The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of New Mexico, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the New Mexico gubernatorial election and various state and local elections. The Democratic party gained the 2nd Congressional seat, gaining unitary control of New Mexico's Congressional (House and Senate) delegation for the first time since 2018 and improving the advantage in the House delegation for New Mexico from 2–1 in favor of Democrats to 3–0.
Redistricting Process In New Mexico, legislative and congressional maps must be passed by the state legislature and are subject to a veto by the governor, which would require a two-thirds supermajority in each house of the legislature to override. In April 2021, governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill passed by the legislature that established the seven-member New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee. The job of the committee is to draw three sets of legislative and congressional maps, which it then sends to the legislature for consideration. Current public officials and government employees are barred from serving on the committee. The committee's role is purely advisory and the legislature is free to alter or discard its proposals.
On October 15, 2021, the redistricting committee voted to send 3 congressional maps to the legislature. The first would largely maintain the boundaries of the state's existing map. The second would increase Native American representation in the 3rd congressional district to nearly 20% and Hispanic representation in the 2nd district to 54%. This proposal was championed by the committee's chairman Edward Chávez, former Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court. The third, drawn by the Center for Civic Policy, would add liberal areas of the city of Albuquerque to the rural 2nd district.
Targeting of the 2nd district In the leadup to the 2020 redistricting cycle, some suspected that the Democratic-controlled state legislature might alter the boundaries of the 2nd congressional district to make it more favorable to the Democratic Party. The 2nd district was represented by Democrat Xochitl Torres Small after she defeated Republican Yvette Herrell in the 2018 midterm elections, but she lost to Herrell in a 2020 rematch. The day after Herrell's victory, Democrat Brian Egolf, the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives, pointed out that the 2nd district would inevitably be changed during redistricting and said "we'll have to see what that means for Republican chances to hold it." This statement was criticized by Steve Pearce, the chair of the New Mexico Republican Party, who called it "political tricks."
The district is mostly rural and dominated by the oil and natural gas industry. Carlsbad mayor Dale Janway expressed concern that portions of the Albuquerque suburbs might be added to the district, which would dilute the influence of the rural communities in the district, including Carlsbad. After the 2020 elections, the district held a Partisan Voting Index of R+8.
Legislature's map On December 10, the New Mexico Senate voted 25–15 to approve a congressional map drawn by Democratic state senator Joseph Cervantes. This proposal largely resembles the third map submitted by the commission, adding portions of western and southern Albuquerque to the 2nd district and moving a portion of the conservative-leaning, oil-producing area of the 2nd district into the 3rd district. These changes would increase the Hispanic majority in the 2nd district from 51% to 56% and decrease the percentage of Native Americans in the 3rd district from 20% to 16%. Republicans widely opposed the map, with GOP state senator David Gallegos pointing out that the map combines the conservative oilfield town of Hobbs with heavily Democratic Santa Fe, which is hundreds of miles away, and GOP senator Cliff Pirtle claiming that the map represented an attempt by Democrats to control all 3 of New Mexico's House seats. Cervantes defended his map, saying he wished to "reimagine a New Mexico where our districts include rural and urban areas." The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the map on December 12 in a 44–24 vote, and governor Lujan Grisham approved it on December 17.
Dave Wasserman of Cook Political Report interpreted the new map as an attempt by Democrats to target Herrell while still protecting the representative of the 3rd district, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez. Under the new map, in the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden would have won the 1st district by 14.5%, the 2nd by under 6%, and the 3rd by roughly 11%. Under the previous map, Biden won the first district by 22.8% and the 3rd district by 17.6%, and lost the 2nd district to Republican Donald Trump by 11.8%.
