Anthony L. Thornton
Anthony Thornton (Republican Party) (also known as Ant) is a member of the New Mexico State Senate, representing District 19. He assumed office on January 1, 2025. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.
Thornton (Republican Party) ran for election to the New Mexico State Senate to represent District 19. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Anthony Thornton was born in Fairfield, California. Thornton's professional experience includes working as an aerospace engineer, corporate director of strategy, and corporate ombudsman. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1983 to 1990. Thornton earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1978, a graduate degree from Stanford University in 1980, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1992.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for New Mexico State Senate District 19
Anthony Thornton defeated William Burton Scott in the general election for New Mexico State Senate District 19 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Anthony Thornton (R) | 57.0 | 17,400 | |
| William Burton Scott (D) | 43.0 | 13,115 | ||
| Total votes: 30,515 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 19
William Burton Scott advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 19 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | William Burton Scott | 100.0 | 3,147 | |
| Total votes: 3,147 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 19
Anthony Thornton advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 19 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Anthony Thornton | 100.0 | 3,501 | |
| Total votes: 3,501 | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for New Mexico State Senate District 19
No candidate advanced from the primary.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| Catherine Ann McDivitt (Write-in) | 100.0 | 5 | ||
Vote totals may be incomplete for this race. | ||||
| Total votes: 5 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thornton in this election.
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 | ||
| Total votes: 712,256 | ||||
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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 | |
| Total votes: 117,293 | ||||
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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 | ||
| Total votes: 107,824 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
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 | |
| Total votes: 1,175 | ||||
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2016
- See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the New Mexico State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 8, 2016. Incumbent Sue Beffort (R) resigned from the state Senate on July 29, 2016. James White (R) was appointed to the seat on September 9, 2016.
Incumbent James White defeated Harold W. Murphree in the New Mexico State Senate District 19 general election.[2][3]
| New Mexico State Senate District 19, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  James White Incumbent |
61.29% | 14,905 | |
| Democratic | Harold W. Murphree | 38.71% | 9,415 | |
| Total Votes | 24,320 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
Harold W. Murphree ran unopposed in the New Mexico State Senate District 19 Democratic primary.[4]
| New Mexico State Senate District 19, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Harold W. Murphree (unopposed) | |
James White defeated Anthony L. Thornton, James R. Wilder and Herb A. Gadberry in the New Mexico State Senate District 19 Republican primary.[5]
| New Mexico State Senate District 19, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | James White |
51.43% | 2,431 | |
| Republican | Anthony L. Thornton | 29.79% | 1,408 | |
| Republican | James R. Wilder | 10.15% | 480 | |
| Republican | Herb A. Gadberry | 8.63% | 408 | |
| Total Votes | 4,727 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Anthony Thornton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Anthony Thornton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thornton's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I'm an aerospace engineer who worked for 27 years in the national security business primarily supporting the testing and development of technology for nuclear weapons and military aircraft. I am not a politician, but a concerned citizen who saw an opportunity to change the direction of the state and improve the lives of the citizens living here in New Mexico. I have lived in New Mexico for over 40 years and believe that New Mexico is a hidden jewel with some of the best and brightest people on Earth living in this state. We have an abundance of natural and human resources that simply needs to be tapped to make us one of the most prosperous states in America.
- Border Security - We are a border state. Under the current administration, the fact that we have a 200 mile unsecured border with Mexico means that every state in America is now an “open border” state. This needs to be resolved.
- Energy Security - New Mexico is the 2nd largest producer of oil and gas in the nation. It supports over 135,000 good paying jobs. We have an administration doing their best to kill the industry that lays the golden eggs for New Mexico.
- Education Surety - New Mexico is ranked 51st in the nation in education. We need to ensure the safety of our children, provide security for the facilities where they learn, and ensure the reliability of the education they receive is top notch.
