# 2006 New Mexico gubernatorial election

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The 2006 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a race for the governor of New Mexico held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic governor Bill Richardson was running for re-election. He faced Republican John Dendahl in the general election and won by a landslide. As of 2025, this was the last time a male candidate was elected Governor of New Mexico.
The scale of Richardson's lopsided victory was nearly unprecedented in the traditionally competitive state. Richardson's 68.82% share of the vote is the highest achieved by any gubernatorial candidate in the state by a wide margin, beating the previous record of 60.21% set in 1964. Richardson came within six votes of sweeping every county the state, a feat that has never been achieved in any gubernatorial (or presidential) election in the state.

## Primary election
### Democratic party
#### Candidates

* Bill Richardson, incumbent governor of New Mexico
* Anselmo A. Chavez, veteran and perennial candidate

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Richardson (incumbent) | 107,720 | 99.64% |
| | Democratic | Anselmo A. Chávez (write-in) | 388 | 0.36% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 108,108 | 100.00% |

### Republican party
#### Candidates

* James R. Damron, physician
* George Brent Bailey Jr., educator and minister

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | James R. Damron | 52,888 | 99.58% |
| | Republican | George Bailey (write-in) | 225 | 0.42% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 53,113 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Bill Richardson (Democrat), incumbent governor of New Mexico
* John Dendahl (Republican), former chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico

### Campaign

James R. Damron easily won the Republican primary, but withdrew from the race on June 17, 2006, due to a lack of fundraising. John Dendahl was appointed by the Republican State Central Committee to replace him. There were no general election debates between the two candidates.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bill Richardson (D) | John Dendahl (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Research & Polling Inc. of Albuquerque | September 25–28, 2006 | — | — | 60% | 28% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 7, 2006 | — | — | 61% | 26% | — | — |
| Research & Polling Inc. of Albuquerque | August 25–31, 2006 | — | — | 57% | 28% | — | — |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 26, 2006 | — | — | 56% | 32% | — | — |

### Results

2006 New Mexico gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Bill Richardson (incumbent) | 384,806 | 68.82% | +13.33% |
| | Republican | John Dendahl | 174,364 | 31.18% | −7.86% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 210,442 | 37.63% | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 559,170 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | +21.19% | |

### Results by county

Richardson was the first Democrat to win Lincoln County since John E. Miles in 1940. He was also the first Democrat to carry Chaves County, Los Alamos County, and San Juan County since Jack M. Campbell in 1964.
This is the most recent election in which a Democrat has carried Chaves County, Colfax County, Curry County, De Baca County, Eddy County, Harding County, Hidalgo County, Lea County, Lincoln County, Luna County, Otero County, Quay County, Roosevelt County, San Juan County, Sierra County, Torrance County, Union County, and Valencia County.
| County | Bill Richardson Democratic | Bill Richardson Democratic | John Dendahl Republican | John Dendahl Republican | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Bernalillo | 133,195 | 68.17% | 62,205 | 31.83% | 70,990 | 36.33% | 195,400 |
| Catron | 857 | 49.83% | 863 | 50.17% | -6 | -0.35% | 1,720 |
| Chaves | 9,060 | 57.49% | 6,700 | 42.51% | 2,360 | 14.97% | 15,760 |
| Cibola | 4,698 | 75.97% | 1,486 | 24.03% | 3,212 | 51.94% | 6,184 |
| Colfax | 3,125 | 64.39% | 1,728 | 35.61% | 1,397 | 28.79% | 4,853 |
| Curry | 5,771 | 63.35% | 3,339 | 36.65% | 2,432 | 26.70% | 9,110 |
| De Baca | 559 | 62.67% | 333 | 37.33% | 226 | 25.34% | 892 |
| Doña Ana | 27,510 | 70.82% | 11,335 | 29.18% | 16,175 | 41.64% | 38,845 |
| Eddy | 8,539 | 60.25% | 5,633 | 39.75% | 2,906 | 20.51% | 14,172 |
| Grant | 7,502 | 72.55% | 2,838 | 27.45% | 4,664 | 45.11% | 10,430 |
| Guadalupe | 1,546 | 84.30% | 288 | 15.70% | 1,258 | 68.59% | 1,834 |
| Harding | 433 | 72.65% | 163 | 27.35% | 270 | 45.30% | 596 |
| Hidalgo | 1,037 | 71.12% | 421 | 28.88% | 616 | 42.25% | 1,458 |
| Lea | 6,473 | 55.13% | 5,268 | 44.87% | 1,205 | 10.26% | 11,741 |
| Lincoln | 4,017 | 59.91% | 2,688 | 40.09% | 1,329 | 19.82% | 6,705 |
| Los Alamos | 5,670 | 65.94% | 2,929 | 34.06% | 2,741 | 31.88% | 8,599 |
| Luna | 4,284 | 70.33% | 1,807 | 29.67% | 2,477 | 40.67% | 6,091 |
| McKinley | 14,973 | 86.05% | 2,427 | 13.95% | 12,546 | 72.10% | 17,400 |
| Mora | 1,738 | 73.80% | 617 | 26.20% | 1,121 | 47.60% | 2,355 |
| Otero | 8,271 | 57.80% | 6,039 | 42.20% | 2,232 | 15.60% | 14,310 |
| Quay | 2,134 | 65.86% | 1,106 | 34.14% | 1,028 | 31.73% | 3,240 |
| Rio Arriba | 8,621 | 81.46% | 1,962 | 18.54% | 6,659 | 62.92% | 10,583 |
| Roosevelt | 2,350 | 57.32% | 1,750 | 42.68% | 600 | 14.63% | 4,100 |
| San Juan | 18,846 | 60.08% | 12,521 | 39.92% | 6,325 | 20,16% | 31,367 |
| San Miguel | 6,884 | 78.85% | 1,847 | 21.15% | 5,037 | 57.69% | 8,731 |
| Sandoval | 24,722 | 67.69% | 11,803 | 32.31% | 12,919 | 35.37% | 36,525 |
| Santa Fe | 37,649 | 79.07% | 9,965 | 20.93% | 27,684 | 58.14% | 47,614 |
| Sierra | 2,445 | 57.49% | 1,808 | 42.51% | 637 | 14.98% | 4,253 |
| Socorro | 4,551 | 72.78% | 17,02 | 27.22% | 2,849 | 45.56% | 6,253 |
| Taos | 9,937 | 86.70% | 1,524 | 13.30% | 8,413 | 73.41% | 11,461 |
| Torrance | 3,280 | 60.67% | 2,126 | 39.33% | 1,154 | 21.35% | 5,406 |
| Union | 907 | 62.42% | 546 | 37.58% | 361 | 24.85% | 1,453 |
| Valencia | 13,222 | 66.71% | 6,597 | 33.29% | 6,625 | 33.43% | 19,819 |
| Total | 384,806 | 68.82% | 174,364 | 31.18% | 210,442 | 37.63% | 559,170 |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Chaves (largest village: Roswell)
* Eddy (largest city: Carlsbad)
* Lincoln (largest city: Roidoso)
* Los Alamos (largest city: Los Alamos)
* Otero (largest city: Alamogordo)
* San Juan (largest city: Farmington)
* Sierra (largest city: Truth or Consequences)
* Torrance (largest city: Moriarty)