Susana Martinez Wins Republican Primary for NM Governor

Republican Susana Martinez became the nation’s first Hispanic woman nominated for governor Tuesday night and will face Democrat Diane Denish in the general election to decide who becomes New Mexico’s first woman governor

It will be the third woman against woman gubernatorial general election matchup in U.S. history.

Martinez, District Attorney in Dona Ana County, won a five-way contest for the GOP nomination with 51 percent of the vote in unofficial returns.

The ratio of votes in favor of Martinez in Dona Ana County was roughly 4 to 1.

Former state GOP chairman Allen Weh had 27 percent of the vote, with 95 percent of precincts reporting.

Denish, the lieutenant governor since 2003, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The primary produced a political first for New Mexico because neither Democrats nor Republicans had ever selected a woman as their gubernatorial nominee.