Despite federal election results, the Democratic Party of New Mexico has been given some cause for celebration.
DPNM held an election night event at the Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque, attended by several dozen people including voters, volunteers, and key party members.
Decade-long Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse-Oliver, a democrat, will be New Mexico’s next Secretary of State.
After maintaining a senate majority and flipping the house of representatives, Democrats now control the New Mexico state legislature.
All three of New Mexico’s incumbent congressional representatives, two of whom are democrats, were re-elected to Congress.
“Our message of transparency and accountability at all levels of government was heard by every voter in the state this election,” Toulouse-Oliver said to an excited crowd. “We are having a good night.”
Toulouse-Oliver defeated Republican Nora Espinoza in a race to determine who would serve the remaining two years of disgraced former Republican SOS Dianna Duran’s unexpired term.
The people of New Mexico are being called on for help, Toulouse-Oliver said, “as we try to bring much-needed reforms to our state to hold elected officials accountable, to make sure that our elections stay free and fair and open and accessible.”
DPNM was extremely optimistic about Toulouse-Oliver’s chances throughout the campaign, which was ultimately contingent upon a solid ground game, said DPNM Chairwoman Debra Haaland.
“We have a great ground game, volunteers nonstop both on the phone and knocking on doors,” she said.
After ten years as head of the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office, Toulouse-Oliver is “imminently qualified” to be SOS, Haaland said. Her efforts over the past decade have improved voter accessibility throughout the county, including for tribal communities.
The County Clerk’s office vacated by Toulouse-Oliver will remain occupied by a democrat, Linda Stover.
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“I’m going to miss Bernalillo County,” Toulouse-Oliver said, “but I’m ready for the next level... If we can make it work here, we can make it work around the state.”
She said she looks forward to helping county clerks throughout New Mexico, with whom she has built relationships over the past decade.
“At the end of the day, what’s important is that our democracy is working, that voters are getting to make their voices heard” Toulouse-Oliver said with regard to other elections. “Whatever the outcome, that’s going to be how we have to work for the next four years.”
Democrats unseated four incumbent Republicans in the house of representatives, and two in the senate en route to becoming the governing party of the next state legislature.
House District 20 candidate Giovanni Haquani-D came up short in his race against incumbent Jim Dines-R, but that didn’t shake his confidence in his party’s ability to take the house.
Haquani said he thinks the actions of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a beneficial effect for down-ballot Democrats.
State Democrats will still face the reality of a Republican in the Governor’s Mansion, he said, “but if we manage to keep the house, in four, six years, things will start getting done, and the state will change for the better.”
Despite his eventual loss, the show of support at DPNM’s Election Night event was encouraging, Haquani said.
“Win or lose, we come out here and help each other,” he said. “Eventually, the nation comes together. We’re very resilient as a nation. We’ve been through a lot and I think we’re going to continue to grow. At least that’s my hope.”
The ultimate reward in public service is the stamp of approval that is re-election, Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham, D-NM, said, and she was rewarded on Tuesday evening, along with fellow Democratic representative Ben Ray Lujan.
Two-thirds of the New Mexico delegation to the United States House of Representatives will remain Democratic. Steve Pearce, R-NM, was also re-elected to congress.
Both Democrats were strong candidates who knew their districts well, according to DPNM Chair Deb Haaland.
Lujan-Grisham said she did her best to contribute to down-ballot races in the state, and was excited by the amount of women on the Bernalillo County general election ballot.
Studies show that female legislators pass more legislation, bring more money home to their districts, and introduce more legislation that affects education and families, she said.
For a country whose citizens are more than half women, in a representative democracy, “it’s really important that gender equality be reached,” Lujan-Grisham said. “I’m wearing my ‘suffrage white’ Hillary Clinton pantsuit in solidarity, and I’ve got my fingers crossed.”
Upon arriving at Capitol Hill, she said she was surprised by how unpredictable and counterintuitive it is to pass legislation at the federal level, but equally surprised by how well both sides of the aisle can work together.
During her first trip to Congress virtually nothing was getting done, she said.
“It was the worst congress in the history of our democracy,” she said. “I’ve seen productive progression toward a more reasonable congress.”
Two terms worth of experience and a polarized public has the congresswoman anxious but excited, Lujan-Grisham said.
“My expectation is that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are ready to work to heal this country," she said.
Johnny Vizcaino is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thedailyjohnnyv.
