Heinrich and Vasquez re-elected; Some races are too close to call

Algernon D'Ammassa and Justin Garcia Las Cruces Bulletin

As midnight approached Tuesday night, Election Day ended in Doña Ana County with some contests still too close to being called and absentee votes waiting to be counted.

In accordance with New Mexico election law, election workers tasked with counting mail-in ballots adjourned at 11 p.m. Tuesday to reconvene at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to continue counting.

As of 5:30 p.m. on Election Day, 9,581 Doña Ana County residents had voted by absentee ballot, while 11,442 had requested one, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State's office.

The Associated Press predicted that Martin Heinrich, New Mexico's senior U.S. senator, would win in the federal election as he runs for a third six-year term. The Democrat fended off a challenge from Republican Nella Domenici, the daughter of the late former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. Early and incomplete election night results showed Heinrich leading by 10 percentage points.

In the highly anticipated congressional race in southern New Mexico, where Las Cruces Democrat Gabe Vasquez is seeking re-election as the first Democrat in the district since 1978, the Associated Press predicted he would emerge victorious around midnight. With 254,000 votes counted, Vasquez led by less than 8,000 votes over Republican Yvette Herrell, whom he ousted from the House of Representatives in 2022.

At the top of the poll, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was expected to win New Mexico's five electoral votes, overtaking Republican Donald Trump with 47,521 votes, six percentage points ahead of the former president.

Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin was on track to win her second full term by a decisive margin, with 56 percent in early, incomplete results against Republican challenger Cheryl De Young.

Mesilla Democrat Fernando Macías, a former district judge, state senator and county supervisor who is running for Doña Ana district attorney, was ahead by 12 percentage points in early results over Republican rival Michael Cain, a trial attorney in Las Cruces.

Incumbents in two of three contested seats on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners appeared to be leading in votes reported Tuesday evening.

District 4 Commissioner Susana Chaparro, a Democrat, led Republican Stacie Durham by about 1,000 votes, or four percentage points. District 5 Commissioner Manuel Sanchez had 11,350 votes for re-election, but no votes had yet been reported for his write-in challenger, Republican Marcy Teague. In District 2, Democrat Gloria Gameros led Republican Lorraine Limon McCullough by more than 2,000 votes after defeating Commissioner Diana Murillo in the June Democratic primary.

Meanwhile, state elections in Doña Ana County were among the closest in the state — except, of course, for a few uncontested races where incumbents will be running for new terms.

Only 66 votes separated state Senator Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, from Republican challenger Samantha Barncastle Salopek (as of 12:15 a.m. Wednesday).

In House District 53, a district between Doña Ana and Otero counties, first-time candidate Sarah Silva, a Democrat, trailed Republican Elizabeth Winterrowd by just 31 votes.

Democrats did well in other districts. State Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, led Republican challenger Kim Skaggs with 419 votes; Chamberino Democrat Raymundo Lara was over 1,000 votes ahead of Republican challenger Larry Sedillo for the House District 34 seat; and state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, was 2,000 votes ahead of Republican challenger David Tofsted.

In Las Cruces, voters approved a gross receipts tax increase, raising the tax on local goods and services by 0.3250 percent. 23,845 voters voted in favor and 19,264 voted against.

More results and perhaps more certainty about some of the closer contests were expected Wednesday as the process of counting ballots and reporting them to Santa Fe resumes.