Hello fellow political junkies!
A court case alleging that redistricting gerrymandered New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in a way that makes it hard for a Republican candidate to win was permanently dismissed earlier this month.
The plaintiffs alleged adding a bit of the Albuquerque area to the district following the 2020 U.S. Census led to illegal gerrymandering.
The state’s 2nd Congressional District includes most of the southern half of the state and now includes some north central areas including some of southern Albuquerque. Parts of the Permian Basin, which is also conservative, were added to the state’s 3rd Congressional District which includes Northern New Mexico.
The plaintiffs, including the Republican Party of New Mexico, appealed the case to the state Supreme Court in 2023. The state Supreme Court concurred with New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Fred T. van Soelen’s ruling that although the 2nd Congressional District was gerrymandered during redistricting, it was not to a legally actionable level.
The New Mexico Supreme Court uses a three-part gerrymandering test that originated in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In her dissenting opinion in the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause case, US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan discussed a gerrymandering test.
The three-part test includes examining if the redistricting plan’s intent was to entrench Democratic votes in the 2nd Congressional District, effects such as predicting if that party would be able to win future elections and causation.
Van Soelen found that the defendants did intend to entrench Democratic vote in the 2nd Congressional District, which they succeeded in doing by “substantially diluting their opponents’ votes,” he said in the ruling, NM Political Report previously reported.
The state Supreme Court denied the appeal and the case was reopened in van Soelen’s court.
Southern New Mexico tends to vote Republican more than its northern New Mexican neighbors.
This year’s 2nd Congressional District race is between incumbent Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat from Las Cruces, and former Rep. Yvette Herrell, a Republican from Alamogordo.
The current race is a rematch from 2022 in which Herrell was the incumbent.
The two elections prior to the redistricting showed another flip-flop between a Democratic winner and a Republican winner.
In 2018, Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces, won 51 percent of the vote to Herrell’s 49 percent.
A rematch followed in 2020 with Herrell winning 54 percent of the vote to Torres Small’s 46 percent.
Also in court and elections news, the new law allowing felons who are no longer incarcerated to vote was settled Oct. 7 with instructions for the New Mexico Secretary of State and county clerks to amend voter rolls to include the 11,000 now-enfranchised voters.
More on that case from Trip Jennings at NM In Depth here.
Note: The header picture of the congressional maps originally posted in this newsletter was incorrect and has since been updated.
New Mexico election info
New Mexico early/absentee voting began Tuesday.
The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office posted a list of bond questions and constitutional amendments that will appear on statewide ballots.
These can be seen here. For more information about what will appear on your local ballot contact your local county clerk’s office which can also help you check on or update your voter registration, a process that can also be done online at NMVote.org.
To see who the candidates are please visit the New Mexico Secretary of State’s 2024 General Election Contest/Candidate List.
The Election Results 2024 will be posted to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office website after polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5. It currently lists the 2024 primary results.
Know your rights as a voter by reading the Voter Bill of Rights.
Upcoming Debate
There is going to be a debate between the incumbent U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Nella Domenici on Oct. 27 at Congregation Albert Brotherhood, 3800 Louisiana Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. There will be a deli brunch at 9:30 a.m. prior to the debate. The deli brunch costs $20 and both require reservations by Oct. 24 which can be made here.
Upcoming interim committee meetings
Interim Legislative Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee will meet Oct. 15 at the Tays Event Center New Mexico State University-Alamogordo 2400 North Scenic Drive in Alamogordo.
Interim Legislative Economic And Rural Development And Policy Committee will meet Oct. 15-16 at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) Student Services Building 900 University Boulevard SE in Albuquerque and Oct. 17 at Netflix Studios Albuquerque 5650 University Boulevard SE in Albuquerque.
Interim Legislative Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee will meet Oct.16 at Dona Ana Community College East Mesa Main Building (DAEM), Room 205/209 2800 Sonoma Ranch Boulevard in Las Cruces.
Interim Legislative Education Study Committee will meet Oct. 16-18 at Silver High School 3200 N Silver Street in Silver City.
Interim Legislative Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee will meet Oct. 17-18 in Room 307 at the State Capitol.
Interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee will meet Oct. 21-24 at Rio Rancho Public School District Training Center 500 Laser Road NE in Rio Rancho,
Interim Legislative Finance Committee will meet Oct. 22-24 in Room 322 at the State Capitol.
For more information about interim committee meetings, visit nmlegis.gov and click the Committees tab at the top of the screen.
Meanwhile on the Hill
Following two devastating hurricanes on the east coast, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico,was one of 62 representatives to sign a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, urging him to bring the House of Representatives back into session to approve funding for Hurricane Helene and Milton relief missions.
The House would seek to approve funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration through Fiscal Year 2025.
“In New Mexico, our communities experienced a catastrophic fire and flooding in Lincoln and Otero counties and are still recovering,” Stansbury said in a press release. “But beyond that, we need to make sure that all families and all communities across the United States can access necessary disaster relief funds. That’s why I co-led this letter. We must do the work to ensure our communities are safe.”
The representatives’ letter came after two members of the New Mexico House of Representatives sent a letter of their own concerning the federal government’s fire management and mitigation efforts.
The letter from Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, and Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Ruidoso Downs, was sent to Stansbury, Sen. Ben Ray Luján and Sen. Martin Heinrich, both Democrats from New Mexico.
The letter is a response to two recent wildfires that occurred on federal lands: the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in 2022 and the Salt/South Fork Fire in 2024.
“We call on you to champion policies that promote aggressive, evidence-based fire suppression and prevention strategies,” the letter states.
The letter also asked that support not be given to further federal land acquisitions in New Mexico at this time.
Tips, subscriptions and more
Have a news tip? Email me at nicole@NMPoliticalReport.com.
This is one of several newsletters produced by NM Political Report, check them out here.
If you enjoyed this newsletter and other reporting by NM Political Report why not donate? We are a nonprofit newsroom that is funded through grants and donations.
In order to keep NM Political Report running ad-free and paywall free we need support from readers like you.
–Nicole Maxwell