Hector Balderas
Hector Balderas (Democratic Party) was the Attorney General of New Mexico. He assumed office in 2015. He left office on January 1, 2023.
Balderas (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for Attorney General of New Mexico. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
He succeeded Gary King (D), who served from 2007 to 2014.
Balderas was not able to run for re-election in 2022 as the New Mexico attorney general is limited to serving two consecutive terms.
Balderas previously served as the New Mexico State Auditor from 2006 to 2014. At the time of his election in 2006, he was the youngest Hispanic statewide officer in the country at age 33.[1] Balderas also served as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2005 to 2006.
Biography
Balderas grew up in Wagon Mound, New Mexico. He graduated from New Mexico Highlands University and earned his law degree from the University of New Mexico.[2]
Upon graduating from law school, Balderas began work as an assistant district attorney in Albuquerque. He was later elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives. Before he completed his first term in the state legislature, Balderas won election as auditor.[2]
Education
- B.A., New Mexico Highlands University
- J.D., University of New Mexico (2001)[2]
Political career
New Mexico Attorney General (2015-2023)
Balderas was first elected to the attorney general's office on November 4, 2014. He replaced Gary King (D), who ran unsuccessfully for governor.[2] Baledras was re-elected on November 6, 2018.
In a Huffington Post article published November 17, 2014, Balderas was identified as one of seven Democratic state executive officials who could gain national prominence.[3]
New Mexico State Auditor (2006-2014)
Balderas served as the auditor from 2006 to 2014.
New Mexico House of Representatives (2005-2006)
As a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, Balderas contributed to legislation increasing penalties for sexual predators, establishing investment incentives for alternative energy, and funding virtual education for rural public schools.[2]
Elections
2022
Hector Balderas was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of New Mexico
Incumbent Hector Balderas defeated Michael Hendricks and A. Blair Dunn in the general election for Attorney General of New Mexico on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Hector Balderas (D) | 61.8 | 427,583 | |
| Michael Hendricks (R) | 33.4 | 231,296 | ||
| A. Blair Dunn (L) | 4.8 | 32,931 | ||
| Total votes: 691,810 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of New Mexico
Incumbent Hector Balderas advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Hector Balderas | 100.0 | 150,515 | |
| Total votes: 150,515 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of New Mexico
Michael Hendricks advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Michael Hendricks | 100.0 | 66,588 | |
| Total votes: 66,588 | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Attorney General of New Mexico
A. Blair Dunn advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of New Mexico on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | A. Blair Dunn | 100.0 | 608 | |
| Total votes: 608 | ||||
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2014
Balderas was ineligible to run for re-election as New Mexico Auditor in 2014 due to term limits. On April 30, 2013, he announced officially that he ran for New Mexico Attorney General. He secured the Democratic nomination on June 3, 2014, when he ran uncontested in the primary.[4] The general election took place on November 4, 2014. Balderas defeated his Republican opponent.[5]
Results
General election
| Attorney General of New Mexico, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Hector Balderas |
58.3% | 295,008 | |
| Republican | Susan Riedel | 41.7% | 211,303 | |
| Total Votes | 506,311 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
2012
On April 26, 2011, Balderas officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman (D).[6] He lost to Martin Heinrich in the June 5, 2012, Democratic primary.
A poll taken in mid-May had Heinrich defeating Balderas in the Democratic primary 51 percent to 26 percent.[7]
Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the Senate seat race a toss-up and the most likely toss-up in the country to be won by a Democrat.[8][8][9]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Martin Heinrich |
58.9% | 83,432 |
| Hector Balderas | 41.1% | 58,128 |
| Total Votes | 141,560 | |
Endorsements
Balderas was endorsed by two local firefighters unions, five AFSCME locals, and The Santa Fe New Mexican, among others.[10] A full list of endorsements is available on his website (dead link).
2010
Balderas won re-election as state auditor in the November 2010 election, defeating Republican Errol Chavez.[11]
| New Mexico State Auditor, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas Incumbent |
55.2% | 323,427 | |
| Republican | Errol Chavez | 44.8% | 263,008 | |
| Total Votes | 586,435 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State (dead link) (dead link)' | ||||
Campaign themes
2012
According to his website, Balderas' campaign platform included the following issues[12]:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Hector Balderas, 2012 Senate campaign | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Balderas' office uncovers fraudulent NMFA audit
On July 12, 2012, Balderas announced that his office had uncovered that the 2011 fiscal year independent audit of the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) had been faked. Earlier in the year, the NMFA had been designated by the auditor's office as at risk for fraud for failing to submit the audit. NMFA chief operating officer John T. Duff and former controller Greg Campbell were arrested for submitting the fraudulent audit as well as for misrepresenting financial statements and concealing $40 million in losses to the state, according to Reuters.[14][15]
Created by the state legislature in 1992, the NMFA assists local governments with infrastructure projects.[16]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Balderas was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of New Mexico by the New Mexico State Bar Association.[2]
See also
| New Mexico | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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|
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- Attorney General of New Mexico
- Attorney General
- New Mexico Attorney General election, 2014
- New Mexico Attorney General election, 2018
- United States Senate elections in New Mexico, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Post, "Latino leaders pessimistic about new Latino districts," September 1, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Office of the New Mexico State Attorney General, "About Hector Balderas," accessed September 7, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, "These Democrats Could Be The Party's Ticket To A Comeback," November 17, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedattygenrun - ↑ KOB, "2014 New Mexico Election Results," accessed Sept. 7, 2015
- ↑ KOB, "Hector Balderas announces candidacy for US Senate," April 26, 2011
- ↑ Huffington Post, "NM-2012 Senate Democratic Primary: 51% Heinrich, 26% Balderas (Albuquerque Journal 5/21-24)," May 30, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Center for Politics, "Tilting the Toss Ups – the Eight Races That Will Decide the Senate" accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State "2012 Primary Results"
- ↑ Hector Balderas campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed May 26, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "November 2010 General Election Results," accessed May 18, 2011 (dead link) (dead link)
- ↑ Hector Balderas campaign website, "Issues," accessed May 26, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ New Mexico Watchdog, "$1.26 Billion in New Mexico Bonds Face Downgrade After Discovery of Fraudulent NMFA Audit/ Updated: NMFA Calls Emergency Meeting," July 14, 2012
- ↑ Reuters, "New Mexico finance officials arrested for faked audit," August 10, 2012
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "NM Finance Authority's ex-accountant pleads guilty," July 20, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Attorney General of New Mexico 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Raul Torrez (D) |
| Preceded by - |
New Mexico State Auditor 2006-2014 |
Succeeded by - |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
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State of New Mexico Santa Fe (capital) |
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