The new mexico delegation

congressional officials …

New Mexico is a small delegation state with diversity and electoral newness, but all members are Democrats.

Of the five members in the 2022-2023 class, two are female, three are male, and three are minority representatives through the end of the year. Two of the five delegation members are freshmen members of Congress.

None of the members are military veterans. 

One member has a law degree, and one holds a graduate degree. 

The average tenure for the delegation is only two terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. The longest-serving member has been in Congress since 2012.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a low score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are vital to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. None of the New Mexico delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on critical matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. Being too doctrinaire, in our opinion, or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century, does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections. One of the two United States Senators is up for re-election this season.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Senator Heinrich is included since he has a race in 2024. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating New Mexicans? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

There are three vulnerable races in New Mexico for Thomas to watch in 2024:

• NMS1 - Martin Heinrich’s seat (Incumbent D)

• NM02 - Gabe Vasquez’s seat (Incumbent D)

• NM03 - Taresa Leger Fernandez’s seat (Incumbent D)

the senators

United States Senator martin heinrich (d)

Two-term U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich is New Mexico’s senior senator serving on the Appropriations Committee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; the Intelligence Committee; and the Joint Economics Committee of which he is chair.  A former member of the House from 2009 to 2013, Heinrich was elected in 2012 to the Senate.  The married father of two is a former businessman and graduated from the University of Missouri.

Thomas Take: Running for Re-Election - Nudging Democrat

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United states senator Ben Ray Luján

Senator Ben Ray Luján is New Mexico’s junior senator serving his first term in the U.S. Senate after the election of 2022.  A graduate of New Mexico Highlands University, Senator Luján also served in the House from 2009 to 2021.  He serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Budget Committee; the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: B

Website

the representatives