The top three issues are Border Security, Energy Security, and Education Surety (safety, security, and reliability). Lack of border security impacts the crime in New Mexico with increases in drug and human trafficking. The one I am most passionate about is energy security. I would like to unleash the potential of our oil and gas industry while pursuing the implementation of small modular nuclear reactors to make New Mexico a net energy exporter for the nation. Finally, we cannot expect to attract companies to New Mexico as long as our education system remains in the basement. Our economic future depends upon us reforming our education system.
The Lt. Governor serves as the President of the Senate in the Legislature and also serves as the State Ombudsman to serve as a mediator between the public and the state agencies.
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. He inspired me to become an aerospace engineer and what I liked best about him is that he didn't turn it into a celebrity event... he was always humble and introspective about his role.
Mark Levin's "Liberty and Tyranny"
Honesty, integrity, and loyalty to the Constitution.
The ability to listen. As an executive, I have managed multi-million dollar programs for nuclear weapons testing and development as well as prototype development for military aircraft. This program management experience will allow me to be the "go to" person for the Governor for whatever initiatives he wants to focus on.
To represent the people of New Mexico, not the agenda of a political party.
New Mexico at the top of the list in energy production and education, and at the bottom of the list in crime statistics.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was 7 years old.
My very first job was working as a custodian for a janitorial service where I had to clean truck stop bathrooms and department stores. It wasn't a very pleasant experience, but it taught me humility.
Term Limits - Vince Flynn
The Long and Winding Road - Paul McCartney
Politics. I'm an engineer interested in finding solutions, not creating more problems.
The two roles mentioned above are the key constitutional responsibilities of the Lt. Governor and to serve as the acting Governor when the Governor is out of state.
The Lt. Governor also serves on a number of Boards and Commissions that meet regularly that impact the services provided by the state.
I believe that it's important for the holders of this office to have real world business and executive experience in order to make decisions that positively impact working citizens, not political agendas.
The ability to listen to various perspectives and integrate those perspectives into a holistic solution that takes into account the impacts on various constituents.
A meteorologist, a rocket scientist, and a military attorney walk into a bar called "New Mexico"...
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Thornton's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Big Picture New Mexico is among the richest states in the nation in its natural resources, in its natural beauty, and in the cultural diversity of its people. Under decades of Democrat rule, New Mexico has sunk to the bottom in education, economic opportunity and employment. Our Democrat leadership has, for years, instilled corruption in the halls of the Roundhouse, hurled us into fiscal chaos, mortgaged our future and stripped us of many rights. This must stop! In order to take New Mexico from last place to first place, we must first remove the corrupt leaders who are squandering our future. It stops when we say “No more!” We need innovative leadership for the 21st century. A fresh approach requires leaders who demand more for our people, for our children, and for our future. I know that the future of New Mexico can be bright if we elevate our dismal national standing in education, adjust our policies to attract new business in our state, and make our cities safe places to live for our families.
New Mexico ranks last in the country in education. We have no hope of improving and diversifying our economy without improving the education of our children. My first priority is to tie teachers’ salary increases to the state’s national rankings: a “pay for performance” incentive program. With this plan, teachers could see large pay increases as our national rankings improve. The best way to improve the quality of education for our students and provide pay raises for our educators is to tie both together, in order to create a reinforcing cycle of excellence throughout our education system. Many of our teachers work extremely hard to educate our children, but are encumbered by bureaucracy and administrative edicts. To ensure transparency, I support funding for school infrastructure that would place cameras in every classroom in the state to allow parents to view live-streaming of classes. Secondly, I would advocate for the complete elimination of any Critical Race Theory being taught in our pre-K-12 curriculum. Our kids should and must learn American history: the good, the bad, the setbacks, and the wonderful progress we have made in these United States in our quest to form a more perfect union. In our multi-cultural, multi-racial state, there is no excuse to allowing the teaching of hatred and bigotry that judges individuals by the color of their skin. Critical Race theory should be eliminated from the curriculum. Good education also involves refocusing our curriculum on teaching science and math, in order to prepare our workforce for 21st century jobs in the STEM fields. From the National Laboratories (Sandia and Los Alamos) to the military bases (Cannon AFB, Kirtland AFB, Holloman AFB, and White Sands Missile Range), to our fledgling space launch program anchored by Virgin Galactic, our state has never lacked in leading the way towards a brighter future. But we are consistently held back by Democrats in power. New Mexico has some of the brightest minds on the planet living in this state working on many of the toughest national security problems this nation faces; however, often times these positions aren’t filled by our own students and instead have to rely on talent coming into New Mexico from the rest of our great nation. As our students improve scores in Math and Science, we will see more and more of them staying in New Mexico and securing our state’s economy with high technology jobs while actively building our nation’s future.
