1986 New Mexico gubernatorial election

1986 New Mexico gubernatorial election

November 4, 1986

Nominee Garrey Carruthers Ray Powell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 209,455 185,378 Percentage 53.0% 47.0%

County results Carruthers:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Powell:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Toney Anaya Democratic Elected Governor Garrey Carruthers Republican

The 1986 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1986, in order to elect the governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democratic governor Toney Anaya was ineligible to seek a second term as governor. This was the last time until 2022, that the state elected a governor of the same party as the sitting president.

Democratic primary

[data missing]

Republican primary

The Republican primary was won by former New Mexico Republican Party chair Garrey Carruthers, who defeated five other candidates.

Results

New Mexico Republican gubernatorial primary, 1986

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Garrey Carruthers	27,671	31.05
	Republican	Joseph H. Mercer	23,560	26.44
	Republican	Colin R. McMillan	19,807	22.23
	Republican	Frank M. Bond	10,619	11.92
	Republican	Paul F. Becht	6,566	7.37
	Republican	William Jay Loomis Jr.	884	0.99
Total votes			89,107	100.00

General election

Results

New Mexico gubernatorial election, 1986

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Garrey Carruthers	209,455	53.05
	Democratic	Ray Powell	185,378	46.95
Total votes			394,833	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic