New Mexico's 2nd congressional district

"NM-2" redirects here. The term may also refer to New Mexico State Road 2.

"NM-02" redirects here. For the Mexico City train, see NM-02 (Mexico City Metro).

New Mexico's 2nd congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Gabe Vasquez D–Las Cruces
Distribution	70.82% urban 29.18% rural
Population (2023)	710,078
Median household income	$56,082 [1]
Ethnicity	59.9% Hispanic 29.4% White 5.0% Native American 2.3% Two or more races 1.8% Black 1.1% Asian 0.5% other
Cook PVI	D+1 [2]

New Mexico's 2nd congressional district serves the southern half of New Mexico, including Las Cruces, and the southern fourth of Albuquerque. It is currently represented by Democrat Gabe Vasquez.

History

Historically, the district has leaned more Republican than New Mexico's other two districts, particularly in presidential elections. In the 2020 election, Republican candidate Yvette Herrell defeated Democratic representative Xochitl Torres Small in a rematch of their race in 2018. Herrell is the third Native woman elected to Congress and she assumed office on January 3, 2021. Following the 2020 census, each congressional district in the state underwent redistricting "to ensure that each district has a variety of constituents better reflecting the diversity of interests in New Mexico as a whole." ^[3] This district was made much more Democratic, as it gained more of Albuquerque while losing some heavily Republican areas in the eastern part of the state. With a tight margin, Democratic challenger Gabe Vasquez won the 2022 midterm election. ^[4] Nevertheless, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+1, it is the least Democratic district in New Mexico, a state with an all-Democratic congressional delegation. ^[2]

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results [5] [6] [7]
2008	President	Obama 57% - 42%
2012	President	Obama 55% - 45%
2016	President	Clinton 48% - 42%
2018	Senate	Heinrich 53% - 33%
	Governor	Lujan Grisham 55% - 45%
	Attorney General	Balderas 59% - 36%
2020	President	Biden 52% - 46%
	Senate	Ray Luján 50% - 47%
2022	Governor	Ronchetti 49% - 48%
	Secretary of State	Toulouse Oliver 50% - 47%
	Attorney General	Torrez 52% - 48%
	Treasurer	H. Montoya 50.1% - 49.9%
	Auditor	Maestas 59% - 41%
2024	President	Trump 50% - 48%
	Senate	Heinrich 52% - 48%

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities: ^[8]

Bernalillo County (5)

Albuquerque (part; also 1st), Isleta, Pajarito Mesa, Rio Rancho (part; also 1st; shared with Sandoval County), South Valley

Catron County (18)

All 18 communities

Chaves County (0)

No incorporated municipalities or census-recognized places

Cibola County (34)

All 34 communities

Doña Ana County (30)

All 30 communities

Eddy County (10)

Atoka (part; also 3rd), Carlsbad, Happy Valley, Hope, La Huerta, Livingston Wheeler, Loco Hills, Loving, Malaga, Whites City

Grant County (26)

All 26 communities

Hidalgo County (8)

All 8 communities

Lea County (5)

Eunice, Hobbs (part; also 3rd), Jal, Monument, Nadine

Luna County (11)

All 11 communities

McKinley County (3)

Ramah, Timberlake (shared with Cibola County), Zuni Pueblo

Otero County (17)

All 17 communities

Sierra County (11)

All 11 communities

Socorro County (16)

All 16 communities

Valencia County (9)

Belen, Casa Colorada, Highland Meadows, Jarales, Los Chaves, Los Lunas, Madrone, Pueblitos, Sausal