In order to attract the best people and businesses to our state, including the healthcare providers that our people need, we must address the rising crime wave in our cities. New Mexico, and Albuquerque in particular, is one of the most unsafe areas in the country. I support our law enforcement, as they are sometimes all that stands between order and chaos. In order for law enforcement to reduce the violent crime in our communities, they need not only our financial support, but our moral support. Crime is local and should be addressed by community policing. This requires hiring more police officers in the community working directly with state and local officials to target high crime areas. Offenders should be arrested, prosecuted, and when found guilty, jailed for their crimes. Confidence in our justice system is the only deterrent to the revolving door of repeat offenders. Furthermore, I strongly support pro-2nd Amendment policies, which allows citizens to defend their families and their homes from criminals. This is an essential freedom which must never be infringed. But it is also a safety issue. The weak must be able to defend themselves against the strong. New Mexicans MUST be allowed to defend their homes and property.
Any small business operating in New Mexico can tell you our state is at an extreme disadvantage compared to our neighbors because of the burden of Gross Receipts Tax (GRT). The entire thing should be repealed. We cannot wait. This tax forces any entity that wishes to do business in our state to pay an extra tax. The burden of administration and paying for this tax is too high, costing us jobs and harming small business. This policy drives away businesses that would otherwise conduct business in our state, and discourages entrepreneurship in our people. Repealing the GRT would be a huge step toward more prosperity for New Mexico. In addition, I would advocate for the immediate elimination of state taxes on social security benefits and military pensions in order to make New Mexico an attractive retirement destination for seniors and veterans. In addition to helping the poor, many affluent retirees from across the country would otherwise be willing to relocate to New Mexico with such tax benefits and their discretionary income would boost our local economy.
We must protect everyone’s sacred right to vote. I will advocate for localized pilot programs in our state to utilize blockchain technology to ensure election integrity. Blockchain technology is relatively new technology that will allow for free and fair elections, including voting from home, while preventing fraud. Blockchain technology is familiar to most people because of Bitcoin, but blockchain can be used for any kind of data transmission—not just financial information. In its most basic form, the blockchain is a transparent distributed digital ledger that will allow us to ensure that each citizen gets one vote. Thanks to encryption and decentralization, blockchain’s database of transactions is incorruptible, and each record is easily verifiable. The network cannot be taken down or influenced by a single party because it doesn’t exist in one place. And, it maintains the confidentiality of the ballot. The beauty of blockchain for voting is that it preserves the democratic nature of our voting, while protecting us from either localized or widespread voter fraud. This technology will allow citizens to vote from their phones, computers, and tablets, making it easier than ever to make the peoples’ voices heard. Those without internet access will be provided ballots with unique identifiers at the polling station that can be cast in person or sent via mail. This technology will make it easier to vote, but nearly impossible to cheat (one vote and one unique ballot per registered voter) while eliminating the concerns of unreliable voting machines in future elections. In the 21st Century, we must embrace new technologies to insure voter integrity, while maintaining a secret ballot.[6] |
” |
| —Anthony Thornton's campaign website (2022)[7] | ||
2016
Thornton's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Anthony L. Thornton, [8] | ||
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Mexico scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate New Mexico State Senate District 19 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 10, 2022
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 general election contest/candidate list," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official Results General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ant Thornton for Lt Governor, “Ant's Vision,” accessed October 31, 2022
- ↑ Vote Ant for NM Senate, "Biography," accessed May 13, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gregg Schmedes (R) |
New Mexico State Senate District 19 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
