Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

New Mexico Lieutenant Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$85,000
2024 FY Budget:	$639,100
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	New Mexico Constitution, Article V, Section I
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico Howie Morales Democratic Party Assumed office: January 1, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other New Mexico Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Public Lands • Secretary of Education • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Superintendent • Secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources • Secretary of Workforce Solutions • Public Regulation Commission • Public Education Commission

The Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico is an elected constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the executive branch and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of New Mexico. The lieutenant governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.

Current officeholder

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 32nd and current lieutenant governor is Howie Morales (D), who was elected in 2018.

Authority

The New Mexico Constitution establishes the office of lieutenant governor in Article V, the Executive Department.

Under Article V, Section 1:

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor...

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

Under Article V, Section 3, a candidate for the lieutenant governorship must be:

• at least 30 years old
• a citizen of the United States
• a resident of New Mexico continuously for five years on the day of the election

Elections

New Mexico state government organizational chart

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

New Mexico elects lieutenant governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, and 2030). Legally, the lieutenant gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first day in the January following an election.

In the event of a tie vote, the legislature shall convene and cast ballots to choose among the two top vote-getters.

2022

See also: New Mexico gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Incumbent Howie Morales defeated Anthony Thornton and Efren Gallardo in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Howie Morales (D)	52.0	370,168
		Anthony Thornton (R)	45.6	324,701
		Efren Gallardo (L)	2.4	17,387

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 712,256
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Travis Sanchez (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Incumbent Howie Morales advanced from the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Howie Morales	100.0	117,293

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 117,293
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Anthony Thornton defeated Peggy Muller-Aragon in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anthony Thornton	59.7	64,386
		Peggy Muller-Aragon	40.3	43,438

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 107,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Anastacia Golden Morper (R)
• Isabella Solis (R)
• Patrick H. Lyons (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Travis Sanchez advanced from the Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Travis Sanchez	100.0	1,175

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,175
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: New Mexico gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) defeated U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R) in the general election for governor of New Mexico on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez (R) was prevented by term limits from seeking a third term, leaving the seat open.

New Mexico had been under a divided government since 2011, with the Republican Party in control of the governorship and the Democratic Party in control of both chambers of the state Legislature. The state was also under divided triplex control, since the governor was a Republican while the attorney general and secretary of state were Democrats.

New Mexico was one of eight states conducting a gubernatorial election in 2018 that was carried by Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016 with a Republican occupying the governor's office. The race was identified by Politico as among the top ten gubernatorial races to watch for 2018.

The winner of this election stood to influence the state's redistricting process following the 2020 census. Under New Mexico state law, the state Legislature is responsible for drawing new maps for U.S. House and state legislative seats following the completion of the census. The governor has the power to veto these district map proposals. Click here for more information on redistricting procedures.

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Howie Morales defeated Michelle Garcia Holmes in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Howie Morales (D)	57.2	398,368
		Michelle Garcia Holmes (R)	42.8	298,091

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 696,459
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Howie Morales defeated Rick Miera and Billy Garrett in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Howie Morales	47.1	75,828
		Rick Miera	31.8	51,202
		Billy Garrett	21.1	33,949

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 160,979
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico

Michelle Garcia Holmes advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Garcia Holmes	100.0	67,681

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 67,681
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: New Mexico gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Susana Martinez/John A. Sanchez Incumbent	57.2%	293,443
	Democrat	Gary King/Debra Haaland	42.8%	219,362
Total Votes				512,805
Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State

Term limits

Term limits for the lieutenant governor are established in Article V, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution, which prohibits a lieutenant governor from serving more than two consecutive terms.

New Mexico Constitution, Article V, Section 1:

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general and commissioner of public lands, who shall, unless otherwise provided in the constitution of New Mexico, be elected for terms of four years beginning on the first day of January next after their election. The governor and lieutenant governor shall be elected jointly by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both offices. Such officers shall, after having served two terms in a state office, be ineligible to hold that state office until one full term has intervened. The officers of the executive department, except the lieutenant governor, shall during their terms of office, reside and keep the public records, books, papers and seals of office at the seat of government. Upon the adoption of this amendment by the people, the terms provided for in this section shall apply to those officers elected at the general election in 1990 and all state executive officers elected thereafter.

Vacancies

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article V, Section 7.

The lieutenant governor is the first the succeed whenever the governor's chair is vacant or whenever the elected governor is incapacitated. The same line on succession that applies after the lieutenant governor applies when the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant or when the lieutenant governor is unable to serve.

First in the line of succession is the New Mexico Secretary of State, followed by the President Pro Tem of the New Mexico State Senate and then the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Duties

The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the New Mexico Senate, acting governor when the governor is absent from the state, and member of the Executive Cabinet.

Additionally, the lieutenant governor serves on the following boards and commissions:

• State Board of Finance
• New Mexico Border Authority
• New Mexico Children’s Cabinet
• Community Development Council
• Military Base Planning Commission
• Mortgage Finance Authority
• New Mexico Spaceport Authority
• New Mexico Youth Alliance

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

See also: New Mexico state budget and finances

The budget for the New Mexico Lieutenant Governor's office in Fiscal Year 2024 was $639,100.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of state executive officers are established by the New Mexico State Legislature as mandated in the state constitution. Article V, Section 12 of the New Mexico Constitution established initial salaries for constitutional officers with the state legislature able to adjust these salaries starting in 1922, which was 10 years after the state's admission to the United States. This constitutional provision states the following:

Text of Section 12: Compensation of Executive Officers The annual compensation to be paid to the officers mentioned in Section One of this article shall be as follows: governor, five thousand dollars [($5,000)]; secretary of state, three thousand dollars [($3,000)]; state auditor, three thousand dollars [($3,000)]; state treasurer, three thousand dollars [($3,000)]; attorney general, four thousand dollars [($4,000)]; superintendent of public instruction, three thousand dollars [$3,000)]; and commissioner of public lands, three thousand dollars [($3,000)]; which compensation shall be paid to the respective officers in equal quarterly payments. The lieutenant governor shall receive ten dollars [($10.00)] per diem while acting as presiding officer of the senate and mileage at the same rate as a state senator. The compensation herein fixed shall be full payment for all services rendered by said officers and they shall receive no other fees or compensation whatsoever. The compensation of any of said officers may be increased or decreased by law after the expiration of ten years from the date of the admission of New Mexico as a state.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $85,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the lieutenant governor's salary remained at $85,000.

2010

As of 2010, the lieutenant governor was paid $85,000, the 26th highest lieutenant gubernatorial salary in America.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New Mexico Lieutenant Governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico - Google News

Contact information

State Capitol
490 Old Santa Fe Trail Room 417
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501
Toll Free: (505) 476-2250

External links

Suggest a link

• Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico