Nearly 150,000 people turned out to vote in Albuquerque’s local election on Tuesday.

Depending on where they cast their vote, residents either found long lines — with waits stretching over an hour — or a waltz straight to the ballot box.

Voters cast their choice for Albuquerque mayor, and several seats on the City Council and Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education, among other races.

Bernalillo County officials said 149,854 people voted, a 34% turnout, in the municipal election — 67,260 on Tuesday — with all but one poll site reporting as of Tuesday at 10 p.m. Those numbers dwarf the prior municipal election in 2021, when around 135,000 people voted, around 50,000 on election day.

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Shortly after 10 p.m., Alex Uballez delivered his concession speech. His supporters were louder than they’d been all evening, chanting as he took the stage.

“We are fighting to build a city that works for every one of us,” Uballez said.

He got into the race because he believed politicians were not responding to the needs of the people, Uballez said. His speech touched on housing affordability and protecting immigrants.

While the campaign may not have secured enough votes to make it to the runoff, “We have changed fundamentally how politics work in this city,” he said. “There is something deeply broken when we as voters are faced with a choice between someone who is going nowhere and someone who will take us backwards,” Uballez said.

Uballez told his supporters, “We have a responsibility to keep Darren White out of the mayor’s office.”

Voters re-elected one incumbent school board member and ousted the incumbent on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education.

By doing so, the teacher’s union has retaken control of the board, according to unofficial voting results Tuesday night in four board races.

The other three board seats not up for reelection are occupied by Heather Benavidez in District 4 and Ronalda Tome-Warito in District 2. Both were backed by the teachers’ union and won their seats in 2023. District 1 board member Janelle Astorga also won her seat in that election cycle without endorsements from the chamber or teachers’ union, making her a swing voter.

The District 3 race ultimately decided the balance of power, as School Board President Danielle Gonzales lost her seat garnering 38.78% of the vote . Her challenger, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation Rebecca Betzen, earned 50.57% of the vote.

“I congratulate Rebecca Betzen, Joshua Martinez, Margaret “Warigia” Bowman and Courtney Jackson on their election to the Board of Education,” Superintendent Blakey wrote in a statement. “I am eager to collaborate with them to improve outcomes for all our students. To all the candidates who ran, I extend my sincere gratitude for their dedication to public education and the passionate campaigns they ran.”

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Two Republican members of the Albuquerque City Council fended off challenges from Democratic opponents on Tuesday while Councilor Klarissa Peña appears headed for a runoff with challenger Teresa Garcia.

In the two-way contest for the District 5 seat, incumbent Councilor Dan Lewis was leading with 54% of the vote over challenger Athenea Allen.

And unofficial results for District 9 in far Southeast Albuquerque show incumbent Councilor Renee Grout leading with 55% of the vote over challenger Colton Alan Newman.

In the City Council contest for an open seat in District 1, unofficial results show Stephanie Telles leading with 36% of the vote to 26% for second-place candidate Joshua Taylor Neal. The four-way contest appears headed to a runoff.

Two Republican members of the Albuquerque City Council fended off challenges from Democratic opponents on Tuesday, while a newcomer was elected to an open seat in District 1.

Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc. called all the City Council races at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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A majority of seats on the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education, overseeing the state’s second-largest school district, is on the ballot tonight. Early results indicate that incumbents are on track to win re-election in all three seats.

Patrick Nolan, the director of Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, is running unopposed in District 1.

Retired educator Pamela Cort is fending off a challenge from Kristina Moore in early results, at 61% of the votes reported at 9:34 p.m.

And another educator, Bob Wofford, is well ahead of three challengers with 55% of the unofficial results reported as of now.

All three are seeking their second terms on the board.

Incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller stopped short of winning enough votes to claim an unprecedented consecutive third term outright — instead he will face off against Darren White in a Dec. 9 runoff election.

