1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election

The 1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, for the four-year term beginning on January 1, 1995. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran on a ticket as running mates.

1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →
 
Nominee Gary Johnson Bruce King Roberto Mondragón
Party Republican Democratic Green
Running mate Walter Bradley Patricia A. Madrid Steven Schmidt
Popular vote 232,945 186,686 47,990
Percentage 49.81% 39.92% 10.3%

County results
Johnson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
King:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election

Bruce King
Democratic

Elected Governor

Gary Johnson
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Bruce King ran for a fourth term with Patricia Madrid as a running mate, losing to Republican nominees Gary Johnson, a businessman, and Walter Bradley, a former state senator. Former Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragón ran with Steven Schmidt as the nominees of the Green Party, receiving 10.4 percent of the vote.

The election was marked by the surprising rise of Republican Gary Johnson, the 41-year-old owner of one of the state's largest construction companies. Johnson, who had never before held elected office, upset a crowded Republican primary field by a margin of fewer than 1,300 votes. With the state's non-Republicans split between the centrist King and progressive Mondragón, King failed to gain a majority and Johnson won the election with 49.8% of the vote.[1]

This is the last time a governor of New Mexico lost re-election. This was one of four gubernatorial elections where an incumbent Democrat was defeated in 1994.

Primary election

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Democratic Party

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King faced a tough renomination campaign, being challenged by incumbent Lieutenant Governor Casey Luna, who had a falling out with King in 1993 over King's refusal to give Luna a larger role in King's administration.[2] Former New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Jim Baca also challenged King.

Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bruce King (incumbent) 76,039 38.38%
Democratic Casey Luna 71,364 36.45%
Democratic Jim Baca 48,401 24.72%
Total votes 195,804 100.00%

Republican Party

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Candidates

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Declined
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Campaign

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Cheney ran on a platform highlighting cracking down on violent crime, repealing the gasoline tax, and lowering public spending.[4] During the campaign, he controversially changed his legal name from Richard to "Dick". Opponents including John Dendahl stated that people voting in the polls would confuse Cheney with the former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney from Wyoming, improving his chances of winning the primary. Public polling after the change showed that his numbers increased significantly.[5]

At the state convention, Cheney received 49% of the vote against 29% for Dendahl and 22% for Johnson.[6]

Results

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June 7, 1994 Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Gary Johnson 32,091 34.48%
Republican Dick Cheney 30,811 33.10%
Republican John Dendahl 18,007 19.35%
Republican David F. Cargo 12,105 13.01%
Republican Keith Russell Judd (write-in) 57 0.06%
Total votes 93,071 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Bruce King, the Democratic three-term incumbent[a], began the general election with the most funding and name recognition.[citation needed] King was a career politician who had first been elected to the Santa Fe County Commission in 1954, when Gary Johnson was just one year old.[7] King also had the support of the Gold Boot Club, a business-backed political coalition that channeled thousands of dollars to his campaign.[8]

King's quest for an unprecedented fourth term faced obstacles from the left and the right. From the left, King was challenged by Green Party nominee Roberto Mondragón. Mondragón was a populist former Democrat, who had served as Lieutenant Governor from 1971 to 1975 and in the state House from 1979 to 1983.[citation needed] Mondragón had a knack for appealing to both progressive whites and working-class Hispanics, and attacked King for his cushy relationships with big business.[8]

Gary Johnson was the nominee of New Mexico's Republican Party, a statewide party that had won just one gubernatorial election since 1970. Johnson faced the challenge of keeping together his Republican base while appealing to independents and Democrats frustrated with King. Johnson campaigned as a political outsider and self-made entrepreneur.[citation needed] In college, Johnson had worked as a door-to-door handyman, a business that gradually expanded into Big J Enterprises. By 1999, the company employed over 1,000 people and was worth several million dollars.[9] Johnson avoided then-divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights, and focused his campaign on pocketbook issues like taxes and the state budget. Johnson touted his experience in the business world of balancing budgets while growing his company, and promised to bring that experience to state government.[10]

In November, Gary Johnson won the election with just under 50% of the vote, while King got almost 40% and Mondragón pulled in just over 10%.

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Bruce
King (D)
Gary
Johnson (R)
Other Undecided
Santa Fe New Mexican November 3, 1994 34% 46%
Albuquerque Journal October 23, 1994 35% 40%

Results

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1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Gary Johnson 232,945 49.81% +4.66%
Democratic Bruce King (incumbent) 186,686 39.92% −14.68%
Green Roberto Mondragón 47,990 10.26%
Plurality 46,259 9.89%
Total votes 467,621 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing +19.34%

Results by county

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Johnson was the first Republican since Edwin L. Mechem in 1956 to carry Sandoval County. As of 2022, only Sandoval County and Bernalillo County have backed the winner in each gubernatorial election going back to 1990. Johnson was also the first Republican since David Cargo in 1966 to win Valencia County.

