1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election

1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election
	County results; Johnson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; King: 40–50% 50–60%
Governor before election; Bruce King; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Gary Johnson; Republican

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.^[1] This is the last time a governor of New Mexico lost re-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.^[2] 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

Primary Results

June 7, 1994 Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce King (incumbent)	76,039	38.8
	Democratic	Casey Luna	71,364	36.5
	Democratic	Jim Baca	48,401	24.7
Total votes			195,804	100

Republican Party

Candidates

David F. Cargo, former Governor (1967–71) 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 (1969–89) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1989–93)

Campaign

Cheney ran on a platform highlighting cracking down on violent crime, repealing the gasoline tax, and lowering public spending.^[4] 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.^[5]

At the state convention, Cheney received 49% of the vote against 29% for Dendahl and 22% for Johnson.^[6]

Results

June 7, 1994 Republican primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Johnson	32,091	34.5
	Republican	Dick Cheney	30,811	33.1
	Republican	John Dendahl	18,007	19.4
	Republican	David F. Cargo	12,105	13.0
	Republican	Keith Russell Judd (write-in)	57	0.1
Total votes			93,071	100

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[7] King also had the support of the Gold Boot Club, a business-backed political coalition that channeled thousands of dollars to his campaign.^[8]

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.^{[citation needed]} Mondragón had a knack for appealing to both progressive whites and working-class Hispanics, and attacked King for his cushy relationships with big business.^[8]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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

New Mexico gubernatorial election, 1994^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gary Johnson	232,945	49.8%	+4.7%
	Democratic	Bruce King (incumbent)	186,686	39.9%	-14.7%
	Green	Roberto Mondragón	47,990	10.3%
Plurality			46,259	9.9%	+0.4%
Turnout			467,621
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing