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1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election

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Field	Value
election_name	1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election
country	New Mexico
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	1990 New Mexico gubernatorial election
previous_year	1990
next_election	1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election
next_year	1998
election_date	November 8, 1994
image1	Garyjohnsonphoto.JPG
nominee1	Gary Johnson
party1	Republican Party (United States)
running_mate1	Walter Bradley
popular_vote1	232,945
percentage1	49.81%
image2	Governor Bruce King.jpg
nominee2	Bruce King
party2	Democratic Party (United States)
running_mate2	Patricia A. Madrid
popular_vote2	186,686
percentage2	39.92%
image3	Roberto Mondragon2 (cropped).jpg
nominee3	Roberto Mondragón
party3	Green Party (United States)
running_mate3	Steven Schmidt
popular_vote3	47,990
percentage3	10.26%
map_image	1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
map_size	230px
map_caption	County results
Johnson:
King:
title	Governor
before_election	Bruce King
before_party	Democratic Party (United States)
after_election	Gary Johnson
after_party	Republican Party (United States)

Johnson:
King:
The 1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, for the four-year term beginning on January 1, 1995. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran on a ticket as running mates.

Incumbent Democrat Bruce King ran for a fourth term with Patricia Madrid as a running mate, losing to Republican nominees Gary Johnson, a businessman, and Walter Bradley, a former state senator. Former Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragón ran with Steven Schmidt as the nominees of the Green Party, receiving 10.4 percent of the vote.

The election was marked by the surprising rise of Republican Gary Johnson, the 41-year-old owner of one of the state's largest construction companies. Johnson, who had never before held elected office, upset a crowded Republican primary field by a margin of fewer than 1,300 votes. With the state's non-Republicans split between the centrist King and progressive Mondragón, King failed to gain a majority and Johnson won the election with 49.8% of the vote.

This is the last time a governor of New Mexico lost re-election. This was one of four gubernatorial elections where an incumbent Democrat was defeated in 1994.

Primary election

Democratic Party

King faced a tough renomination campaign, being challenged by incumbent Lieutenant Governor Casey Luna, who had a falling out with King in 1993 over King's refusal to give Luna a larger role in King's administration. Former New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Jim Baca also challenged King.

Candidates

Jim Baca, former Director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and former New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands
Bruce King, incumbent Governor
Casey Luna, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Results

Republican Party

Candidates

David F. Cargo, former Governor (196771) and former State Representative
Dick Cheney, State Representative from Farmington
John Dendahl, former New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development and Tourism
Gary Johnson, businessman

Declined

Manuel Lujan Jr., former U.S. Representative from Albuquerque (196989) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (198993)

Campaign

Cheney ran on a platform highlighting cracking down on violent crime, repealing the gasoline tax, and lowering public spending. During the campaign, he controversially changed his legal name from Richard to "Dick". Opponents including John Dendahl stated that people voting in the polls would confuse Cheney with the former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney from Wyoming, improving his chances of winning the primary. Public polling after the change showed that his numbers increased significantly.

At the state convention, Cheney received 49% of the vote against 29% for Dendahl and 22% for Johnson.

Results

General election

Candidates

Gary Johnson, businessman (Republican)
Bruce King, incumbent Governor (Democratic)
Roberto Mondragón, former Lieutenant Governor (Green)

Campaign

Bruce King, the Democratic three-term incumbent, began the general election with the most funding and name recognition. King was a career politician who had first been elected to the Santa Fe County Commission in 1954, when Gary Johnson was just one year old. King also had the support of the Gold Boot Club, a business-backed political coalition that channeled thousands of dollars to his campaign.

King's quest for an unprecedented fourth term faced obstacles from the left and the right. From the left, King was challenged by Green Party nominee Roberto Mondragón. Mondragón was a populist former Democrat, who had served as Lieutenant Governor from 1971 to 1975 and in the state House from 1979 to 1983. Mondragón had a knack for appealing to both progressive whites and working-class Hispanics, and attacked King for his cushy relationships with big business.

Gary Johnson was the nominee of New Mexico's Republican Party, a statewide party that had won just one gubernatorial election since 1970. Johnson faced the challenge of keeping together his Republican base while appealing to independents and Democrats frustrated with King. Johnson campaigned as a political outsider and self-made entrepreneur. In college, Johnson had worked as a door-to-door handyman, a business that gradually expanded into Big J Enterprises. By 1999, the company employed over 1,000 people and was worth several million dollars. Johnson avoided then-divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights, and focused his campaign on pocketbook issues like taxes and the state budget. Johnson touted his experience in the business world of balancing budgets while growing his company, and promised to bring that experience to state government.

In November, Gary Johnson won the election with just under 50% of the vote, while King got almost 40% and Mondragón pulled in just over 10%.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s)
administered	Sample
size	Margin of
error	Bruce
King (D)	Gary
Johnson (R)	Other	Undecided
Santa Fe New Mexican	November 3, 1994	—	—	34%	46%	—	—
Albuquerque Journal	October 23, 1994	—	—	35%	40%	—	—

Results

Results by county

Johnson was the first Republican since Edwin L. Mechem in 1956 to carry Sandoval County. As of 2022, only Sandoval County and Bernalillo County have backed the winner in each gubernatorial election going back to 1990. Johnson was also the first Republican since David Cargo in 1966 to win Valencia County.