Overview District DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthersTotalResult Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % 156,462 55.75% 124,151 44.23% 58 0.02% 280,671 100.00% Democratic hold 96,986 50.34% 95,636 49.64% 51 0.03% 192,673 100.00% Democratic gain 134,217 58.16% 96,565 41.84% 0 0.00% 230,782 100.00% Democratic holdTotal 387,665 55.06% 316,352 44.93% 109 0.02% 704,126 100.00%
County County Democratic Republican Other Margin Total # % # % # % # % Bernalillo 146,416 60.41% 95,902 39.57% 53 0.02% 50,514 20.84% 242,371Catron49324.77%1,49775.23%00.00% -1,004 -50.45%1,990 Chaves 4,695 29.00% 11,492 71.00% 0 0.00% -6,797 -41.99% 16,187Cibola3,51452.32%3,20047.64%30.04%3144.67%6,717 Colfax 2,406 49.39% 2,465 50.61% 0 0.00% -59 -1.21% 4,871 Curry 2,831 27.89% 7,320 72.11% 0 0.00% -4,489 -44.22% 10,151De Baca21129.18%51270.82%00.00% -301 -41.63%723Doña Ana32,24856.37%24,94343.60%170.03%7,30512.77%57,208 Eddy 3,830 23.16% 12,703 76.83% 1 0.01% -8,873 -53.67% 16,534Grant6,29054.33%5,28145.61%70.06%1,0098.71%11,578Guadalupe93755.87%74044.13%00.00%19711.75%1,677 Harding 163 40.05% 244 59.95% 0 0.00% -81 -19.90% 407Hidalgo64540.93%93159.07%00.00% -286 -18.15%1,576 Lea 2,537 18.29% 11,334 81.70% 2 0.01% -8,797 -63.41% 13,873Lincoln2,48630.14%5,76269.85%10.01% -3,276 -39.71%8,249 Los Alamos 6,472 64.26% 3,600 35.74% 0 0.00% 2,872 28.51% 10,072Luna2,56344.20%3,23655.80%00.00% -673 -11.61%5,799 McKinley 13,213 69.64% 5,761 30.36% 0 0.00% 7,452 39.27% 18,974 Mora 1,799 74.62% 612 25.38% 0 0.00% 1,187 49.23% 2,411 Otero 6,054 34.74% 11,366 65.23% 5 0.03% -5,312 -30.48% 17,425 Quay 939 31.45% 2,047 68.55% 0 0.00% -1,108 -37.11% 2,986 Rio Arriba 9,052 70.94% 3,708 29.06% 0 0.00% 5,344 41.88% 12,760 Roosevelt 1,300 28.18% 3,313 71.82% 0 0.00% -2,013 -43.64% 4,613 San Juan 14,412 36.43% 25,150 63.57% 0 0.00% -10,738 -27.14% 39,562 San Miguel 7,318 77.78% 2,091 22.22% 0 0.00% 5,227 55.55% 9,409 Sandoval 32,029 52.90% 28,508 47.08% 13 0.02% 3,521 5.82% 60,550 Santa Fe 54,068 78.10% 15,164 21.90% 0 0.00% 38,904 56.19% 69,232Sierra1,89138.89%2,97061.09%10.02% -1,079 -22.19%4,862Socorro3,09251.56%2,90548.44%00.00%1873.12%5,997 Taos 10,741 81.08% 2,507 18.92% 0 0.00% 8,234 62.15% 13,248Torrance1,79532.81%3,67567.17%10.02% -1,880 -34.36%5,471 Union 381 26.08% 1,080 73.92% 0 0.00% -699 -47.84% 1,461 Valencia 10,844 43.06% 14,333 56.92% 5 0.02% -3,489 -13.86% 25,182Totals387,66555.06%316,35244.93%1090.02%71,31310.13%704,126
District 1
The 1st district covers the center of the state, taking in the counties of Torrance, Guadalupe, De Baca, and Lincoln, as well as eastern Bernalillo County and most of Albuquerque. Democrat Deb Haaland, who was re-elected with 58.2% of the vote in 2020, resigned on March 16, 2021, after she was confirmed to become the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Democrat Melanie Stansbury won the June 1, 2021 special election to finish her term with 60.4% of the vote.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Melanie Stansbury, incumbent U.S. representative (2021–present)
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Michelle Garcia Holmes, retired police detective, nominee for this district in 2020, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018, and candidate for this district in the 2021 special election
Eliminated in primary Louie Sanchez, small business owner
Disqualified Joshua Neal, city planner Jacquelyn Reeve, nurse practitioner
Results
