New Mexico Democrats thwart GOP efforts to make major inroads in the House

Nov. 9—Republicans' attempts to whittle away at Democrats' massive advantage in New Mexico's House of Representatives were largely blunted Tuesday night.

Democrats pulled upsets in legislative races in Rio Rancho and held onto seats in Albuquerque where Republicans made a determined push, largely on the issue of crime. But combined with expected wins, including two in Northern New Mexico races, the map of the House is not likely to look significantly different, with two races still too close to call late in the evening.

In the Santa Fe area, Rep. Andrea Romero easily defended her District 46 seat, defeating Republican challenger Jay Groseclose in a rematch of their 2020 race. Romero had 78 percent of the vote late Tuesday, according to unofficial vote totals.

"Even with the early results, you know, we don't take anything for granted, of course, but [we're] confident that we are in a pretty solid space right now for our race," Romero said. "That said, I'm really thrilled about the way everything's trending around the state.

"I'm just really grateful that we're able to continue the work that we've been doing for the past four years and stay on this incredible trajectory," she added. "I think our state is able to have, you know, a nice majority in the House in the Senate, but every seat counts."

Romero pinned her pitch to voters on her sponsorship of a 2021 bill legalizing recreational cannabis and a 2022 bill that creates a holiday honoring missing Indigenous women in New Mexico.

She campaigned on addressing issues including gun violence, abortion access, voter protections and water conservation.

In House District 40, Democrat Joseph Sanchez rolled to victory over Republican Jerald Steve McFall. Sanchez had 65 percent of the vote late Tuesday, according to unofficial results. The sprawling districts includes Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba, Taos and San Miguel counties.

Sanchez defeated incumbent Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Velarde, in a hard-fought primary. Sanchez was previously elected to the seat in 2018 but left the House for an unsuccessful congressional bid.

While in the House, Sanchez served as vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Elsewhere in the state, Republican Jimmy Mason won a seat previously held by Rep. Phelps Anderson, a Republican-turned-independent who declined to seek reelection. In the Rio Rancho area, incumbent Republican Jane Powdrell-Culbert lost her seat to Democrat Kathleen Cates.

Though incumbent Republican Jason Harper appeared headed to defeat through much of Tuesday, trailing Michelle Eleanor Sandoval by 4 percent late in the evening, he made a comeback and took 52 percent of the vote to retain his seat.

In District 47, a seat previously held by outgoing House Speaker Brian Egolf, Reena Szczepanski won without opposition.

"I think we as New Mexicans, and certainly in Santa Fe, have a lot more that unites us than divides us, and I'm really eager to focus on those issues," Szczepanski said. "I'm very excited about tonight, I think there's a lot of races across the state that are just nail biters."

Two races remained in doubt late in the evening: a District 68 battle between Republican Robert Moss and Democrat Charlotte Little, and the Jennifer Jones-Candie Sweetser race in District 32 in Southwest New Mexico. Sweetser is an incumbent Democrat from Deming.