County	Gary Johnson
Republican	Bruce King
Democratic	Roberto Mondragón
Green	Margin	Total votes cast	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total	232,945	49.81%	186,686	39.92%	47,990	10.26%	46,259	9.89%	467,621
	Bernalillo		81,732		52.82%		57,131		36.92%		15,861		10.25%		24,601		15.90%		154,724
	Catron		992		66.71%		408		27.44%		87		5.85%		584		39.27%		1,487
	Chaves		9,606		60.45%		5,449		34.29%		835		5.25%		4,157		26.16%		15,890
	Cibola		2,387		41.39%		2,731		47.36%		649		11.25%		-344		-5.96%		5,767
	Colfax		1,982		41.69%		2,242		47.16%		530		11.15%		-260		-5.47%		4,754
	Curry		6,721		64.39%		3,377		32.35%		340		3.26%		3,344		32.04%		10,438
	De Baca		482		44.55%		498		46.03%		102		9.43%		-16		-1.48%		1,082
	Doña Ana		17,560		53.79%		12,142		37.19%		2,945		9.02%		5,418		16.60%		32,647
	Eddy		8,549		55.46%		6,129		39.76%		737		4.78%		2,420		15.70%		15,415
	Grant		4,059		43.50%		4,484		48.05%		789		8.45%		-425		-4.55%		9,332
	Guadalupe		366		16.34%		1,253		55.94%		621		27.72%		-632		-28.22%		2,240
	Harding		280		43.55%		307		47.74%		56		8.71%		-27		-4.20%		643
	Hidalgo		940		49.09%		846		44.18%		129		6.74%		94		4.91%		1,915
	Lea		8,616		66.68%		3,934		30.44%		372		2.88%		4,682		36.23%		12,922
	Lincoln		2,850		54.11%		2,080		39.49%		337		6.40%		770		14.62%		5,267
	Los Alamos		5,379		59.61%		3,043		33.72%		602		6.67%		2,336		25.89%		9,024
	Luna		2,956		54.40%		2,087		38.41%		391		7.20%		869		15.99%		5,434
	McKinley		4,750		35.77%		7,748		58.35%		781		5.88%		-2,998		-22.58%		13,279
	Mora		581		23.63%		1,377		56.00%		501		20.37%		-796		-32.37%		2,459
	Otero		7,921		59.89%		4,579		34.62%		725		5.48%		-3,342		-25.27%		13,225
	Quay		1,886		50.12%		1,574		41.83%		303		8.05%		312		8.29%		3,763
	Rio Arriba		2,381		23.95%		5,770		58.03%		1,792		18.02%		-3,389		-34.08%		9,943
	Roosevelt		2,925		60.12%		1,745		35.87%		195		4.01%		1,180		24.25%		4,865
	San Juan		16,343		61.53%		8,491		31.97%		1,729		6.51%		7,852		29.56%		26,563
	San Miguel		1,789		21.44%		4,935		59.14%		1,620		19.42%		-3,146		-37.70%		8,344
	Sandoval		11,228		53.95%		7,670		36.85%		1,915		9.20%		3,558		17.10%		20,813
	Santa Fe		10,701		29.44%		18,006		49.54%		7,638		21.02%		-7,305		-20.10%		36,345
	Sierra		2,390		61.31%		1,273		32.66%		235		6.03%		1,117		28.66%		3,898
	Socorro		2,441		42.01%		2,737		47.11%		632		10.88%		-296		-5.09%		5,810
	Taos		2,221		27.64%		3,668		45.64%		2,147		26.72%		-1,447		-18.01%		8,036
	Torrance		1,786		43.56%		1,964		47.90%		350		8.54%		-178		-4.34%		4,100
	Union		903		54.46%		678		40.89%		77		4.64%		225		13.57%		1,658
	Valencia		7,242		46.61%		6,330		40.74%		1,967		12.66%		912		5.87%		15,539

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Bernalillo
Catron
Curry
Doña Ana
Eddy
Hidalgo
Luna
Quay
Roosevelt
Sandoval
Union
Valencia

Notes

References

Birnbaum, Ben. (2016-08-12). "Gary Johnson Has a Plan".
(25 October 1994). "Luna Won't Take Sides in the Race".
"Canvass of Returns of Primary Election Held on June 7, 1994 – State of New Mexico". New Mexico Secretary of State.
"Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico · Page 7".
"The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico · Page 7".
Morehouse, Sarah McCally. (1998). "The Governor as Party Leader: Campaigning and Governing". University of Michigan Press.
Terrell, Steve. (2020-01-14). "After big loss, experts doubt King will run for office again". [[The Santa Fe New Mexican]].
Kurtz, Josh. (1994-10-26). "The Liberals' Dilemma: Choose Your Poison". [[The Santa Fe Reporter]].
Marciello, Alex. (2011-02-25). "Former NM governor talks politics". The Daily News of Newburyport.
Lyman, Andy. (2016-04-20). "How Gary Johnson went from 'Governor No' to third party icon". New Mexico Political Report.
"Canvass of Returns of General Election Held on November 8, 1994 - State of New Mexico". New Mexico Secretary of State.

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