1996 New Mexico Senate election

1996 New Mexico Senate election

← 1992 November 5, 1996 2000  →
All 42 seats in the New Mexico Senate 22 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Manny Aragon Party Democratic Republican Leader since 1988 Leader's seat District 14 Last election 27 15 Seats after 25 17 Seat change 2 2
President pro tempore before election Manny Aragon Democratic Elected President pro tempore Manny Aragon Democratic

The 1996 New Mexico Senate election was held on November 5, 1996, to determine which party would control the New Mexico Senate for the following four years in the 43rd New Mexico Legislature. All 42 seats in the New Mexico Senate were up for election. Prior to the election, 27 seats were held by Democrats and 15 seats were held by Republicans. The general election saw Republicans flip a two seats, thereby meaning that Democrats retained their majority in the State Senate. ^{[1] [2]}

Retirements

Republicans

1. District 2: Christine Donisthorpe retired.

Incumbents defeated

In primary

Democrats

1. District 5: Emilio Naranjo lost renomination to Arthur Rodarte.
2. District 11: Tom R. Benavides lost renomination to Linda M. Lopez.

In general

Democrats

1. District 10: Janice D. Paster lost re-election to Ramsay Gorham.

Republicans

1. District 9: Virgil O. Rhodes lost re-election to Pauline Eisenstadt.

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. District 9, 3.02% (gain)
2. District 10, 5.08% (gain)

Results

District 1

District 1 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Raymond Kysar (incumbent)	11,126	100.0%
Total votes			11,126	100.0%
	Republican hold

District 2

District 2 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	R. L. Stockard	7,157	55.91%
	Democratic	Darla Whitney-Welles	5,644	44.09%
Total votes			12,801	100.0%
	Republican hold

District 3

District 3 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	7,981	79.31%
	Republican	Gregory R. Begay	2,082	20.69%
Total votes			10,063	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 4

District 4 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gloria Howes (incumbent)	6,355	100.0%
Total votes			6,355	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 5

District 5 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Arthur Rodarte	8,581	67.17%
	Republican	Howard L. Bancroft III	3,548	27.78%
		Scattering	645	5.05%
Total votes			12,774	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 6

District 6 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	10,677	81.99%
	Independent	Daniel J. Pearlman	2,345	18.01%
Total votes			13,022	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 7

District 7 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Patrick H. Lyons (incumbent)	8,984	59.81%
	Democratic	Warren F. Frost	6,036	40.19%
Total votes			15,020	100.0%
	Republican hold

District 8

District 8 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Campos (incumbent)	11,455	100.0%
Total votes			11,455	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 9

District 9 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pauline Eisenstadt	9,152	51.51%
	Republican	Virgil O. Rhodes (incumbent)	8,616	48.49%
Total votes			17,768	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 10

District 10 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ramsay Gorham	7,692	52.54%
	Democratic	Janice D. Paster (incumbent)	6,948	47.46%
Total votes			14,640	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 11

District 11 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda M. Lopez	6,467	100.0%
Total votes			6,467	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 12

District 12 election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard M. Romero (incumbent)	7,845	100.0%
Total votes			7,845	100.0%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "921fd2fa-c28a-495e-b09a-63e93177ef99". amazonaws.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
2. "CanvassPrimary1996.pdf" (PDF). amazonaws.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.