# 1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election

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The 1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1946, in order to elect the Governor of New Mexico. Incumbent Democrat John J. Dempsey was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term. Former lieutenant governor William Duckworth unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination. Sandoval County voted for a Democratic candidate for the first time since 1916. This was the last gubernatorial election until 1982 in which the Democratic candidate carried Harding County.

## Primary election
### Democratic primary

1946 Democratic primary election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Thomas J. Mabry | 23,293 | 37.06% |
| | Democratic | William J. Barker | 17,516 | 27.87% |
| | Democratic | Burton Roach | 10,692 | 17.01% |
| | Democratic | R. H. Grissom | 5,522 | 8.78% |
| | Democratic | J. R. T. Herrera | 3,639 | 5.79% |
| | Democratic | Harley Gooch | 2,198 | 3.50% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 62,862 | 100.00% |

### Republican primary

1946 Republican primary election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Edward L. Safford | 8,683 | 52.82% |
| | Republican | Ben F. Meyer | 5,086 | 30.94% |
| | Republican | William H. Duckworth | 2,160 | 13.14% |
| | Republican | Leon Feldhake | 511 | 3.11% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 16,440 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Results

1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Thomas J. Mabry | 70,055 | 52.82% | +1.01% |
| | Republican | Edward L. Safford | 62,575 | 47.18% | −1.01% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,480 | 5.64% | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 132,930 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | +2.03% | |

### Results by county

| County | Thomas J. Mabry Democratic | Thomas J. Mabry Democratic | Edward L. Safford Republican | Edward L. Safford Republican | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Bernalillo | 10,702 | 49.39% | 10,967 | 50.61% | -265 | -1.22% | 21,669 |
| Catron | 614 | 54.63% | 510 | 45.37% | 104 | 9.25% | 1,124 |
| Chaves | 2,559 | 51.38% | 2,422 | 48.62% | 137 | 2.75% | 4,981 |
| Colfax | 2,269 | 50.97% | 2,183 | 49.03% | 86 | 1.93% | 4,452 |
| Curry | 2,802 | 58.14% | 2,017 | 41.86% | 785 | 16.29% | 4,819 |
| De Baca | 499 | 58.98% | 347 | 41.02% | 152 | 17.97% | 846 |
| Doña Ana | 3,248 | 55.29% | 2,626 | 44.71% | 622 | 10.59% | 5,874 |
| Eddy | 3,723 | 64.78% | 2,024 | 35.22% | 1,699 | 29.56% | 5,747 |
| Grant | 3,004 | 61.46% | 1,884 | 38.54% | 1,120 | 22.91% | 4,888 |
| Guadalupe | 1,348 | 49.13% | 1,396 | 50.87% | -48 | -1.75% | 2,744 |
| Harding | 610 | 53.42% | 532 | 46.58% | 78 | 6.83% | 1,142 |
| Hidalgo | 505 | 62.35% | 305 | 37.65% | 200 | 24.69% | 810 |
| Lea | 1,968 | 67.47% | 949 | 32.53% | 1,019 | 34.93% | 2,917 |
| Lincoln | 1,113 | 43.92% | 1,421 | 56.08% | -308 | -12.15% | 2,534 |
| Luna | 1,198 | 57.02% | 903 | 42.98% | 295 | 14.04% | 2,101 |
| McKinley | 1,869 | 56.08% | 1,464 | 43.92% | 405 | 12.15% | 3,333 |
| Mora | 1,359 | 49.63% | 1,379 | 50.37% | -20 | -0.73% | 2,738 |
| Otero | 1,353 | 50.69% | 1,316 | 49.31% | 37 | 1.39% | 2,669 |
| Quay | 1,960 | 63.66% | 1,119 | 36.34% | 841 | 27.31% | 3,079 |
| Rio Arriba | 4,173 | 52.78% | 3,733 | 47.22% | 440 | 5.57% | 7,906 |
| Roosevelt | 1,585 | 56.35% | 1,228 | 43.65% | 357 | 12.69% | 2,813 |
| San Juan | 1,243 | 46.69% | 1,419 | 53.31% | -176 | -6.61% | 2,662 |
| San Miguel | 3,976 | 54.32% | 3,343 | 45.68% | 633 | 8.65% | 7,319 |
| Sandoval | 1,520 | 55.78% | 1,205 | 44.22% | 315 | 11.56% | 2,725 |
| Santa Fe | 4,927 | 46.53% | 5,662 | 53.47% | -735 | -6.94% | 10,589 |
| Sierra | 909 | 46.98% | 1,026 | 53.02% | -117 | -6.05% | 1,935 |
| Socorro | 1,672 | 45.86% | 1,974 | 54.14% | -302 | -8.28% | 3,646 |
| Taos | 2,562 | 50.89% | 2,472 | 49.11% | 90 | 1.79% | 5,034 |
| Torrance | 1,110 | 48.37% | 1,185 | 51.63% | -75 | -3.27% | 2,295 |
| Union | 1,157 | 53.64% | 1,000 | 46.36% | 157 | 7.28% | 2,157 |
| Valencia | 2,518 | 49.55% | 2,564 | 50.45% | -46 | -0.91% | 5,082 |
| Total | 70,055 | 52.82% | 62,575 | 47.18% | 7,480 | 5.64% | 132,630 |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Catron
* Harding
* Sandoval
* Taos
* Union