Lujan Grisham narrowly beats Griego

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It was a little after midnight when Michelle Lujan Grisham was officially declared the winner of the race to see who would represent Albuquerque in the US House.

Lujan Grisham beat out Eric Griego in the primary 40-35% in an expensive and ugly race.

Now that that race is over Lujan Grisham says she can focus on her campaign message, getting New Mexicans back to work.

“We’re very clear about what the messaging is, we need to focus on jobs. I’ve been bringing jobs as a county commissioner and while I’m campaigning I’m going to continue to bring jobs to Albuquerque and to the country,” Lujan Grisham told KRQE News 13.

Meanwhile State Senator Eric Griego and his fans stayed up late Tuesday hoping for a last minute win, but that didn’t happen. Now Griego says he’s worried about Lujan Grisham winning.

“I'm afraid that we were clearly the reform progressive candidate in this race and I think a lot of people are worried about what does this mean for the Democratic party I certainly am,” Griego said.

Former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez came in third with 25% of the vote.

“I’m really proud of the campaign we've run, we've had volunteers out all around town, days and days, knocking on doors, and of course we'll see how the vote actually comes in, but I couldn't be prouder of the Chavez team,” Chavez said.