2000 New Mexico Senate election

Not to be confused with 2000 United States Senate election in New Mexico.

2000 New Mexico Senate election

November 7, 2000
All 42 seats in the New Mexico Senate 22 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Manny Aragon Skip Vernon (Retired) Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 14th - Albuquerque 15th - Albuquerque Last election 25 17 Seats before 25 17 Seats won 24 18 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 245,440 245,026 Percentage 48.25% 48.17%
Results:      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold
President pro tempore before election Manny Aragon Democratic Elected President pro tempore Richard Romero Democratic

The 2000 New Mexico Senate election 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 U.S. president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and state house.

A primary election on June 6, 2000, determined which candidates appeared on the November 7 general election ballot.

Results summary

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected senator	Party
1	Raymond Kysar Jr.		Rep	William Sharer		Rep
2	R. L. Stockard		Rep	Allen Hurt		Rep
3	John Pinto		Dem	John Pinto		Dem
4	Gloria Howes		Dem	Lidio Rainaldi		Dem
5	Arthur Rodarte		Dem	Richard Martinez		Dem
6	Carlos Cisneros		Dem	Carlos Cisneros		Dem
7	Patrick Lyons		Rep	Patrick Lyons		Rep
8	Pete Campos		Dem	Pete Campos		Dem
9	Pauline Eisenstadt		Dem	Steve Komadina		Rep
10	Ramsay Gorham		Rep	Ramsay Gorham		Rep
11	Linda Lopez		Dem	Linda Lopez		Dem
12	Richard Romero		Dem	Richard Romero		Dem
13	Dede Feldman		Dem	Dede Feldman		Dem
14	Manny Aragon		Dem	Manny Aragon		Dem
15	Skip Vernon		Rep	Diane Snyder		Rep
16	Cisco McSorley		Dem	Cisco McSorley		Dem
17	Shannon Robinson		Dem	Shannon Robinson		Dem
18	Mark Boitano		Rep	Mark Boitano		Rep
19	Sue Wilson		Rep	Sue Wilson		Rep
20	William Payne		Rep	William Payne		Rep
21	William Davis		Rep	Kent Cravens		Rep
22	Leonard Tsosie		Dem	Leonard Tsosie		Dem
23	Joseph Carraro		Rep	Joseph Carraro		Rep
24	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem
25	Roman Maes III		Dem	Roman Maes III		Dem
26	Phillip Maloof		Dem	Bernadette Sanchez		Dem
27	Stuart Ingle		Rep	Stuart Ingle		Rep
28	Ben Altamirano		Dem	Ben Altamirano		Dem
29	Michael Sanchez		Dem	Michael Sanchez		Dem
30	Joseph Fidel		Dem	Joseph Fidel		Dem
31	Cynthia Nava		Dem	Cynthia Nava		Dem
32	Timothy Jennings		Dem	Timothy Jennings		Dem
33	Rod Adair		Rep	Rod Adair		Rep
34	Don Kidd		Rep	Don Kidd		Rep
35	John Arthur Smith		Dem	John Arthur Smith		Dem
36	Mary Jane Garcia		Dem	Mary Jane Garcia		Dem
37	Leonard Lee Rawson		Rep	Leonard Lee Rawson		Rep
38	Fernando Macias		Dem	Mary Kay Papen		Dem
39	Phil Griego		Dem	Phil Griego		Dem
40	Dianna Duran		Rep	Dianna Duran		Rep
41	Carroll Leavell		Rep	Carroll Leavell		Rep
42	Billy McKibben		Rep	Shirley Bailey		Rep

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	31	245,440	48.25%	24	1	57.14%
	Republican	31	245,026	48.17%	18	1	42.86%
	Green	1	7,638	1.50%	0		0.00%
	Libertarian	2	5,534	1.09%	0		0.00%
	Independent	2	4,286	0.84%	0		0.00%
	Write-in	2	729	0.14%	0		0.00%
Total		69	508,653	100%	42		100%

Popular vote Democratic   48.25% Republican   48.17% Green   1.50% Libertarian   1.09% Independent   0.84% Write-in   0.14%

Senate seats Democratic   57.14% Republican   42.86%

Incumbents defeated in the primary election

• R.L. Stockard (R-District 2), defeated by Allen Hurt (R)
• Arthur Rodarte (D-District 5), defeated by Richard Martinez (D)

