ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Republican Gov. Susana Martinez opened up an early lead Tuesday over Democratic challenger Gary King in New Mexico’s race for governor.
The first-term incumbent, who is the nation’s only female Hispanic governor, led with 59 percent of the vote to 41 percent for King in early unofficial returns.
If Martinez wins as expected in Democratic-leaning New Mexico, she could solidify her reputation as a rising GOP star with the ability to appeal to independents, moderate Democrats and Hispanics.
Martinez maintains that she’s uninterested in a national office and has pledged to serve a full four-year if re-elected. But that’s unlikely to stop speculation over her future as a possible GOP vice-presidential contender as the focus shifts to the 2016 presidential campaign.
A former prosecutor, Martinez rocketed to national prominence four years ago in becoming the nation’s first Latina governor and the first female governor of Democratic-leaning New Mexico.
King is a two-term attorney general and the son of the state’s longest-serving governor, the late Bruce King.
But King struggled to raise much money or gain traction against Martinez despite the state’s weak economy and nagging social problems, such as the nation’s second-highest poverty rate.
Martinez heavily outspent King on television ads, keeping the Democrat on the defensive throughout the campaign.
With Democrats holding a 3-to-2 advantage in voter registration, a Republican candidate needs crossover support from Democrats, including Hispanics, and must do well among independents to win a statewide office in New Mexico.
Hispanics account for about two-fifths of the state’s voting age population.
Martinez, 55, has positioned herself as a fiscal conservative with a moderate streak on certain social issues. Her administration expanded Medicaid, which provides health care to the poor, under the terms of President Barack Obama’s national health care overhaul.
Unlike GOP governors in other states, Martinez has refrained from pushing polarizing political issues such as a ban on late-term abortions, a right-to-work law or ending collective bargaining for public employees.
