Democratic candidates take Sandoval County races

Democratic candidates won the key contests in Sandoval County on Tuesday.

The New Mexico Secretary of State website reported that all precincts had finished reporting by 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4. Statewide turnout stood at just under 50 percent. These figures remain unofficial until the board of canvassers certifies them.

Voters in the county chose Democratic challengers for the sheriff and two commission districts. John Paul Trujillo won the county sheriff race with 34,082 votes. That total represented 54 percent of the count. Republican challenger Victor Rodriguez received 29,283 votes.

Paul Madrid captured the Sandoval County Commission District 1 seat. He received 9,328 votes, which was 63 percent of the total. Rebecca Skartwed received 5,573 votes in that race. Frank Smith Jr. won the District 3 commission seat with 7,983 votes. Edwin Paul Linson received 7,649 votes in that contest.

Gerred Prairie won the county assessor race with 33,923 votes. Lawrence Griego received 29,054 votes. Donna Tillman won the probate judge race with 32,979 votes. Rebecca Torres received 29,162 votes.

Statewide, Democratic candidates won the governor and lieutenant governor race. Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard received 412,834 votes. Gregg Hull and David Gallegos received 308,315 votes. Amanda Askin won the secretary of state race with 433,163 votes. Raul Torrez won the attorney general race with 450,371 votes.

Joseph Maestas won the state auditor race with 427,943 votes. Laura Montoya won the state treasurer race with 423,445 votes. Ben Ray Lujan won the United States Senate race with 455,165 votes. Melanie Stansbury won the U.S. House District 1 race with 178,261 votes. Teresa Leger Fernandez won the U.S. House District 3 race with 139,967 votes.

Voters approved four state constitutional amendments. Amendment 1 regarding veto messages passed with 494,437 votes. Amendment 2 regarding school elections passed with 423,872 votes. Amendment 3 regarding Board of Regents nominating committees passed with 441,916 votes. Amendment 4 regarding legislative salaries passed with 415,498 votes.

Voters also approved several bond measures. State bond 1 for senior citizen facility improvements passed with 450,605 votes. State bond 2 for library acquisition passed with 421,688 votes. State bond 3 for higher education passed with 412,945 votes. The county bureau of elections secure storage facility bonds passed with 33,985 votes.

The county fire department bonds passed with 46,357 votes. The county library bonds passed with 40,490 votes. The Sandoval County Regional Medical Center mill levy passed with 42,926 votes. Alan Martinez won the New Mexico House District 23 race with 9,085 votes. Derrick Lente won the New Mexico House District 65 race with 6,477 votes.