Open seats that changed parties

• Pauline Eisenstadt (D-District 9) did not seek re-election, seat won by Steve Komadina (R)

Detailed results

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

District 1

Incumbent Republican Raymond Kysar Jr. had represented the 1st district since 1989. Kysar did not seek re-election, and fellow Republican William Sharer won the open seat.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 1st district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Sharer	1,655	54.57%
	Republican	Sherry Galloway	1,378	45.43%
Total votes			3,033	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 1st district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Sharer	10,232	81.80%
	Libertarian	Ronald Barrett	2,276	18.20%
Total votes			12,508	100%
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican R. L. Stockard had represented the 2nd district since 1997. Stockard lost re-nomination to fellow Republican Allen Hurt, who went on to win the general election.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 1st district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Allen Hurt	1,745	56.18%
	Republican	R. L. Stockard (incumbent)	1,361	43.82%
Total votes			3,106	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 2nd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Allen Hurt	9,234	65.34%
	Democratic	Darla Whitney-Welles	4,899	34.66%
Total votes			14,133	100%
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat John Pinto had represented the 3rd district since 1977.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	3,125	75.36%
	Democratic	Virginia Bitsilly	1,022	24.64%
Total votes			4,147	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 3rd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	8,080	77.64%
	Republican	Jimmie Garnenez Sr.	2,327	22.36%
Total votes			10,407	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Gloria Howes had represented the 4th district since 1989. Howes did not seek re-election, and fellow Democrat Lidio Rainaldi won the open seat.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 4th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lidio Rainaldi	1,802	48.34%
	Democratic	R. David Pederson	1,095	29.37%
	Democratic	Clara Chicharello	831	22.29%
Total votes			3,728	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 4th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lidio Rainaldi	6,862	100%
Total votes			6,862	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Arthur Rodarte had represented the 5th district since 1997. Rodarte lost re-nomination to fellow Democrat Richard Martinez, who ran unopposed in the general election.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 5th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Martinez	4,030	50.77%
	Democratic	Arthur Rodarte (incumbent)	2,976	37.50%
	Democratic	David Victor Cordova	931	11.73%
Total votes			7,937	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 5th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Martinez	10,751	100%
Total votes			10,751	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Carlos Cisneros had represented the 6th district since 1985.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 6th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	3,990	54.26%
	Democratic	F. R. Bob Romero	3,364	45.74%
Total votes			7,354	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 6th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	11,745	100%
Total votes			11,745	100%
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Patrick Lyons had represented the 7th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 7th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Patrick Lyons (incumbent)	10,489	68.78%
	Democratic	Al Lopez	4,761	31.22%
Total votes			15,250	100%
	Republican hold

District 8

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

New Mexico Senate 8th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Campos (incumbent)	10,796	100%
Total votes			10,796	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Pauline Eisenstadt had represented the 9th district since 1997. Eisenstadt did not seek re-election, and Republican Steve Komadina won the open seat.

New Mexico Senate 9th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Komadina	11,703	55.11%
	Democratic	Brad Hays	9,532	44.89%
Total votes			21,235	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 10

Incumbent Republican Ramsay Gorham had represented the 10th district since 1997. Gorham's predecessor, Democrat Janice Paster, unsuccessfully sought a rematch with Gorham.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 10th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Janice Paster	2,382	80.26%
	Democratic	Gary van Valin	586	19.74%
Total votes			2,968	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 10th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ramsay Gorham (incumbent)	9,209	53.80%
	Democratic	Janice Paster	7,907	46.20%
Total votes			17,116	100%
	Republican hold

District 11

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

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 11th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda Lopez (incumbent)	1,842	68.25%
	Democratic	David Benavidez	857	31.75%
Total votes			2,699	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 11th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda Lopez (incumbent)	6,976	68.14%
	Republican	Richard Ray Sanchez	3,262	31.86%
Total votes			10,238	100%
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Richard Romero had represented the 12th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 12th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Romero (incumbent)	7,826	74.05%
	Republican	Carlton Pennington	2,742	25.95%
Total votes			10,568	100%
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Dede Feldman had represented the 13th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 13th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dede Feldman (incumbent)	10,229	100%
Total votes			10,229	100%
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat and President pro Tempore Manny Aragon had represented the 14th district since 1975.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 14th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Manny Aragon (incumbent)	1,329	53.14%
	Democratic	Tony Padilla	591	23.63%
	Democratic	Andy Padilla	581	23.23%
Total votes			2,501	100%

