Unofficial General Elections Results
(Editor’s Note: The totals below reflect ballots counted as of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 3. The county clerk’s office resumed counting provisional ballots at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 4, after the News-Bulletin deadline. Read next week’s edition for full election coverage. Races with an * indicate districts in multiple counties.)
Valencia County Commission
District 2
(D) Ralph R. Miramontes ………….2,261
(R) Troy Dean Richardson ………..2,577
District 4
(D) LeRoy Baca …………………………2,752
(R) Joseph Aaron Bizzell ………….3,088
District 5
(D) David M. Tynan ………………….2,673
(R) Jhonathan M. Aragon (I)……..4,104
Valencia County Clerk
(D) Aurora Dolores Chavez ……..14,784
(R) Michael E. Milam ………………16,166
Valencia County Treasurer
(D) Michael P. Steininger ………..12,579
(R) Deseri Ann Sichler ……………18,346
New Mexico State Senate
District 29*
(D) Paul A. Baca ……………………….9,090
(R) Gregory A. Baca (I) ……………9,545
District 30*
(D) Pamela M. Cordova ……………9,444
(R) Joshua A. Sanchez ………………9,965
District 39*
(D) Elizabeth Liz Stefanics (I) ..12,049
(R) Joseph C. Tiano …………………..9,729
N.M. House of Representatives
District 7
(D) Santos Griego ……………………..4,231
(R) Kelly K. Fajardo (I) …………….6,180
District 8
(D) Paul Matthew Kinzelman …..5,003
(R) Alonzo Baldonado (I) …………8,796
District 49*
(R) Gail “Missy” Armstrong (I) ..9,133
District 50*
(D) Matthew McQueen (I) ………..8,584
(L) Jerry D. Gage ………………………….594
(R) Christina L. Estrada …………….7,254
District 69*
(D) Harry Garcia (I) …………………..5,742
(R) Roy Randall Ryan ……………….3,304
13th Judicial District Attorney*
(D) Barbara Romo ……………………55,642
(R) Joshua Joe Jimenez …………….55,911
Magistrate Judge Div. 1
(D) Heather R. Benavidez (I) ……14,421
(R) Miles R. Tafoya ………………….16,479
13th Judicial District Court Judge
Division 4*
(D) Amanda Sanchez Villalobos……76,846
Division 5*
(D) James A. Noel …………………75,280
Division 7*
(D) Chris G. Perez ………………..74,854
13th Judicial District Court Retention
Division 1*
James Lawrence Sanchez
For ….68,737
Against ….29,151
Division 2*
George Eichwald
For ….68,418
Against ….29,238
Division 3*
Allen Smith
For ….65,884
Against ….29,165
Division 6*
Cindy Mercer
For ….66,838
Against ….28,235
Division 8*
Cheryl Johnston
For ….66,400
Against ….28,400
The big rush of voters in Valencia County went to the polls before Election Day.
While 5,070 ballots were cast on Tuesday, Nov. 3, county voters turned out early, casting 15,289 early ballots and submitting 11,728 absentee ballots, for a total of 32,087 ballots cast.
“I think we had such a high turnout, in a way, because of the pandemic,” said Valencia County Clerk Peggy Carabajal. “People were at home more, they were paying more attention maybe than they did in their normal, busy lives.”
Many of the people voting this year were considered inactive voters, the clerk said, meaning they hadn’t voted in many of the last several elections.
“Some people told us they voted in the last presidential, so we thought they meant 2016. No, they meant 2008,” she said. “We had some who hadn’t voted since 1996.”
Carabajal said overall there was a lot of outreach and attention drawn to this election — everything from a television ad with all 33 county clerks coordinated by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver to the many “Trump Trains” that made their way through the streets.
In the county, 69.58 percent of the 46,109 registered voters turned out for the General Election, slightly better than the 67.51 percent turnout statewide.
When we posed the question of “Why did you vote this year?” to our readers on Facebook, there was a range of answers.
Many people said they were voting for their children, the future, while others emphasized their civic duty and right to vote.
“I voted because democracy only works if the people remain engaged in the system and make their wants known through the process of voting,” wrote Michelle Desmond.
Other commenters touched on deeper, social issues.
“When I look back at the last four years, I see division, hate, anxiety, separation, rage,” Michael Garcia wrote. “I see my friends unemployed, I see more and more homelessness in the streets. I see a pandemic that has wrecked this country while the rest of the world has started to recover. I voted because I need this nightmare to end.”
LaDoris Garley wrote that it took 100 years and two constitutional amendments for her to gain the right to vote.
“I voted because I believe in science, kindness, decency and the greater good,” Garley said.
Not being taxed into poverty was the reason Saada Howard voted in the General Election this year.
“I have lived that and it’s awful,” Howard wrote. “I can’t let the country go back the way it was four years ago!”
Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.
