State senate leader from Las Cruces locked in tight race as ballot counting continues
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — The incumbent state senate president is struggling in her bid for the Democratic nomination to gain re-election in her southern New Mexico district.
New Mexico Senate President Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces was locked in a tight race as ballot counting resumed on Wednesday.
The Dona Ana County Clerk's Office told ABC-7 that there was a total of 26,00 votes cast in Tuesday's election, but more than 2,400 absentee ballots arrived at the end of the day and still had to be processed and tabulated.
A small number of votes separated Papen and Carrie Hamblen of Las Cruces, and a spokeswoman for the clerk's office said "less than 3,000 ballots could certainly impact who wins."
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A member of the state Senate since 2001, Papen — an advocate for mental health services — hadn’t faced a primary opponent in years.
The 88-year-old Papen, a conservative Democrat, was targeted for unseating in this year's primary by more liberal members of her party because of her resistance to several initiatives.
In 2019, Papen voted to defeat a repeal of New Mexico’s currently unenforceable abortion ban. Liberal Democrats have blamed Papen for blocking other progressive proposals around early childhood education.
Critics also have accused her of helping to water down a House-approved version of the state’s 2019 minimum wage hike.
The primary election decision comes as a June 18 special legislative session looms amid the coronavirus pandemic on budget and economic recovery matters. The pandemic response is expected to quickly wipe out state reserves despite more than $1.2 billion in related federal assistance.
Democrats hold a 46-24 majority in the state House and a 26-16 advantage in the state Senate.
