2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico

The 2010 congressional elections in New Mexico were held on November 2, 2010 and determined New Mexico's representation in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the winners of the election served in the 111th Congress, which began on January 4, 2009 ended on January 3, 2011.

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
November 2, 2010
All 3 New Mexico seats to the United States House of Representatives
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election 3 0
Seats won 2 1
Seat change 1 1
Popular vote 307,766 288,885
Percentage 51.6% 48.4%
Swing 4.5 9.0
Election results by district
Elections in New Mexico
General elections
Federal elections
Presidential elections
Presidential primaries
Senate elections
House of Representatives elections
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
State Senate elections
State House elections
City of Albuquerque
Mayoral elections

New Mexico has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2009-2011 congressional delegation consisted of three Democrats and no Republicans, which changed to two Democrats and one Republican after the 2010 election.

Overview
United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2010[1]
Party Votes Percentage Seats +/–
Democratic 307,766 51.58% 2 -1
Republican 288,885 48.42% 1 +1
Totals 596,651 100.00% 3 —

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico by district:[2]

District Democratic Republican Others Total Result
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
District 1112,01051.80%104,21548.20%00.00%216,225100%Democratic Hold
District 275,70844.60%94,05355.40%00.00%169,761100%Republican Gain
District 3120,04856.99%90,61743.01%00.00%210,665100%Democratic Hold
Total307,76651.58%288,88548.42%00.00%596,651100%

District 1
See also: New Mexico's 1st congressional district

Campaign

First elected in 2008, incumbent Democratic Congressman Martin Heinrich ran for re-election for the first time this year. This moderate[3] district, based in metro Albuquerque, has a tendency of supporting both Republican and Democratic candidates for office. In the general election, Congressman Heinrich faced Jon Barela, the Republican nominee for the seat and a former high-ranking official in the New Mexico Republican Party. Barela hammered at Heinrich for being "too far left" for what he described as a "center-right seat."[4] The Albuquerque Journal endorsed Jon Barela in the general election, citing the fact that he "would boost the economy by nurturing predictability for investors and job creators" and urging New Mexico voters to vote for a candidate who would "[help] restore balance to Congress and [place] an emphasis on people over government programs to right the ship."[5] Polling indicated that the race would be close, and on election day, Heinrich won a second term by nearly a four-point margin and 8,000 votes.

Polling
Poll Source Dates Administered Martin Heinrich (D) Jon Barela (R) Undecided
Research and Polling Inc. October 27–28, 2010 46% 49% -
Public Opinion Strategies† October 24–25, 2010 47% 49% -
Research and Polling Inc. September 27–30, 2010 48% 41% -
Public Policy Polling September 25–26, 2010 50% 43% 7%
American Action Forum August 23–29, 2010 49% 42% 9%
Research and Polling Inc. August 23–27, 2010 47% 41% 12%
Survey USA July 22–25, 2010 45% 51% 4%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research† July 8–13, 2010 53% 41% -
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research† April 28-May 2, 2010 55% 38% -
Public Policy Polling February 25, 2010 45% 36% 19%

†Internal poll (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the Heinrich campaign and Public Opinion Strategies for the Barela campaign)

Results
New Mexico's 1st congressional district election, 2010[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Martin Heinrich (incumbent) 112,010 51.80
Republican Jon Barela 104,215 48.20
Total votes 216,225 100.00
Democratic hold

District 2
See also: New Mexico's 2nd congressional district

Campaign

This conservative-leaning[3] district, which has historically supported Republican candidates for higher office, has been represented by moderate Democratic Congressman Harry Teague since he was first elected two years prior. The previous Congressman, Republican Steve Pearce, retired in 2008 to run for Senate, a race that he lost. Coming off from a large electoral defeat at the hands of Democrat Tom Udall, the former Congressman Pearce re-entered the political sphere and challenged Congressman Teague when he sought election to a second congressional term. A tough campaign ensued, with Pearce taking the lead in most polls. Pearce's advantage widened when the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it was shifting resources from the 2nd district to the 1st district, a decision that the Pearce campaign responded, "The DCCC is realizing what we knew all along. Voters do not want the Teague-Pelosi agenda of out-of-control spending and lost jobs."[6] In late October, Congressman Teague declined to participate in a debate with Steve Pearce, giving Pearce solo airtime that was broadcast statewide and providing some observers with evidence that Teague was essentially conceding defeat to Pearce.[7] As political prognosticators indicated, on election day, Pearce defeated the incumbent Congressman and returned to Washington for his fourth nonconsecutive term.

Polling
Poll Source Dates Administered Harry Teague (D) Steve Pearce (R) Undecided
Research and Polling Inc. October 27–28, 2010 45% 48% -
Tarrance Group† October 19–20, 2010 41% 50% 9%
The Hill/ANGA September 28–30, 2010 42% 46% 10%
Research and Polling Inc. September 27–30, 2010 44% 45% -
Public Policy Polling September 25–26, 2010 47% 48% 5%
Anzalone Liszt Research September 7–9, 2010 51% 44% -
Research and Polling Inc. August 23–27, 2010 45% 42% -
Hamilton Campaigns† April 6–8, 2010 47% 46% 8%
Public Policy Polling February 25, 2010 41% 43% 16%
Tarrance Group (Link)† February 16–18, 2010 44% 48% 8%
Hamilton Campaigns† August, 2009 42% 52% 6%

†Internal poll (Hamilton Campaigns polls commissioned by Teague; Tarrance Group poll for Pearce)

Results
New Mexico's 2nd congressional district election, 2010[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Steve Pearce 94,053 55.40
Democratic Harry Teague (incumbent) 75,708 44.60
Total votes 169,761 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

District 3
See also: New Mexico's 3rd congressional district

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben Ray Luján has represented this liberal[3] district based in northern New Mexico since he was first elected in 2008 to replace outgoing Democratic Congressman Tom Udall, who successfully ran for Senate. Seeking a second term, Congressman Luján faced Republican businessman Tom Mullins in the general election. The Albuquerque Journal endorsed Mullins, praising his plans to "trim federal spending" and "help the private sector create jobs…[by] lowering taxes."[5] Despite this, however, Luján was able to use the district’s natural liberal leanings to his advantage and won re-election to a second term in Congress.

Republican primary
New Mexico U.S. House District 3 Republican primary, 2010[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas E. Mullins 23,301 71.32
Republican Adam Kokesh 9,372 28.68
Total votes 32,673 100

Polling
Poll Source Dates Administered Ben R. Luján (D) Tom Mullins (R) Undecided
Public Policy Polling September 25–26, 2010 49% 43% 8%
Public Policy Polling February 25, 2010 42% 36% 22%

Results
New Mexico's 3rd congressional district election, 2010[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Ray Luján (incumbent) 120,048 56.99
Republican Thomas Mullins 90,617 43.01
Total votes 210,665 100.00
Democratic hold

References
  1. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2010election.pdf
  2. Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. <http://www.cookpolitical.com/sites/default/files/pvistate.pdf%5B%5D>.
  4. http://newmexicoindependent.com/30155/jon-barela-to-politico-martin-heinrich-is-too-far-left
  5. http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/editorials/2323636opinion10-23-10.htm
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2011-06-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-06-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 1, 2010 – State of New Mexico" (PDF). State of New Mexico. Archived from the original (pdf) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.