page_title: Howie Morales
section_title: New Mexico Senate
hierarchical_section_title: Howie Morales / New Mexico Senate
caption_attribution_description: English: Howie Morales Stadium, Bayard, New Mexico
context_page_description: Henry C. "Howie" Morales is an American politician serving as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the New Mexico State Senator from the 28th district, which includes Catron County, Grant County and Socorro County, from 2008 until 2019.
context_section_description: On December 27, 2007, New Mexico State Senator Ben D. Altamirano died of a heart attack.  On January 9, 2008, Governor Bill Richardson appointed Morales to the vacant position that Altamirano held since 1971.  According to Socorro County Commission Chairman Jay Santillanes, "Morales was personally recommended by the Altamirano family to fill Ben Altamirano's term.  Altamirano's wife, Nina, had considered putting her name in for the position, but decided against it."
  Morales ran for the office that he was appointed to in the 2008 general elections and defeated Republican Joseph Gros, 9,561 to 4,019, to retain his seat.
  In October 2013, Morales officially announced he would run for the office of Governor of New Mexico. 
  After losing the Democratic nomination in a five-way primary in June 2014 to state Attorney General Gary King, Morales continued to serve as a State Senator in his district. 
  During his 11-year career in the New Mexico Senate, Morales held seats on the Legislative Finance Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, both dealing with state budget matters. He sponsored bills addressing public education, environment and universal health care.  Morales was an outspoken critic of the Martinez administration's education policies that emphasized standardized testing, and he opposed use of The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment in classrooms statewide. He spoke out frequently against cuts to public education.  Morales criticized the introduction of a teacher evaluation system that relied heavily on student performance on the new standardized test (PARCC) in the state's public schools, and he questioned the methodology of the A-to-F school grading system instituted by the Martinez administration.  In 2018 Morales sponsored legislation to substantially increase the tax on cigarettes, vaping and tobacco products in order to generate $89 million additional for public schools. Morales' 2017 Senate Bill 106 sought to create a new cabinet-level Early Childhood Services Department with oversight of already-existing programs like home visiting and pre-kindergarten that are currently scattered through various state agencies.  On the environmental side, Morales staunchly opposed controversial federal plans to divert the Gila River in western New Mexico, often described as the last wild river in the West, and he pushed for alternatives to wholesale diversion.
  Senator Morales was inducted into the New Mexico High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in December 2017, an honor given in recognition of his successful baseball coaching career while achieving prominence in government.  Morales was an accomplished high school baseball coach at both Silver High School and Cobre High School in Grant County, including being the youngest head coach in New Mexico to reach 200 wins. Morales retired (2009) after coaching to an impressive 203-49 record. Sen. Morales' team won a state title in 2008, and he coached his team as state runners-up in 2002, 2007 and 2009. He was also part of seven district championships and seven regional championships as a head coach.  Morales also enjoys the rare honor of having a baseball stadium named in his honor, in Bayard, New Mexico.
caption: Howie Morales Stadium, Bayard, New Mexico
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