NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Over 200,000 New Mexicans cast ballots to decide which candidates will square-off this November. You probably already know some of the results. But do you know which precincts voted for winning candidates?
To dive deeper into the results of the 2022 primary election, KRQE News 13 mapped and analyzed the unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State (NMSOS). The results show exactly where candidates saw support throughout their districts and where there were voter holdouts.
Ronchetti’s victory
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti beat out four other Republican candidates to secure his party’s nomination on the road to the November general election. He received more than 50% of the 117,115 votes cast during the primary election, data from NMSOS shows.
Much of his support came from northern and central New Mexico counties. Of votes cast in the race for the Republicans, he received more than 70% of the vote in Rio Arriba, Mora, Harding, Taos, Los Alamos, Guadalupe, and Cibola Counties, the data reveals.
He received comparatively little support from southern and eastern New Mexico counties. In Grant, Sierra, and Doña Ana Counties, for example, he received less than 40% of the votes cast among Republican candidates. In fact, in those counties, Rebecca Dow prevailed with the majority of the votes. A Sierra county native, Dow has represented Truth or Consequences and surrounding areas as a New Mexico House lawmaker since 2017.
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Interactive Maps: While Mark Ronchetti saw support from a majority of New Mexico counties, runner-up Rebecca Dow clearly had more support in a few southern counties. Data from NMSOS.
Within Bernalillo County, Mark Ronchetti saw relatively strong support from most precincts. Precincts in the North Valley and the Eastside showed support of varying levels. But he saw more support from Airport and South Valley voters, the data shows.
Rebecca Dow, on the other hand, saw her greatest support within Bernalillo County from North Valley and Eastside voters. Although throughout Bernalillo County, Dow never received more than about 40% of votes cast for Republican gubernatorial candidates, she did see support from a few precincts throughout the area.
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Interactive Images: In the race for the Republican candidate for governor, Mark Ronchetti had strong support throughout Bernalillo County, but Rebecca Dow did get votes in a few precincts. Data from NMSOS ,UNMRGIS.
A close race for the democratic attorney general candidate
Two candidates competed to become the Democratic candidate in the race for the state’s attorney general. Raúl Torrez and Brian Colón had a relatively close race, with Torrez getting about 6% more of the votes than Colón.
Support for Torrez was strongest in a few southern New Mexico counties, where he received around 60% of the votes cast for the Democratic attorney general candidates. He had the least support in Harding County, where he received only about 31% of the votes.
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Interactive Map: Torrez saw relatively strong support throughout the state. In only one county did he see less than 40% of the votes. Data from NMSOS.
In Bernalillo County — where Torrez is currently the district attorney — he only received a slight majority of the votes. Of the 56.33% of votes from the county cast in his favor, Torrez saw a scattering of support from various precincts throughout the county.
He received the vast majority of votes in only a few precincts in Bernalillo county. But he did see relatively strong support from the Eastside of Albuquerque.
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Support for Raúl Torrez was spread throughout Bernalillo County. Data from NMSOS,UNMRGIS.
Democratic state auditor race shows a county-level split
Joseph Maestas battled against Zachary Quintero to become the Democratic candidate for the state auditor’s seat. Maestas earned nearly 20,000 more votes than Quintero to achieve a statewide victory. But the results do show a geographic split.
The majority of Maestas’ support came from Northern New Mexico, where he has some political recognition. He formerly served as the mayor of Española, in Rio Arriba County.
In that county, Maestas received more than 80% of the votes in the race for a Democratic candidate for state auditor. He also received nearly 80% in Mora County and over 80% in Harding.
In the southern half of the state, Quintero was able to gain more ground. Quintero received the most support from Doña Ana and Catron Counties. A southern New Mexico native, Quintero was raised in Las Cruces.
In Bernalillo County, the vote was almost perfectly split between the two candidates. Quintero previously challenged longtime Albuquerque City Councilor Isaac Benton in the 2019 city election, where a close District 2 race went to a runoff.
What’s next on the road to November?
Candidates who were victorious in the primary are now campaigning for the November general election. For some, getting votes in November will likely require even more work than during the primary — especially in the governor’s race.
“It’s going to be a competitive race,” KRQE News 13 political analyst Gabe Sanchez says. “I think the [incumbent] Governor has got all the resources she needs . . . but, things tighten up down the home stretch. And I anticipate they will as we think about the general election.”
An in-depth look at the results and what’s coming next can be found in next week’s episode of the KRQE News 13 New Mexico News Podcast. The conversation with Sanchez will be available Tuesday, June 14.
