Elections results liveblog

AP declared Steve Pearce the winner in the hard-fought GOP Senate primary.

By Trip Jennings 06/03/2008

NMI will provide election results and important developments from today's primary race here on this blog. And here's the first item straightaway: AP declares Pearce the winner in the U.S. senate race.

The Associated Press is declaring Steve Pearce the winner of the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

With 99 percent of precincts statewide reporting, Pearce has about 51 percent of the vote to Heather Wilson’s 49 percent, according to the news service. Pearce is leading by about 2,900 votes -- 56,738 to 53,827.

Neither campaign could immediately be reached for comment. The AP announcement came at about 2 a.m.

Wilson didn’t concede the race and Pearce didn’t declare victory during speeches they gave late Tuesday. Wilson said she was encouraged by the results and said the race appeared to be a “dead heat,” according to a separate Associated Press article.

Pearce, meanwhile, said he was “excited” because the polls “are strong coming in.” He described the election as a “horse race,” but said he was confident.

Pearce becomes the GOP nominee and will face U.S. Rep. Tom Udall in November to replace retiring Sen. Pete Domenici.

Pearce was not prepared to declare victory around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday as he was being interviewed on KANW radio.

But there were hints that Pearce knew that he was the likely winner. "Tom will be a formidable candidate," Pearce said of U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, who will face the Republican nominee in the Senate race this fall. "But we have to let people up north about our values."

Pearce said his general election campaign will be similar to that of his primary one -- he'll focus on lower taxes, on cutting wasteful spending and he wants to support the war on terror.

While Pearce refrained from declaring victory, others did not. Blogger Joe Monahan, who was hosting the program on KANW radio, was declaring that Pearce had ended rival Heather Wilson's political career.

"It is clear that Pearce will be the standard bearer for the state's minority party," Monahan said.

Pearce's victory ends her decade-long career in the U.S. House and a history of fending off Democratic challengers in the 1st Congressional District, which is the swingiest congressional district in N.M.

Ed Tinsley wins the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.

The Associated Press just wrote that Capitan rancher and businessman Ed Tinsley won the five-way Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat on Tuesday.

Tinsley, owner of the K-Bob's restaurant chain, had more than 31 percent of the vote with 89 percent of unofficial returns counted Tuesday night.

State Sen. Linda Lopez survives ... by a couple of hundred votes.

Veteran Democratic state lawmaker Linda Lopez appeared to have pulled off a squeaker of a win Tuesday night, despite not getting an endorsement or much help from Gov. Bill Richardson. In fact, a few of the lawmakers Richardson helped didn't survive Election night.

"There's some reason to believe he may have been helping" her opponent, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, said of Richardson.

Lopez and Richardson's administration have clashed frequently, especially last year when the senator publicly took on the state Children, Youth and Families department.

House Minority Whip Dan Foley concedes to challenger.

House Minority Whip Dan Foley, R-Roswell, conceded defeat minutes ago. The second-highest Republican in the state House faced a tough battle against a well-funded challenger. Foley is among several legislative incumbents to have lost Tuesday evening.

The 3rd Congressional District Democratic race.

According to KANW radio, with 86 percent of precincts reporting in the 3rd Congressional District race, Ben Ray Lujan had 18,765 votes compared to 12,544 votes for Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott, meaning that Lujan was taking a clear lead in the race and some were already declaring him the winner.

"Ben Ray's got this race," former state Democratic Party chairman John Wertheim said on KANW race.

Teague declares victory in Democratic CD 2.

Harry Teague s declaring victory in the Democratic 2nd Congressional District primary, but the campaign of his opponent,Bill McCamley, says it’s too early to call the race.

Teague declared victory moments ago in an interview with KANW-FM in Albuquerque.

The Associated Press was reporting that Teague, who runs a Hobbs oilfield services business, was narrowly leading Dona Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley of Las Cruces. Teague had 51.35 percent and McCamley 48.65 percent of the vote.

