The 2022 General Election was held November 8. Polls closed at 7 p.m. New Mexicans voted on whether to continue under the leadership of incumbent Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham or to change course and elect Mark Ronchetti as the new governor. This was one of many races dictated by the voters.
A number of races specific to Cibola County that may cause significant change in the area are up for election. The Cibola Citizen’s press time is at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, due to this, the full results of the election will not be available until the next edition of the Cibola
Citizen on November 16. In this edition, you will find races which have already been won due to lack of a challenger. To find the most current election results on local candidates, please check www.CibolaCitizen.com or the Cibola Citizen Facebook page where results will be posted.
Election Night Winners
The following are election night winners and the seat they have won. Their victory comes because they were not contested.
Harry Garcia (D) won his reelection bid for NM State Representative Dist. 69.
Dolores Vallejos (D) won her reelection bid for Cibola County Assessor.
Tony Mace won his bid to become a Cibola County Magistrate Judge.
Johnny Valdez won his reelection bid to be a Cibola County Magistrate Judge.
Grace Marie Martinez wonherreelectionbidtobethe Cibola County Probate Judge.
Elections Undecided as of Press Time
The following elections have not been decided as of press time, please check the Cibola Citizen website and Facebook page for the winners of this election, they will also be in the next edition of the newspaper. This election will cause a major change in the administration of Cibola County, specifically on the law enforcement side. Incumbent Sheriff Tony Mace ran unopposed to become a Cibola County Magistrate Judge and will be stepping down to attend trainings for the job. Two candidates, Larry Diaz (D) and Wesley Mallery (R), competed to become the next sheriff. The winner of their race will be sworn in early to fill the void left by Mace, and will direct the future of law enforcement in Cibola for the next four years. Long-time State Representative Eliseo Lee Alcon (D) is being challenged by Diane Rowe (R) for the seat in NM’s Legislature. This is the second election in a row Alcon has been challenged, prior to 2020 ,Alcon hadn’t been challenged since 2014.
Cibola County Commissioner Ralph Lucero (D) is being challenged by former Grants Mayor Martin W. “Modey” Hicks (R) for the Cibola County Commission District 3 seat. The incumbent commission has four Democrats and one Republican, regardless, the incumbent commission rarely lets politics divide their chamber. Cibola County Commissioner Christine Lowery (D) is being challenged by Richard S. Coop (R) for her seat on the commission. A number of statewide elections also hang in the balance, like the contest between Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Mark Ronchetti for the governor’s seat.