General election Debates and forums + 2022 New Mexico's 1st congressional district general election debates and forums Date Host Moderator Link Participants Participant Absent Non-invitee Invitee Withdrawn Garcia Holmes Stansbury 1 October 14, 2022 KOB 4 Tessa Mentus & Matt GrubsYouTube
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report April 27, 2022 Inside Elections April 22, 2022 Sabato's Crystal Ball April 27, 2022Politico April 18, 2022RCPOctober 30, 2022Fox News July 11, 2022DDHQJuly 20, 2022538June 30, 2022The Economist September 28, 2022
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error MelanieStansbury (D) Michelle GarciaHolmes (R) Other UndecidedEmerson CollegeEmerson CollegeOctober 25–28, 2022372 (LV)± 5.0%50%40%2%8%54%43%3%–Research & Polling Inc.Research & Polling Inc.October 20–27, 2022410 (LV)± 4.8%48%42%–9%
Results
By county CountyMelanie Stansbury DemocraticMichelle Garcia Holmes RepublicanVictoria Gonzales Independent (write-in)MarginTotal votes cast#%#%#%#%Bernalillo (part)117,35860.71%75,91639.27%420.02%41,44221.44%193,316Chaves (part)25214.62%1,47285.38%00.00% -1,220 -70.77%1,724De Baca21129.18%51270.82%00.00% -301 -41.63%723Guadalupe93755.87%74044.13%00.00%19711.75%1,677Lincoln2,48630.14%5,76269.85%10.01% -3,276 -39.71%8,249Otero (part)10465.82%5434.18%00.00%5031.65%158Sandoval (part)27,42850.74%26,62049.24%130.02%8081.49%54,061Santa Fe (part)1,53733.48%3,05466.52%00.00% -1,517 -33.04%4,591Torrance1,79532.81%3,67567.17%10.02% -1,880 -34.36%5,471Valencia (part)4,35440.69%6,34659.30%10.01% -1,992 -18.62%10,701Totals156,46255.75%124,15144.23%580.02%32,31111.51%280,671
District 2
The 2nd district encapsulates southern and western New Mexico, including the cities of Las Cruces, Carlsbad, and Alamogordo, as well as the southwestern suburbs of Albuquerque. The incumbent was Republican Yvette Herrell, who had flipped back the district from Xochitl Torres Small (who had in turn narrowly defeated her for the seat in a race to replace a Republican incumbent in 2018) with 53.7% of the vote in 2020. The new 2022-2032 lines for the district made it more competitive for Democrats, with Vasquez defeating Herrell in a narrow race that was too close to call until the next afternoon.
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Yvette Herrell, incumbent U.S. representative
Results
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Gabe Vasquez, Las Cruces city councilor (2017–2021) and former aide to U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
Eliminated in primary Darshan Patel, physician
Declined Joe Cervantes, state senator (2012–present) Siah Correa Hemphill, state senator (2020–present) (endorsed Vasquez) Howie Morales, lieutenant governor of New Mexico (2019–present) (running for re-election) Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development (2021–present) and former U.S. representative for (2019–2021)
Results
General election Debate + 2022 New Mexico's 2nd congressional district debate Date Host Moderator Link Republican DemocraticKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Yvette Herrell Gabe Vasquez1 Oct. 21, 2022 KOB (TV) Matt GrubsTessa MentusYouTube
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report April 27, 2022 Inside Elections April 22, 2022 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 26, 2022Politico April 18, 2022RCPJune 9, 2022Fox News August 22, 2022DDHQNovember 1, 2022538November 1, 2022The Economist September 28, 2022
Endorsements
Polling Aggregate polls