County Gary Johnson
Republican
Bruce King
Democratic
Roberto Mondragón
Green
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Bernalillo 81,732 52.82% 57,131 36.92% 15,861 10.25% 24,601 15.90% 154,724
Catron 992 66.71% 408 27.44% 87 5.85% 584 39.27% 1,487
Chaves 9,606 60.45% 5,449 34.29% 835 5.25% 4,157 26.16% 15,890
Cibola 2,387 41.39% 2,731 47.36% 649 11.25% -344 -5.96% 5,767
Colfax 1,982 41.69% 2,242 47.16% 530 11.15% -260 -5.47% 4,754
Curry 6,721 64.39% 3,377 32.35% 340 3.26% 3,344 32.04% 10,438
De Baca 482 44.55% 498 46.03% 102 9.43% -16 -1.48% 1,082
Doña Ana 17,560 53.79% 12,142 37.19% 2,945 9.02% 5,418 16.60% 32,647
Eddy 8,549 55.46% 6,129 39.76% 737 4.78% 2,420 15.70% 15,415
Grant 4,059 43.50% 4,484 48.05% 789 8.45% -425 -4.55% 9,332
Guadalupe 366 16.34% 1,253 55.94% 621 27.72% -632[b] -28.22% 2,240
Harding 280 43.55% 307 47.74% 56 8.71% -27 -4.20% 643
Hidalgo 940 49.09% 846 44.18% 129 6.74% 94 4.91% 1,915
Lea 8,616 66.68% 3,934 30.44% 372 2.88% 4,682 36.23% 12,922
Lincoln 2,850 54.11% 2,080 39.49% 337 6.40% 770 14.62% 5,267
Los Alamos 5,379 59.61% 3,043 33.72% 602 6.67% 2,336 25.89% 9,024
Luna 2,956 54.40% 2,087 38.41% 391 7.20% 869 15.99% 5,434
McKinley 4,750 35.77% 7,748 58.35% 781 5.88% -2,998 -22.58% 13,279
Mora 581 23.63% 1,377 56.00% 501 20.37% -796 -32.37% 2,459
Otero 7,921 59.89% 4,579 34.62% 725 5.48% -3,342 -25.27% 13,225
Quay 1,886 50.12% 1,574 41.83% 303 8.05% 312 8.29% 3,763
Rio Arriba 2,381 23.95% 5,770 58.03% 1,792 18.02% -3,389 -34.08% 9,943
Roosevelt 2,925 60.12% 1,745 35.87% 195 4.01% 1,180 24.25% 4,865
San Juan 16,343 61.53% 8,491 31.97% 1,729 6.51% 7,852 29.56% 26,563
San Miguel 1,789 21.44% 4,935 59.14% 1,620 19.42% -3,146 -37.70% 8,344
Sandoval 11,228 53.95% 7,670 36.85% 1,915 9.20% 3,558 17.10% 20,813
Santa Fe 10,701 29.44% 18,006 49.54% 7,638 21.02% -7,305 -20.10% 36,345
Sierra 2,390 61.31% 1,273 32.66% 235 6.03% 1,117 28.66% 3,898
Socorro 2,441 42.01% 2,737 47.11% 632 10.88% -296 -5.09% 5,810
Taos 2,221 27.64% 3,668 45.64% 2,147 26.72% -1,447 -18.01% 8,036
Torrance 1,786 43.56% 1,964 47.90% 350 8.54% -178 -4.34% 4,100
Union 903 54.46% 678 40.89% 77 4.64% 225 13.57% 1,658
Valencia 7,242 46.61% 6,330 40.74% 1,967 12.66% 912 5.87% 15,539
Total 232,945 49.81% 186,686 39.92% 47,990 10.26% 46,259 9.89% 467,621

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Notes

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  1. ^ Non-consecutive terms
  2. ^ Margin over Mondragón

References

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  1. ^ Birnbaum, Ben (August 12, 2016). "Gary Johnson Has a Plan". Politico Magazine. ISSN 2381-1595.
  2. ^ "Luna Won't Take Sides in the Race". Santa Fe New Mexican. October 25, 1994. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 7, 1994 – State of New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico · Page 7".
  5. ^ "The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico · Page 7".
  6. ^ Morehouse, Sarah McCally (1998). The Governor as Party Leader: Campaigning and Governing. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472108484 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Terrell, Steve (January 14, 2020). "After big loss, experts doubt King will run for office again". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved May 10, 2021. Bruce King began his political career in 1954 when he won a seat on the Santa Fe County Commission.
  8. ^ a b Kurtz, Josh (October 26, 1994). "The Liberals' Dilemma: Choose Your Poison". The Santa Fe Reporter. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Marciello, Alex (February 25, 2011). "Former NM governor talks politics". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved May 10, 2021. Prior to that, he was the CEO and founder of Big J Enterprises, a business that grew out of his door-to-door work as a handyman during college. By the time he sold the company in 1999, it had more than 1,000 employees and was a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
  10. ^ Lyman, Andy (April 20, 2016). "How Gary Johnson went from 'Governor No' to third party icon". New Mexico Political Report.
  11. ^ "Canvass of Returns of General Election Held on November 8, 1994 - State of New Mexico" (pdf). New Mexico Secretary of State. Retrieved July 29, 2024.

See also

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