A runoff occurs when no candidate receives 50% of the votes cast. On Tuesday, a runoff was called by Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff based on votes that had been tallied with all precincts partially reporting, with Keller capturing 37% of the vote as White took 31%.

Former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Alex Uballez received 18%; outgoing District 1 City Councilor Louie Sanchez received 6%; former Bernalillo County Director of Economic Development Mayling Armijo received 5%; and, Eddie Varela, who spent 22 years with Albuquerque Fire Rescue primarily as a paramedic, received 2%.

Businessman Daniel Chavez, who dropped out of the race in late September, received 1%.

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More ballots have been tallied, and updates are available in all four Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education races. In the District 3 race, incumbent and business-backed board president Danielle Gonzales is now trailing with 38.48% of the vote to teachers’ union-backed Rebecca Betzen, who holds the lead with 51.4% of the vote. Isaac Flores, who dropped out of the race last month, has 10.12% of the vote.

In District 7, fellow incumbent and business-backed member Courtney Jackson holds a lead with 57.26% of the vote compared to teachers union-backed Kristin Wood-Hegner’s 42.74%.

In District 6, the teacher’s union looks like it could hold onto the seat. Their candidate, Warigia Bowman, is in the lead with 61.27% of the vote, compared to chamber-backed David Ams’ 38.73%.

In District 5, where the union did not endorse a candidate, chamber-backed Joshua Martinez received 67.61% of the vote to Brian Laurent, Jr. ’s 32.39%.

If these results hold, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation would take control of the largest school board in New Mexico.

Partial results for the two-way District 9 City Council race show incumbent Renee Grout leading with 55% of the vote over challenger Colton Alan Newman.

In the two-way contest for District 5 City Council, incumbent Dan Lewis is leading with 54% of the vote over challenger Athenea Allen. The results reflect partial results from all precincts.

As the early results came in, attendees at Darren White’s watch party cheered as TV broadcast showed White draw 31% of Albuquerque’s vote.

“The goal is to come first or second and we did that tonight,” White said.

White then congratulated City Councilor Renée Grout, who is also up for election tonight, with a hug.

“This could really shake things up,” said City Councilor Dan Lewis as early counts came in.

A third of the Albuquerque City Council is in attendance at White’s watch party, between Grout, Lewis and Dan Champine.

In the City Council contest for an open seat in District 1, early results show Stephanie Telles leading with 36% of the vote to 26% for second-place candidate Joshua Taylor Neal with partial results from all precincts. The result show the West Side contest appears headed for a runoff on Dec. 9.

From the southwest corner of the state, first-term Lordsburg Mayor Glenda Greene is falling behind her reelection challenger, Hidalgo County Assessor Martin Neave. Greene has 334 votes in early unofficial results, compared to Neave’s 371.

Greene’s term has been marred by scandals involving DUI stops and a 2023 settlement with the State Ethics Commission on allegations that she attempted to avoid a DUI investigation and then retaliated against the city’s police chief.

Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City, the home of capitalism.

New York saw historic turnout in the race between Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent after losing the primary to Mamdani. Cuomo received a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump, a surprise given how the two butted heads during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the fact the Cuomo is, essentially, a Democrat.

Mamdani ran a populist campaign focused on affordability in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

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Early results suggest that the District 3 City Council contest between incumbent Klarissa Peña and two challengers in Southwest Albuquerque could be headed for a runoff. Peña has 41% of the vote to second-place Teresa Garcia’s 38% based on partial results from all precincts.

Early results show voters approved all 11 of the city of Albuquerque’s general obligation bonds by a margin of 60% or more. The bonds would fund a variety of city projects, including public safety, affordable housing, museums, libraries, public transportation and roadwork.

In the crowded race for mayor of Santa Fe, Michael J. Garcia leads in the race for mayor of Santa Fe with 5,836 votes. Oscar Salazar Rodriguez trails with 3,821 votes.

In Taos, the unofficial tally shows Dan Barrone in the lead for mayor, with 619 votes. Town councilor Marietta Fambro is a distant second with 423 votes.

