Jeanette Friedman

GOP’s Martinez Wins in N.M., Becomes U.S.’s First Female Hispanic Governor

Nov 03

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by Jeanette Friedman

Republican Susana Martinez won the New Mexico governor’s race on Tuesday night, becoming the state’s first female governor and the first female Hispanic governor in U.S. history. She won by 10 points over Democratic rival Diane Denish, in a race pollsters assumed would be more hotly contested. The race was called about two hours after the polls closed, with 21 percent of the ballots counted.

This was the first time in New Mexico’s history that two women — Martinez, a border-county (Doña Ana) U.S. prosecutor, and Denish, Gov. Bill Richardson’s Lt. Governor — ran against each other for the state’s chief executive position. The night before the election, AOL’s Politics Daily reported that Martinez led by 9 points, with 16% undecided. Another poll said the two were neck and neck. In New Mexico, Democrats have a 50 to 32 percent edge over Republicans among registered voters, but Martinez, who is Hispanic, made significant gains among the state’s Latino citizenry — 45% of the state’s population is Hispanic.

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