Primary Outlook: Women Candidates in New Mexico

Kelly Dittmar

Gender Watch 2018From March to December 2018, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) partnered to offer Gender Watch 2018, which tracked, analyzed, and illuminated gender dynamics in the 2018 midterm elections. With the help of expert scholars and practitioners, Gender Watch 2018 furthered public understanding of how gender influences candidate strategy, voter engagement and expectations, media coverage, and electoral outcomes in campaigns. The blog below was written for Gender Watch 2018, as part of our collective effort to raise questions, suggest answers, and complicate popular discussions about gender’s role U.S. elections.

 

Ahead of the New Mexico primary election on June 5, 2018, we outline the numbers and proportions of women who have filed as candidates for congressional and statewide office. The data below also provide points of historical comparison to give context to today’s presence and potential success of women candidates.

All data are provided from the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. For a full list of the women candidates in NM primary races for congressional and statewide offices, see CAWP’s Election Watch page.

CONGRESS

Current: 1 of 5 members of the New Mexico congressional delegation (20%)
Filed: 6 (4D, 2R)
Percent of all Filed Congressional Candidates (D/R): 33.3% (6 of 18)

SENATE

Current: 0 of 2 senators (0%)

  • No woman has ever served in the U.S. Senate from New Mexico.

Filed: 0

  • There are no women candidates for the U.S. Senate in New Mexico this year. Incumbent Martin Heinrich (D) is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination and Mick Rich is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to challenge Heinrich this fall.

HOUSE

Current: 1 of 3 representatives (33.3%)

  • 3 (2D, 1R) women have represented New Mexico in the U.S. House, including current Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who is the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House from New Mexico. Lujan Grisham is not running for re-election to the U.S. House this year because she is running for governor.

Filed: 6 (4D, 2R)

  • All 6 (4D, 2R) women candidates for the U.S. House in New Mexico are competing in 2 open seat contests.
    • 2 Democratic women candidates are competing in both the 1st and 2nd congressional district primaries.
    • 1 Republican woman candidate is competing in both the 1st and 2nd congressional district primaries.
  • Of the 6 women candidates for the U.S. House, 3 (50%) are women of color. They include:
    • Debra Haaland (D), who is running in New Mexico’s 1st congressional district to become the first Native American woman in Congress; and
    • Latinas Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM02) and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-NM01).

Districts with Women Candidates: 2 of 3
Percent of all Filed House Candidates (D/R):  37.5% (6 of 16)
Percent of all Filed Democratic House Candidates:  40% (4 of 10)
Percent of all Filed Republican House Candidates: 33.3% (2 of 6)

Recent history: The number of women who filed for major party candidacy for the U.S. House in New Mexico in 2018 is greater than any other year between 2008 and 2018.

  • In 2008, when all 3 of New Mexico’s U.S. House seats were open, just 2 (2D) women filed as primary candidates. This year, 2 of 3 U.S. House seats in New Mexico are open.
  • This year marks highest number of Democratic and Republican women running for the U.S. House in New Mexico in the past decade.

GOVERNOR

Current: 1
Governor Susana Martinez (R) currently serves as governor of New Mexico. She is the first woman governor of the state, as well as the first Latina governor nationwide. After completing two terms, she is not eligible to run for re-election this year.

Filed: 1 (1D)

  • Current U.S. Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham is running for the open gubernatorial seat. She will compete against 2 men for the Democratic nomination.
  • If successful, Lujan Grisham could become the first Democratic woman of color and first Democratic Latina elected governor in the U.S.

Percent of all Filed Gubernatorial Candidates (D/R):  25% (1 of 4)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates:  33.3% (1 of 3)
Percent of all Filed Republican Gubernatorial Candidates: 0% (0 of 1)

Recent history: Women have won 3 of 4 major party nominations for governor in the past 2 gubernatorial elections (2010 and 2014) in New Mexico. However, these have been the only gubernatorial contests with women major party nominees in New Mexico’s history.

OTHER STATEWIDE ELECTED EXECUTIVE OFFICES

Current: 1 (1D) of 6 positions (excludes governor) (16.7%)

  • Democratic incumbent Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver has filed for re-election. She is unopposed in the primary.

Filed:  4 (2D, 2R)

  • 2 (1D, 1R) women are running in open seat contests for lieutenant governor and commissioner of public lands.
  • 1 (1R) woman is running unopposed to challenge Democratic incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver for secretary of state, ensuring that women will represent both major parties in the secretary of state contest this November.

Of all 5 women candidates for statewide executive office in New Mexico (including governor), 3 are Latinas:

  • Democratic gubernatorial candidates Michelle Lujan Grisham
  • Democratic candidate for commissioner of lands Stephanie Garcia Richard
  • Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Michelle Garcia Holmes, who is unopposed for the Republican nomination

Percent of all Filed Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates (D/R): 23.5% (4 of 17)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates: 18.2% (2 of 11)
Percent of all Filed Republican Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates: 33.3% (2 of 6)

Kelly Dittmar headshot

Kelly Dittmar

Kelly Dittmar is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers–Camden and Director of Research and Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She is the co-author of A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Representation Matters (Oxford University Press, 2018) (with Kira Sanbonmatsu and Susan J. Carroll) and author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns (Temple University Press, 2015).

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