The first mayoral vote counts are trickling in and showing incumbent Tim Keller and Darren White ahead of the pack. As of 8:45 p.m., Keller had 37.8% of the vote and White had 31%. Alex Uballez had 17% of the vote, coming in third. More than 83,000 votes have been counted.

Dozens of supporters filled the living room at mayoral candidate Louie Sanchez’s home on Albuquerque’s West Side. Many drank sodas and ate chips while Dancing with the Stars played on the television, with election results showing on the bottom of the screen.

Change is coming to the Las Cruces City Council, where three out of six seats are on the ballot and two incumbents are not running.

In District 3, Becki Graham is not seeking another term. Michael Harris, a young progressive making his first run for office, holds 57% of the early results over Isaiah Paul Tellez.

District 5 Councilor Becky Corran has a convincing lead in her bid for a second term, with 66% of early results against challenger Ronnie Sisneros.

And in District 6, where Yvonne Flores declined to run again, four candidates are running in a city election that will be decided by ranked-choice voting.

In that contest, business executive John Muñoz is leading early results with 41%. Muñoz is the president and CEO of the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership and an executive of telehealth giant Electronic Caregiver, headquartered downtown.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill beat out Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the Garden State’s gubernatorial race, winning a third consecutive term for Democrats in that state, which a party hasn’t done in 64 years.

Sherrill succeeds Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who leaves office with an approval rating on par with President Donald Trump’s in a state where Democrats hold a 650,000 edge in voter registration. Still, Trump shocked the political world by making headway in the New York City suburbs in 2024 and Republicans had hoped to improve on that momentum tonight. Trump endorsed Ciattarelli, who ran a largely MAGA campaign, though Trump only did tele-townhalls for him, rather than in person campaign events.

Sherrill was elected to Congress in 2018 as part of the anti-Trump wave of female candidates that swept that year. She’s a former Naval officer and federal prosecutor who ran on a largely anti-Trump message. Trump’s recent remarks threatening to pull funding for the multibillion Gateway rail project between New Jersey and Manhattan — much-needed for New Jersey gridlocked commuters — to punish Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, over the government shut down, also did not help Ciattarelli.

The unofficial results show voter turnout is about 134,000, or 36%, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling, and Journal pollster.

After sluggish early voting, the turnout ended up “very strong,” he said, higher than the 32% in the 2021 Albuquerque city election.

“For a local government election, the range of 32 to 36 is encouraging,” Sanderoff said, noting that 37% of voters in a late September Journal poll were still undecided. “A lot of candidates were also underfunded,” he said, nothing that Keller was the only mayoral candidate to qualify for public financing.

Mayor Tim Keller donned a black Burque sweatshirt as he gathered with roughly 100 people at ARRIVE Albuquerque, a boutique motel near Downtown Albuquerque. Several city workers could be seen at the watch party, including Albuquerque Police Department officers. The drinks were flowing and nearly every guest who isn’t associated with the city has a glass in their hand.

Two longtime city council members in Deming are trailing in early results after their reelection bids were shaken up after they settled complaints by the State Ethics Commission the day after early voting opened.

Joe “Butter” Milo appears to be losing his seat after 30 years in office, and Irma Rodriguez, who has served since 2019, both settled alleged violations of the Governmental Conduct Act involving failures to disclose their ownership of businesses providing services to the city.

Milo is trailing in a three-person contest with former Mayor Benny Jasso and newcomer Catherine Gutierrez – who is also Milo’s niece – challenging him.

Rodriguez is also facing two challengers, both first-time candidates, and is being outpaced in early vote counts by newcomer Laura Parra.

The crowd at Alex Uballez’s watch party filled Flamenco Works, Inc. and spilled out onto the sidewalk Tuesday night along Central in Downtown Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Journal livestream played on a large screen as Uballez chatted with supporters. Wine bottles and pizza boxes littered a table nearby.