“I had so much support from so many people,” Teague said in thanking those who helped him.

He also said he believes the general election will “be a very close race.”

Teague won a number of counties across the district, but McCamley easily won his home county of Doña Ana with more than half of precincts there yet to report results.

McCamley finally acknowledged Teague's victory after midnight.

"We did call and concede," McCamley said.

Compiled by Heath Haussamen As I’ve disclosed in the past, I’m friends with McCamley. Click here to read more about that.

KANW was calling two legislative races and the parade of beaten incumbents is growing -- former Albuquerque City Councilor Eric Griego toppled Sen. James Taylor in District 14 senate race; and Tim Keller beat Sen. Shannon Robsinson in District 17 race.

Earlier, House District 13 candidate Eleanor Chavez declared victory on radio after knocking off powerful Rep. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Chavez's campaign was celebrating at its headquarters as of 8:30 p.m. According to unofficial results on the Bernalillo County website, Chavez won the early votes and absentees votes. And people close to her campaign say she won the precincts as well.

"It's a big win for the progressive wing of the Democratic party," said former Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press was reporting that state Rep. Dan Foley of Roswell, the No. 2 Republican House leader, was trailing challenger Dennis Kintigh, a retired FBI agent, with 96 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday evening. Foley had 46 percent to Kintigh's 54 percent.

The other Roswell incumbent, state Sen. Rod Adair, was being challenged by Rory McMinn, a former member of the Public Regulation Commission. With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, Adair was ahead 55 percent to 45 percent.

Absentee voters in Bernalillo County have given former Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich a jump-start in the Democratic primary race for Congressional District 1. With absentees counting as one precinct out of 425, Heinrich leads his closest challenger, former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, by nearly double, 3,582 votes to 1,963, according to the Bernalillo County Clerk's office. In percentage terms, he had more than 47 percent to Vigil-Giron's 26 percent.

The early lead mirrors a poll done for the Albuquerque Journal that showed Heinrich well ahead in the four-way race. Behind Vigil-Giron in absentee votes counted today are Michelle Lujan Grisham with 1,545 votes and Robert Pidcock, with 489.

In the Republican contest for CD1, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White had the landslide lead over challenger Joe Carraro predicted earlier by pollsters — and then some. In absentee voting, White had 84 percent to Carraro's 16 percent, or 7,070 votes to 1,315.

Compiled by Joel Gay

The NMI is giving periodic updates of the New Mexico's primary election scene today as its writers visit polling sites as well as describe the scene as Republicans and Democrats across the state turn out to cast ballots. Part of that coverage includes NMI's Matthew Reichbach who is driving around parts of Rio Rancho and checking in on precincts to see how voter turnout is going and whether elections officials are having problems with equipment.

Our roving reporter says poll workers and presiding judges, at least in Rio Ranchio, were only too happy to talk. Voters were in scant supply. So elections officials were reading magazines and newspapers. A few were knittting. And they were all hopeful that turnout will increase later in the day as people get off work. If you want to follow along with Matt's travels, check out the Google Map below.

File this under things that make go huh??

Barbara Armijo of the Independent went to vote at Westside Community Center in the South Valley around 1:30 p.m. And she almost didn't vote. Here, she picks up the story.

OK, so here's a strange one. I show up to the precinct I have been voting in for 26 years -- the mighty No. 67 -- and I can't find my name on the rolls. Well, I did eventually, but not before I nearly packed up to call the County Clerk and raise hell. Turns out, the voter rolls are not always perfectly alphabetized.

I'm an Armijo, so I go to the A's, then scroll down. I see my uncle, Ernest, my dad, Luis, and various others, but no Barbara. I call the poll worker over, he goes over it with me, and nope, no Barbara. So we check the next precinct over, No. 65. Nope, no Barbara Armijo. At this point I was very concerned. Had I been purged? I've voted in every election -- haven't missed a single one that I could think of.

