At various points in the last two decades, each party has held one, two, or all three of New Mexico's congressional seats. But the map appears to have settled for now, with Democrats holding widening advantages in both the Albuquerque 1st CD and northern New Mexico 3rd CD. Democrats badly want to defeat GOP Rep. Steve Pearce in the 2nd CD, but are unlikely to do so in 2014.
NM-01: Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) - Central: Albuquerque. Solid Democratic. When Democrat Martin Heinrich moved up to the Senate in 2012, Democrats held a spirited primary for this increasingly liberal Albuquerque seat. Lujan Grisham, then a Bernalillo County commissioner, expertly "shot the gap:" against more liberal state Sen. Eric Griego and more moderate former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, Lujan Grisham wisely stayed above the fray and surged at the last minute.
Lujan Grisham didn't run a particularly ideological race, but it helped that she was the only woman in the field (she was endorsed by EMILY's List), stayed positive, and largely preserved her cash. Republicans remarkably held this district until 2008, but
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.