2002 United States Senate election in New Mexico

2002 United States Senate election in New Mexico

←  1996 November 5, 2002 2008  →

Nominee Pete Domenici Gloria Tristani Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 314,301 169,039 Percentage 65.03% 34.97%

County results Domenici:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Tristani:     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Pete Domenici Republican Elected U.S. Senator Pete Domenici Republican

The 2002 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pete Domenici won re-election to a sixth term. As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican has won a U.S. Senate election in New Mexico.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Gloria Tristani, member of the Federal Communications Commission and former Corporation Commissioner of New Mexico
• Francesa Lobato
• Don E. Durham (write-in)

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gloria Tristani	109,084	77.71%
	Democratic	Francesa Lobato	31,228	22.24%
	Democratic	Don E. Durham (write-in)	73	0.05%
Total votes			140,385	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Pete Domenici, incumbent U.S. Senator
• Orlin G. Cole (write-in)

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Domenici (incumbent)	91,898	99.93%
	Republican	Orlin G. Cole (write-in)	62	0.07%
Total votes			91,960	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Pete Domenici (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Gloria Tristani (D), member of the Federal Communications Commission and former Corporation Commissioner of New Mexico

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [3]	Safe R	November 4, 2002

Results

General election results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pete Domenici (incumbent)	314,301	65.03%	+0.31%
	Democratic	Gloria Tristani	169,039	34.97%	+5.18%
Majority			145,262	30.05%	−4.90%
Turnout			483,340
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Guadalupe (largest city: Santa Rosa)
• Mora (largest city: Mora)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Santa Fe (largest city: Santa Fe)
• San Miguel (largest city: Las Vegas)
• Taos (largest city: Taos)

See also

• 2002 United States Senate election

References

1. "New Mexico Official 2002 Election Results for". Archived from the original on August 3, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
2. "New Mexico Official 2002 Election Results for". Archived from the original on August 3, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
3. "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
4. https://electionstats.sos.nm.gov/contest/1169