The 1986 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1986, in order to elect the governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democratic governor Toney Anaya was ineligible to seek a second term as governor. This was the last time until 2022, that the state elected a governor of the same party as the sitting president.
Primary election Democratic primary Ray Powell was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Republican primary The Republican primary was won by former New Mexico Republican Party chair Garrey Carruthers, who defeated five other candidates.
Results
General election
Results
Results by county County Garrey CarruthersRepublican Ray PowellDemocratic Margin Total votes cast # % # % # %Bernalillo66,82053.68%57,65646.32%9,1647.36%124,476Catron81463.89%46036.11%35427.79%1,274Chaves10,78863.80%6,12136.20%4,66727.60%16,909Cibola2,49148.46%2,64951.54%-158-3.07%5,140Colfax1,99746.17%2,32853.83%-331-7.65%4,325Curry5,74259.53%3,90440.47%1,83819.05%9,646De Baca54852.09%50447.91%444.18%1,052Doña Ana17,34360.80%11,18339.20%6,16021.59%28,526Eddy7,77150.48%7,62249.52%1490.97%15,393Grant3,60546.11%4,21453.89%-609-7.79%7,819Guadalupe79143.44%1,03056.56%-239-13.12%1,821Harding32060.04%21339.96%10720.08%533Hidalgo99559.30%68340.70%31218.59%1,678Lea8,81365.64%4,61334.36%4,20031.28%13,426Lincoln3,04971.57%1,21128.43%1,83843.15%4,260Los Alamos4,72959.32%3,24340.68%1,48618.64%7,972Luna3,12258.60%2,20641.40%91617.19%5,328McKinley4,51439.56%6,89760.44%-2,383-20.88%11,411Mora96544.47%1,20555.53%-240-11.06%2,170Otero6,72860.94%4,31339.06%2,41521.87%11,041Quay1,92457.11%1,44542.89%47914.22%3,369Rio Arriba3,19733.77%6,26966.23%-3,072-32.45%9,466Roosevelt2,70259.90%1,80940.10%89319.80%4,511San Juan13,18461.24%8,34538.76%4,83922.48%21,529San Miguel2,51035.04%4,65464.96%-2,144-29.93%7,164Sandoval6,52148.50%6,92451.50%-403-3.00%13,445Santa Fe10,80039.51%16,53760.49%-5,737-20.99%27,337Sierra2,46367.17%1,20432.83%1,25934.33%3,667Socorro2,54551.21%2,42548.79%1202.41%4,970Taos2,63633.60%5,21066.40%-2,574-32.81%7,846Torrance1,89555.90%1,49544.10%40011.80%3,390Union97460.57%63439.43%34021.14%1,608Valencia6,15949.95%6,17250.05%-13-0.11%12,331Total209,45553.05%185,37846.95%24,0776.10%394,833
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Bernalillo Harding Hidalgo Socorro Torrance
References