The 2008 congressional elections in New Mexico were held on November 4, 2008 to determine

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

's representation in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. The party primary elections were held June 3, 2008. Martin Heinrich,

Harry Teague Troy Harry Teague (born June 29, 1949) is an American former oilman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in the southern part of the sta ...

, and Ben Ray Luján, all Democrats, were elected to represent New Mexico in the House. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the winners of the election currently serve in the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

, which began on January 4, 2009 and is scheduled to end on January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the

2008 U.S. presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...

and

senatorial A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...

elections. New Mexico has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of two

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and one

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. All three incumbents chose to vie for New Mexico's open Senate seat being held by retiring Republican Pete Domenici. The election resulted in all three New Mexico seats are being occupied by freshman Democrats. Districts 1 and 2 changed from Republican to Democratic; ''CQ Politics'' had forecast that these seats might be at risk for the Republican Party. This was the last time that Democrats won all of New Mexico's congressional districts until the

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midterm elections. Incidentally, two of the three elected Representatives, Heinrich and Luján, now serve together in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

since 2021.

Overview

Match-up summary

District 1

This district includes the central area of

, in and around

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. An open seat, CQ Politics forecast the race as 'No Clear Favorite'. ''The Rothenberg Political Report'' rated it 'Pure Toss-Up'. ''The Cook Political Report'' ranked it 'Lean Democratic'. : Martin Heinrich (D)
campaign website
: Darren White (R)
campaign website
The 2006 race between incumbent Republican

Heather Wilson Heather Ann Wilson (born December 30, 1960) is the 11th President of the University of Texas at El Paso. She previously served as the 24th Secretary of the United States Air Force from 2017 through 2019. Wilson was the 12th president of the Sou ...

and Democratic state Attorney General

Patricia Madrid Patricia A. Madrid (born 1947) is an American politician and the former Attorney General for the U.S. state of New Mexico. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center. ...

was a cliffhanger, with Wilson being reelected by 861 votes.

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

had narrowly won the district with 52% in 2004 (

CPVI The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a List of United States congressional districts, United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic Party (United Sta ...

=D+2). With the retirement of longtime

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Pete Domenici, Wilson ran and lost as a candidate for the Republican nomination in the race for an open

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seat, leaving this an open seat. The Democratic nominee was Martin Heinrich (former Albuquerque City Councilor). The Republican nominee was Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. In the general election, Heinrich defeated White by a margin of 11%. When sworn into Congress in January 2009, Heinrich became the first Democrat to ever represent this district in the House.
Race ranking and details
from

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...

Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

White (R) vs Heinrich (D)
graph of collected poll results from ''Pollster.com''

Primary elections

General election

District 2

This district covers the southern half of the state of

, including Las Cruces and Roswell. ''CQ Politics'' forecast the race as 'Leans Republican'. ''The Rothenberg Political Report'' rated it 'Pure Toss-Up'. ''The Cook Political Report'' ranked it 'Republican Toss Up'. Republican incumbent Steve Pearce won his party's nomination over Heather Wilson for the

, leaving this an open seat. This district usually votes Republican.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

won the district 58% to 42% over

in 2004 (

=R+6). Nevertheless, Democratic nominee

defeated Republican Edward R. Tinsely III in the general election and is the first Democrat to represent this district since 1981.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Candidates

;Harry Teague (D) Teague is a Hobbs business owner, civic leader and former Lea County Commissioner.
Harry Teague for Congress
official campaign website * ;Edward R. Tinsley III (R) Tinsley is a restaurateur.
Ed Tinsley for Congress
official campaign website *

Primary elections

General election

District 3

This district covers the northern half of the state of New Mexico, including the capital, Santa Fe. An open seat, ''CQ Politics'' forecast the race as 'Safe Democrat', as did ''The Rothenberg Political Report'' and ''The Cook Political Report''. *

Dan East Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

(R) *

Ben R. Luján Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( h ...

(D) * Carol Miller (I) Democratic incumbent

Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from N ...

won his party's nomination for Pete Domenici's open U.S. Senate seat,. The Democrats tend to hold the advantage in the district:

received 54% of the vote there (

=D+6) in 2004. The Democratic nominee was State Public Regulation Commissioner

. Luján's father serves as Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives. The Republican nominee was small business owner

. Carol Miller, a 1997/1998 Green Party candidate, was seeking the seat as an independent.lcsun-news.com
/ref> Luján won the three-way race fairly easily and was sworn into Congress in January 2009.
Dan East's campaign website

Ben R. Luján's campaign website

Carol Miller's campaign website

Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Primary elections

General election

References

;Specific ;General
2008 Competitive House Race Chart
''

The Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

'', October 13, 2008.
2008 House Ratings
'' The Rothenberg Political Report'', October 14, 2008

External links

Elections
from the ''New Mexico Secretary of State''

from the ''

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

of New Mexico''
U.S. Congress candidates for New Mexico
at Project Vote Smart
Campaign contributions for New Mexico congressional races
from

Local/State Election news and Voter Guide
from Las Cruces Sun-News'' {{DEFAULTSORT:United States House Of Representatives Elections In New Mexico, 2008

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2008 New Mexico elections