The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)
Losses tonight by state Reps. Nate Cote and Jeff Steinborn, Democrats from Southern New Mexico, are part of a major shift that will see Republicans gain eight seats in the House.
That will dramatically shift the composition in the House, where there are currently 45 Democrats and 25 Republicans.
Steinborn is not conceding the race yet – absentee ballots have yet to be counted – but the writing is on the wall.
“At this juncture it would appear that I lost this race,” Steinborn said. “If in fact that it turns out that I lost, I want to certainly congratulate Terry McMillan and his supporters on an extremely hard-fought campaign. … Should it come to pass, I’m here to support him if he needs any assistance.”
Cote conceded defeat to Republican Rick Little.
“In viewing the results, the whole race was decided by one large precinct in Otero County. The district allowed that one precinct… the control the rest of the district, and that’s what happened,” Cote said.
Other Democratic incumbents who appear to have lost include John Heaton from Carlsbad, Andrew Barreras from Tome, Karen Giannini from Albuquerque, Jack Thomas from Rio Rancho and Ben Rodefer from Corrales. Republicans also picked up an open seat in Valencia County.