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 14th district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Paiz	272	50.09%
	Republican	James RR Nessle	271	49.91%
Total votes			543	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 14th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Manny Aragon (incumbent)	4,573	55.38%
	Republican	Bill Paiz	3,682	44.59%
	Independent	Hector Correa (write-in)	3	0.04%
Total votes			8,258	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Republican and Minority Leader Skip Vernon had represented the 15th district since 1985. Vernon retired to run for Bernalillo County district attorney, and fellow Republican Diane Snyder won the open seat.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 15th district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Snyder	1,351	52.84%
	Republican	Ken Whiton	1,206	47.16%
Total votes			2,557	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 15th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Snyder	7,958	53.50%
	Democratic	Andrew Mills	6,917	46.50%
Total votes			14,875	100%
	Republican hold

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Cisco McSorley had represented the 16th district since 1997.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 16th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cisco McSorley (incumbent)	1,898	66.41%
	Democratic	Carmie Lynn Toulouse	960	33.59%
Total votes			2,858	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 16th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cisco McSorley (incumbent)	11,084	100%
Total votes			11,084	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Shannon Robinson had represented the 17th district since 1989.

New Mexico Senate 17th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shannon Robinson (incumbent)	5,169	59.05%
	Republican	Mary Gilbert	3,584	40.95%
Total votes			8,753	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican Mark Boitano had represented the 18th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 18th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Boitano (incumbent)	10,971	100%
Total votes			10,971	100%
	Republican hold

District 19

Incumbent Republican Sue Wilson had represented the 19th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 19th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sue Wilson (incumbent)	12,917	100%
Total votes			12,917	100%
	Republican hold

District 20

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

New Mexico Senate 20th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Payne (incumbent)	12,228	100%
Total votes			12,228	100%
	Republican hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican William Davis had represented the 21st district since 1997. Davis did not seek re-election, and fellow Republican Kent Cravens won the open seat.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 21st district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kent Cravens	1,478	34.47%
	Republican	Richard Murray	1,284	29.94%
	Republican	Victor Marshall	812	18.94%
	Republican	Mariah Davis	500	11.66%
	Republican	David Quintana	214	4.99%
Total votes			4,288	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 21st district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kent Cravens	17,866	100%
Total votes			17,866	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Democrat Leonard Tsosie had represented the 22nd district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 22nd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Tsosie (incumbent)	9,229	100%
Total votes			9,229	100%
	Democratic hold

District 23

Incumbent Republican Joseph Carraro had represented the 23rd district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 23rd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Carraro (incumbent)	15,571	82.70%
	Libertarian	Ronald Bjornstad	3,258	17.30%
Total votes			18,829	100%
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Nancy Rodriguez had represented the 24th district since 1997.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 24th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nancy Rodriguez (incumbent)	3,193	62.22%
	Democratic	Rudy "Froggy" Fernandez	1,939	37.78%
Total votes			5,132	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 24th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nancy Rodriguez (incumbent)	11,075	100%
Total votes			11,075	100%
	Democratic hold

District 25

Incumbent Democrat Roman Maes III had represented the 25th district since 1985.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 25th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roman Maes III (incumbent)	3,559	52.46%
	Democratic	Letitia Montoya	3,225	47.54%
Total votes			6,784	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 25th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roman Maes III (incumbent)	12,720	62.48%
	Green	Ann Tyner Gleason	7,638	37.52%
Total votes			20,358	100%
	Democratic hold

District 26

Incumbent Democrat Phillip Maloof had represented the 26th district since 1994. Maloof did not seek re-election, and fellow Democrat Bernadette Sanchez won the open seat.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 26th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernadette Sanchez	1,861	51.71%
	Democratic	Joe Nestor Chavez	1,738	48.29%
Total votes			3,599	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 26th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernadette Sanchez	9,487	63.86%
	Republican	Jerry Daniele	5,368	36.14%
Total votes			14,855	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Republican Stuart Ingle had represented the 27th district since 1985.

New Mexico Senate 27th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stuart Ingle (incumbent)	6,221	100%
Total votes			6,221	100%
	Republican hold

District 28

Incumbent Democrat Ben Altamirano had represented the 28th district since 1971.

