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Republican Wins in New Mexico Congressional Upset
SANTA FE, N.M. (AllPolitics, May 14) -- Republican Bill Redmond won an upset Tuesday night to become the first GOP congressman to represent New Mexico's Third District.
Strong voter turnout and a solid showing for a third-party candidate pushed Redmond over the top.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, unofficial results showed Redmond with 42 percent of the vote and Democrat Eric Serna with 40 percent. Green Party candidate Carol Miller had 17 percent of the vote in the crowded field of eight candidates.
The district, which was created in 1982, has never been represented by a Republican.
Redmond's win follows another GOP upset in which Republican Gary Johnson took out Democrat Bruce King in the 1994 governor's race.
Redmond will fill the seat left vacant by Bill Richardson, a Democrat who resigned in February to become an ambassador to the U.N.
However, Redmond, a minister from Los Alamos, could end up holding onto the seat past the 19 months left in the term. Since 1970, no incumbent New Mexico congressman has been voted out of office.