village: Clovis)
- 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)
- Luna (largest city: Deming)
- Otero (largest city: Alamogordo)
- Quay (largest city: Tucumcari)
- Roosevelt (largest city: Portales)
- Sandoval (largest city: Rancho)
- San Juan (largest city: Farmington)
- Sierra (largest city: Truth or Consequences)
- Socorro (largest city: Socorro)
- Torrance (largest city: Moriarty)
- Union (largest city: Clayton)
- Valencia (largest village: Los Lunas)
- De Baca (largest city: Fort Sumner)
- Colfax (largest city: Raton)
- Los Alamos (largest city: Los Alamos)
- "Richardson withdrawal leaves cabinet gap". NBC News. January 6, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- Rudin, Ken (January 25, 2010). "Your 2010 Election Calendar". National Public Radio. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- Jennings, Trip (November 5, 2009). "Denish, running for governor, steps into budgetary fray". The New Mexico Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 1, 2010 – State of New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- Haussamen, Heath (March 13, 2010). "Martinez takes impressive 47 percent of votes at GOP convention". The New Mexico Independent. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- "New Mexico Gov Field at Two With More Likely". CQ Politics. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "Pete Domenici Jr. to run for governor". KRQE. January 16, 2010. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "Susana Martinez officially declares candidacy for NM governor". Las Cruces Sun-News. February 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "Pearce Switches Races". Political Wire. July 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "Wilson: I won't run for governor". KRQE. October 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- Ornelas, Chris (July 17, 2009). "GOP gubernatorial candidate drops out". KOB. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "2010 Governors Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- "Governor Ratings". Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- "2010 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- "THE CRYSTAL BALL'S FINAL CALLS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- "Race Ratings Chart: Governor". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- "Canvass of Returns of General Election Held on November 2, 2010 – State of New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011.
- New Mexico Secretary of State – Elections Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
- 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)