New Mexico Senate 28th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Altamirano (incumbent)	9,339	60.82%
	Republican	Richard Choate	6,017	39.18%
Total votes			15,356	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Democrat Michael Sanchez had represented the 29th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 29th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Sanchez (incumbent)	8,597	51.24%
	Republican	David Chavez	7,541	44.94%
	Independent	Alfred Bennett III	641	3.82%
Total votes			16,779	100%
	Democratic hold

District 30

Incumbent Democrat Joseph Fidel had represented the 30th district since 1973.

New Mexico Senate 30th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Fidel (incumbent)	10,498	100%
Total votes			10,498	100%
	Democratic hold

District 31

Incumbent Democrat Cynthia Nava had represented the 31st district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 31st district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cynthia Nava (incumbent)	5,466	59.25%
	Republican	Samuel Reyes	3,759	40.75%
Total votes			9,225	100%
	Democratic hold

District 32

Incumbent Democrat Timothy Jennings had represented the 32nd district since 1979.

New Mexico Senate 32nd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Timothy Jennings (incumbent)	4,928	59.19%
	Republican	Henry Zuniga	3,398	40.81%
Total votes			8,326	100%
	Democratic hold

District 33

Incumbent Republican Rod Adair had represented the 33rd district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate New Mexico Senate 33rd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Adair (incumbent)	10,326	100%
Total votes			10,326	100%
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Don Kidd had represented the 34th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 34th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Kidd (incumbent)	9,955	100%
Total votes			9,955	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

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

New Mexico Senate 35th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Arthur Smith (incumbent)	9,346	100%
Total votes			9,346	100%
	Democratic hold

District 36

Incumbent Democrat Mary Jane Garcia had represented the 36th district since 1989.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 36th district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Townsend III	630	52.63%
	Republican	Maria Sutton	567	47.37%
Total votes			1,197	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 36th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jane Garcia (incumbent)	6,876	58.51%
	Republican	John Townsend III	4,875	41.49%
Total votes			11,751	100%
	Democratic hold

District 37

Incumbent Republican Leonard Lee Rawson had represented the 37th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 37th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leonard Lee Rawson (incumbent)	9,050	71.29%
	Independent	Vincent Dovydaitis Jr.	3,645	28.71%
Total votes			12,695	100%
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent Democrat Fernando Macias had represented the 38th district since 1985. Macias did not seek re-election, and fellow Democrat Mary Kay Papen won the open seat.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 38th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Kay Papen	1,319	54.30%
	Democratic	E. Shirley Baca	1,110	45.70%
Total votes			2,429	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 38th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Kay Papen	6,560	59.24%
	Republican	Narendra Gunaji	4,514	40.76%
Total votes			11,074	100%
	Democratic hold

District 39

Incumbent Democrat Phil Griego had represented the 39th district since 1997.

Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 39th district Democratic primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Griego (incumbent)	2,974	52.59%
	Democratic	Liz Stefanics	2,681	47.41%
Total votes			5,655	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 39th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Griego (incumbent)	9,108	56.13%
	Republican	Robert Skigen	7,118	43.87%
Total votes			16,226	100%
	Democratic hold

District 40

Incumbent Republican Dianna Duran had represented the 40th district since 1993.

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 40th district Republican primary election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dianna Duran (incumbent)	2,584	85.42%
	Republican	George Caruso	441	14.58%
Total votes			3,025	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 40th district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dianna Duran (incumbent)	9,186	69.12%
	Democratic	Mable Frary	4,104	30.88%
Total votes			13,290	100%
	Republican hold

District 41

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

New Mexico Senate 41st district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carroll Leavell (incumbent)	4,574	100%
Total votes			4,574	100%
	Republican hold

District 42

Incumbent Republican Billy McKibben had represented the 42nd district since 1981. McKibben did not seek re-election, and fellow Republican Shirley Bailey won the open seat.

New Mexico Senate 42nd district general election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shirley Bailey	9,149	92.65%
	Independent	John Norris (write-in)	726	7.35%
Total votes			9,875	100%
	Republican hold

See also

• 2000 United States elections
• 2000 United States presidential election in New Mexico
• 2000 United States Senate election in New Mexico
• 2000 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
• 2000 New Mexico House of Representatives election