1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election

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.

1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election

← 1944 November 5, 1946 1948 →
 
Nominee Thomas J. Mabry Edward L. Safford
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 70,055 62,575
Percentage 52.82% 47.18%

County results
Mabry:      50–60%      60–70%
Safford:      50-60%

Governor before election

John J. Dempsey
Democratic

Elected Governor

Thomas J. Mabry
Democratic

Primary election

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Democratic primary

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1946 Democratic primary election[1]
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 62,862 100.00%

Republican primary

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1946 Republican primary election[2]
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 16,440 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1946 New Mexico gubernatorial election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Thomas J. Mabry 70,055 52.82% +1.01%
Republican Edward L. Safford 62,575 47.18% −1.01%
Majority 7,480 5.64%
Total votes 132,930 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing +2.03%

Results by county

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County Thomas J. Mabry
Democratic
Edward L. Safford
Republican
Margin 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

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References

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  1. ^ "NM Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 04, 1946". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "NM Governor - R Primary Race - Jun 04, 1946". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  3. ^ New Mexico Secretary of State. New Mexico Election Returns 1911-1969. Santa Fe, New Mexico.