List of members representing the district

Member (Residence)	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District established January 3, 1969
Ed Foreman (Las Cruces)	Republican	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971	91st	Elected in 1968. Lost re-election.	1969–1983 Catron, Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Roosevelt, San Juan, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia
Harold Runnels (Lovington)	Democratic	January 3, 1971 – August 5, 1980	92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th	Elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Died.
Vacant		August 5, 1980 – January 3, 1981	96th
Joe Skeen (Picacho)	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 2003	97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired.
					1983–1993 [ data missing ]
					1993–2003 Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia
Steve Pearce (Hobbs)	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009	108th 109th 110th	Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Retired to run for U.S. senator.	2003–2013 Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia
Harry Teague (Hobbs)	Democratic	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011	111th	Elected in 2008. Lost re-election.
Steve Pearce (Hobbs)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019	112th 113th 114th 115th	Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Retired to run for Governor of New Mexico.
					2013–2023 Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Roosevelt, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia
Xochitl Torres Small (Las Cruces)	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021	116th	Elected in 2018. Lost re-election.
Yvette Herrell (Alamogordo)	Republican	January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023	117th	Elected in 2020. Lost re-election.
Gabe Vasquez (Las Cruces)	Democratic	January 3, 2023 – present	118th 119th	Elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia

Election results

1968

1968 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Foreman	71,857	50.48
	Democratic	E. S. Johnny Walker	69,858	49.08
	Independent	Wilfredo Sedillo	633	0.44
Total votes			142,348	100.0
	Republican win (new seat)

1970

1970 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold L. Runnels	64,518	51.37
	Republican	Ed Foreman (Incumbent)	61,074	48.63
Total votes			125,592	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

1972

1972 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold L. Runnels (Incumbent)	116,152	72.17
	Republican	George E. Presson	44,784	27.83
Total votes			160,936	100.0
	Democratic hold

1974

1974 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold L. Runnels (Incumbent)	90,127	66.74
	Republican	Donald W. Trubey	43,045	31.88
	American Independent	Herbert Horton	1,860	1.38
Total votes			135,032	100.0
	Democratic hold

1976

1976 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold L. Runnels (Incumbent)	123,563	70.33
	Republican	Donald W. Trubey	52,131	29.67
Total votes			175,694	100.0
	Democratic hold

1978

1978 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harold L. Runnels (Incumbent)	95,710	100.00
Total votes			95,710	100.0
	Democratic hold

1980

1980 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (as a write-in)	61,564	38.00
	Democratic	David King	55,085	34.00
	Independent	Dorothy Runnels (as a write-in)	45,343	28.00
Total votes			161,992	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

1982

1982 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	71,021	58.40
	Democratic	Caleb Chandler	50,599	41.60
Total votes			121,620	100.0
	Republican hold

1984

1984 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	116,006	74.33
	Democratic	Peter R. York	40,063	25.67
Total votes			156,069	100.0
	Republican hold

1986

1986 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	77,787	62.88
	Democratic	Mike Runnels	45,924	37.12
Total votes			123,711	100.0
	Republican hold

1988

1988 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	100,324	100.00
Total votes			100,324	100.0
	Republican hold

1990

1990 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	80,677	100.00
Total votes			80,677	100.0
	Republican hold

1992

1992 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	94,838	56.39
	Democratic	Dan Sosa Jr.	73,157	43.50
	Write-in		175	0.11
Total votes			168,170	100.0
	Republican hold

1994

1994 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	89,966	63.28
	Democratic	Benjamin Anthony Chavez	45,316	31.87
	Green	Rex R. Johnson	6,898	4.85
Total votes			142,180	100.0
	Republican hold

1996

1996 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	95,091	55.93
	Democratic	E. Shirley Baca	74,915	44.07
Total votes			170,006	100.0
	Republican hold

1998

1998 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	85,077	57.93
	Democratic	E. Shirley Baca	61,796	42.07
Total votes			146,873	100.0
	Republican hold

2000

2000 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Skeen (Incumbent)	100,742	58.11
	Democratic	Michael A. Montoya	72,614	41.89
Total votes			173,356	100.0
	Republican hold

2002

2002 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce	79,631	56.23
	Democratic	John Arthur Smith	61,916	43.72
	Green	George L. Dewey (as a write-in)	43	0.03
	Republican	Padraig M. Lynch (as a write-in)	39	0.02
Total votes			141,629	100.0
	Republican hold

