United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2008

The 2008 congressional elections in New Mexico were held on November 4, 2008 to determine New Mexico's representation in the United States House of Representatives. The party primary elections were held June 3, 2008.[1] Martin Heinrich, Harry Teague, and Ben R. Luján, all Democrats, were elected to represent New Mexico in the House. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the winners of the election currently serve in the 111th Congress, which began on January 4, 2009 and is scheduled to end on January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election and senatorial elections.

New Mexico has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of two Republicans and one Democrat. All three incumbents chose to vie for New Mexico's open Senate seat. The election resulted in all three New Mexico seats are being occupied by freshman Democrats. Districts 1 and 2 changed from Republican to Democratic; CQ Politics had forecast that these seats might be at risk for the Republican Party.

Match-up summary

District Incumbent 2008 Status Democratic Republican Independent
1 Heather Wilson Open Martin Heinrich Darren White None
2 Steve Pearce Open Harry Teague Edward R. Tinsley, III None
3 Tom Udall Open Ben R. Luján Dan East Carol Miller

District 1

This district includes the central area of New Mexico, in and around Albuquerque. An open seat, CQ Politics forecast the race as 'No Clear Favorite'. The Rothenberg Political Report rated it 'Pure Toss-Up'. The Cook Political Report ranked it 'Lean Democratic'.

Martin Heinrich (D) (campaign website)
Darren White (R) (campaign website)

The 2006 race between incumbent Republican Heather Wilson and Democratic state Attorney General Patricia Madrid was a cliffhanger, with Wilson being reelected by 861 votes. John Kerry narrowly won the district with 52% in 2004 (CPVI=D+2). With the retirement of longtime U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, Wilson ran and lost as a candidate for the Republican nomination in the race for an open U.S. Senate seat, leaving this an open seat.[2] The Democratic nominee was Martin Heinrich (former Albuquerque City Councilor). The Republican nominee was Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White.[3] In the general election, Heinrich defeated White by a margin of 11%. When sworn into Congress in January 2009, Heinrich became the first Democrat to ever represent this district in the House.

Primary elections

2008 Democratic Primary Congressional Election, District 1[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Martin T. Heinrich 22,344 44%
Democratic Rebecca D. Vigil-Giron 12,659 25%
Democratic Michelle Lujan Grisham 12,073 24%
Democratic Robert L. Pidcock 4,272 8%
Majority 9,685
Turnout 51,348
2008 Republican Primary Congressional Election, District 1
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Darren White 57,878 88%
Republican Joseph J. Carraro 8,244 12%
Majority 49,634
Turnout 66,122

General election

2008 General Congressional Election, District 1
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Martin T. Heinrich 163,622 55.5%
Republican Darren White 131,284 44.5%
Majority 32,338 11%
Turnout 294,906

District 2

This district covers the southern half of the state of New Mexico, including Las Cruces and Roswell. CQ Politics forecast the race as 'Leans Republican'. The Rothenberg Political Report rated it 'Pure Toss-Up'. The Cook Political Report ranked it 'Republican Toss Up'.

Republican incumbent Steve Pearce won his party's nomination over Heather Wilson for the U.S. Senate, leaving this an open seat.[5] This district usually votes Republican. George W. Bush won the district 58% to 42% over John Kerry in 2004 (CPVI=R+6). Nevertheless, Democratic nominee Harry Teague defeated Republican Edward R. Tinsely III in the general election and is the first Democrat to represent this district since 1981.

Candidates

Harry Teague
Democratic nominee for
U.S. Representative for New Mexico, 2nd District
Election date
November 4, 2008
Opponent(s) Edward Roy Tinsley, III (R)
Incumbent Steve Pearce (R)
Personal details
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Nancy
Occupation small business owner
Website harryforcongress.com
Edward R. Tinsley, III
Republican nominee for
U.S. Representative for New Mexico, 2nd District
Election date
November 4, 2008
Opponent(s) Harry Teague (D)
Incumbent Steve Pearce (R)
Personal details
Born Lamesa, Dawson County, Texas
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Meredith George Tinsley
Residence Capitan, Lincoln County, New Mexico
Alma mater

University of Texas

Texas Tech University
Occupation Franchisor of K-Bob's Steakhouse; Rancher, Lawyer
Religion Methodist
Website www.edtinsleyforcongress.com
Harry Teague (D)

Teague is a Hobbs business owner, civic leader and former Lea County Commissioner.

Edward R. Tinsley III (R)

Tinsley is a restaurateur.[6]

Primary elections

2008 Democratic Primary Congressional Election, District 2[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Teague 20,206 52%
Democratic Bill McCamley 18,489 48%
Majority 1,717
Turnout 38,695
2008 Republican Primary Congressional Election, District 2
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Edward R. Tinsley III 11,469 32%
Republican Monty Newman 7,476 21%
Republican Aubrey Dunn 7,331 20%
Republican Greg Sowards 6,427 18%
Republican C. Earl Greer 3,606 10%
Majority 3,993
Turnout 36,309

General election

2008 General Congressional Election, District 2
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Teague 127,640 55.8%
Republican Edward R. Tinsley III 101,084 44.2%
Majority 26,556 11.6%
Turnout 228,724

District 3

This district covers the northern half of the state of New Mexico, including the capital, Santa Fe. An open seat, CQ Politics forecast the race as 'Safe Democrat', as did The Rothenberg Political Report and The Cook Political Report.

Democratic incumbent Tom Udall won his party's nomination for Pete Domenici's open U.S. Senate seat,.[8] The Democrats tend to hold the advantage in the district: John Kerry received 54% of the vote there (CPVI=D+6) in 2004. The Democratic nominee was State Public Regulation Commissioner Ben R. Luján. Luján's father serves as Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives. The Republican nominee was small business owner Dan East. Carol Miller, a 1997/1998 Green Party candidate, was seeking the seat as an independent.[9] Luján won the three-way race fairly easily and was sworn into Congress in January 2009.

Primary elections

2008 Democratic Primary Congressional Election, District 3[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ben R. Luján 26,776 42%
Democratic Don Wiviott 16,497 26%
Democratic Benny J. Shendo Jr 10,148 16%
Democratic Harry Montoya 7,234 11%
Democratic Jon Adams 1,979 3%
Democratic Rudy Martin 1,845 3%
Majority 10,279
Turnout 64,479
2008 Republican Primary Congressional Election, District 3
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Daniel East 14,767 54%
Republican Marco Gonzales 12,634 46%
Majority 2,133
Turnout 27,401

General election

2008 General Congressional Election, District 3
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ben R. Luján 158,548 56.6%
Republican Daniel East 85,969 30.7%
Independent Carol Miller 35,789 12.8%
Majority 72,579 25.9%
Turnout 280,306

References

External links

Preceded by
2006 elections		 United States House elections in New Mexico
2008 		Succeeded by
2010 elections
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