Then, just by chance I go over to the poll worker with the master list, and we go through all the Armijos -- turn the page. And yup, there I am Barbara Armijo, listed after the names with the letter M under Armijo. What gives? I thought it alwasy was alphabetical. Good thing I found mine because right underneath my name was "Diana Armijo," my sister. I gave her a quick call with the warning not to be turned away.

Anybody else have this problem?

Albuquerque -- In the heated battle for House District 13 on the west side, about 650 people had voted either by absentee or early voting. By 11 a.m., about 500 people had voted in person. Democratic incumbent Dan Silva is trying to hold off a challenge from Eleanor Chavez. Various estimates suggest the turn-out for this primary overall will be around 30 percent.

With a little over 8,000 registered Democrats, that may mean about 2,400 people will cast their ballots.

What is Election Day without mobile signs. For visibility, Silva has a traveling billboard.

According to Monica Cordova, "It's a two-sided digital billboard. First you see his name, then a message urging people to vote for him. I'd say it was about four feet by six feet, and its traveling through District 13 in the back of big white pickup truck. Dan Silva isn't driving it personally, but we did see him pull up in his big white Cadillac to Carlos Rey Elementary school to go vote."

Compiled by Marjorie Childress

Santa Fe --Just like in Rio Rancho, all has been quiet on Santa Fe's voting front today, where turnout is ranging from slightly above normal to "pretty pathetic," according to poll workers.

At Wood Gormley Elementary school in Santa Fe's South Capitol neighborhood, about 117 out 946 registered voters had cast ballots by 1 p.m., a showing that presiding judge Tom Chepucavage described as "horribly low."

Uncontested state legislative races in the precint and other low profile contests may be factors in that turnout. And Chepucavage thinks that the recent negative tone of the crowded District 3 congressional race, which many expected to boost turnout, may actually have discouraged some voters.

"The congressional race has gotten really dirty and ugly," he said.

At precincts just south of downtown, poll workers have seen a steady trickle of voters, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Slow but steady," presiding judge Dennis Manzanares said of turnout at the Santa Fe school disctrict administration building, where by 12:30 p.m. 61 of 444 registered voters had cast ballots. At the nearby Pasatiempo Senior Center, where the precinct inlcudes a large majority of senior citizens, the showing was "a little better than usual," poll workers said. About 125 voters had cast ballots by the lunch hour.

Candidates running for the hotly contested 3rd Congressional District seat, meanwhile, are spending the day doing some last minute stumping and planning for campaign parties this evening. Democrat Ben Ray Lujan, whom polls show with a slight lead, is planning to join supporters at the Hotel Santa Fe tonight, while his closest rival, Don Wiviott, will watch returns at home with his family.

Democrats Benny Shendo Jr. and Harry Montoya also have post-election parties planned, as does Republican contender Marco Gonzales, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported this morning. Gonzales' rival, Dan East, plans to watch returns at his Rio Rancho home with some friends, the paper said.

Compiled by John Arnold

Around 2 p.m., St. Aquinas Catholic Church: Precinct 32 poll worker Doug G. Utteg said turnout was "slow -- we're barely over 1 percent." By around 2 p.m., 59 of the precincts 483 registered Democrats and Republicans had voted. The voters were evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. At precinct 31, 99 of 1,058 registered Democrats and Republicans had voted by 2 p.m. and three had voted provisional.

Compiled by Matthew Reichbach

1:50 p.m., Haynes Recreation Center: Seventy seven people had voted at Precinct 72 with one provisional vote. Presiding Judge Joann Trujillo said "people were trickling in and out" and five minutes usually separate voters. People had a hard time finding a place to park, but that was because of a lot of people were at Haynes Park Tuesday to swim -- not to vote (see left). Apparently some people came to vote at Precinct 72, but had gone to the wrong place. Their voting precinct was about about a mile. Trujillo said some of those folks grumbled that they did not have the time to go to the correct precinct. Trujillo said "people were getting information mixed." Voter ID cards and the Internet told people to go to Precinct 72, when they should have gone to precincts 31 and 32.