2004

2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (Incumbent)	130,498	60.20
	Democratic	Gary King	86,292	39.80
Total votes			216,790	100.0
	Republican hold

2006

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (Incumbent)	92,620	59.42
	Democratic	Albert Kissling	63,119	40.49
	Democratic	C. Dean Burk (as a write-in)	135	0.09
Total votes			155,874	100.0
	Republican hold

2008

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry Teague	129,572	55.96
	Republican	Edward R. Tinsley	101,980	44.04
Total votes			231,552	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

2010

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce	94,053	55.40
	Democratic	Harry Teague (Incumbent)	75,709	44.60
Total votes			169,762	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

2012

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (Incumbent)	133,180	59.06
	Democratic	Evelyn Madrid Erhard	92,162	40.87
	Independent	Jack A. McGrann (Write-In)	173	0.08
Total votes			225,515	100.0
	Republican hold

2014

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (Incumbent)	95,209	64.43
	Democratic	Rocky Lara	52,499	35.52
	Republican	Jack McGrann (Write-In)	69	0.05
Total votes			147,777	100
	Republican hold

2016

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (Incumbent)	143,514	62.72
	Democratic	Merrie Lee Soules	85,232	37.25
	Republican	Jack A McGrann (write in)	70	0.03
Total votes			228,816	100
	Republican hold

2018

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Xochitl Torres Small	101,489	50.90
	Republican	Yvette Herrell	97,767	49.10
Total votes			199,256	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

2020

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Yvette Herrell	142,169	53.75
	Democratic	Xochitl Torres Small (incumbent)	122,314	46.25
Total votes			264,483	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

2022

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabe Vasquez	96,986	50.34
	Republican	Yvette Herrell (incumbent)	95,636	49.64
	Democratic	Eliseo Luna (write-in)	51	0.03
Total votes			192,673	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

2024

2024 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico: District 2 ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gabe Vasquez (incumbent)	138,177	52.08
	Republican	Yvette Herrell	127,145	47.92
Total votes			265,322	100.00
	Democratic gain from

See also

• United States portal

• New Mexico's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

1. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
2. "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
3. "New Mexico Redistricting is Completed". Lea County Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
4. "Democrats Make a Clean Sweep in New Mexico". Lea County Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
5. https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::ec1c76cd-f59f-445b-8f24-fbffb0e8bdf5
6. Kondik, Kyle (January 16, 2025). "The 2024 Crossover House Seats: Overall Number Remains Low with Few Harris-District Republicans" . Retrieved January 16, 2025.
7. "2024 U.S. Senate Election in New Mexico by Congressional District".
8. https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST35/CD118_NM02.pdf
9. "1968 Election Results" (PDF).
10. "1970 Election Results" (PDF).
11. "1972 Election Results" (PDF).
12. "1974 Election Results" (PDF).
13. "1976 Election Results" (PDF).
14. "1978 Election Results" (PDF).
15. "1980 Election Results" (PDF).
16. "1982 Election Results" (PDF).
17. "1984 Election Results" (PDF).
18. "1986 Election Results" (PDF).
19. "1988 Election Results" (PDF).
20. "1990 Election Results" (PDF).
21. "1992 Election Results" (PDF).
22. "1994 Election Results" (PDF).
23. "1996 Election Results" (PDF).
24. "1998 Election Results" (PDF).
25. "2000 Election Results" (PDF).
26. "2002 Election Results" (PDF).
27. "2004 Election Results" (PDF).
28. "2006 Election Results" (PDF).
29. "2008 Election Results" (PDF).
30. "2010 Election Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
31. "Statewide Results". New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017.
32. "Official Results General Election - November 4, 2014". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
33. "Election Night Results - November 8, 2016". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
34. "Election Night Results - November 6, 2018". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
35. https://electionstats.sos.nm.gov/contest/12730
36. "2024 General Election Candidate Summary Results Report" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Mexico . November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024.

33°23′07″N106°17′58″W / 33.38528°N 106.29944°W / 33.38528; -106.29944