In the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education race for District 3, Board President Danielle Gonzales, who is backed by the business community, holds a steady lead with 47% of the early vote. Her opponent, teachers union-backed candidate Rebecca Betzen, holds 43.1% of the votes cast that have been counted.

Isaac Flores, who dropped out and endorsed Betzen, has 9.9% of the early votes being tallied.

Nearly 2,000 ballots have been counted so far in the District 3 race.

Ballots have not yet been counted in the races for APS Districts 6 and 7, and just four have been tallied in District 5.

In the southern New Mexico city of Anthony, a contentious political rivalry is playing out as 24-year-old City Councilor Gabriel Holguin is seeking to unseat Mayor Diana Murillo. The two have clashed in city council meetings and in court, where they have each sought the removal of the other from office.

Holguin has taken a wide lead in early and incomplete results, 61% to Murillo’s 31%. A third candidate, Oscar Sebastian Enriquez, is trailing at 8%.

Holguin was elected to the city council in 2021 at age 20.

Elsewhere tonight, Virginia is picking its next governor and soon after polls closed Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA officer, was declared the winner in that race.

Spanberger, the first woman to be elected governor of Virginia, succeeds conservative Republican Glenn Youngkin, who cannot by law serve two consecutive terms. Spanberger beat Youngkin’s lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who never won the endorsement of President Donald Trump, whom she’d criticized for seeking a second term.

Earle-Sears tried to focus the race on transgender issues and access to bathrooms, while Spanberger concentrated on her bipartisan record and, in the final weeks of the campaign, the effects of the government shutdown felt keenly in northern Virginia, home of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

In her victory speech, Spanberger again highlighted the importance of bipartisanship in an era of hyper-partisan divide. She also noted the historic nature of her campaign and the example she is setting not only for her three young daughters, but girls everywhere.

City Councilor Renée Grout, who is also up for election tonight, is at Darren White’s watch party. Others in attendance so far include current and former staffers from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Supporters are dining on tacos, cheesecake and fresh fruit platters at Mayling Armijo’s watch party. The room is chatty. Linda Stover said she’s certain Armijo is the right person for the job.

Bernalillo County officials say there are still dozens of people waiting to vote at several sites, including at the Daskalos Center. At the University of New Mexico, around 50 people were still in line as of 7:30 p.m. Officials said they expected to have votes cast within the next half-hour or so. Once all voters in line have cast their ballot, early and absentee votes will be released, officials said.

About a dozen Eddie Varela supporters came to the Marriott Uptown full of optimism on Tuesday evening. As they waited for the election results, they enjoyed baked or fried chicken, potato salad and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Mayling Armijo’s election night watch party at Herencia is crowded with family, friends and former coworkers. Former Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover is in attendance, as is current Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson, who Armijo used to work with.

Mayor Tim Keller’s campaign offered Keep Keller Mayor cookies at his watch party at the ARRIVE Albuquerque hotel in Tuesday night. Campaign supporters were enjoying dinner while waiting for results.

With polls now closed around New Mexico, some initial vote tallies are starting to be posted. Santa Fe County has reported more than 12,000 votes cast, or about one-third of the early and absentee votes cast in the county.

Mayor Tim Keller’s campaign displays a Metal Mayor sign at his watch party in Albuquerque Tuesday night.

Just before polls closed on Election Day, the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office reported voter turnout at 31.5%, with 13,031 early votes, 4,821 absentee ballots and 18,454 ballots cast on Tuesday.

Taos County had seen a roughly 23% voter turnout by late afternoon Tuesday, with 2,529 early votes, 453 absentee ballots and 3,067 voters on Election Day, according to Taos County Chief Deputy Clerk Anna Martinez.

Craig Degenhardt showed off his patriotic spirit in an Uncle Sam costume at mayoral candidate Eddie Varela’s election watch party.

At 5 p.m., with just two hours before polls close, election turnout in Albuquerque had increased to 31.5%, according to Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office data. That puts the city on track to surpass the 32% turnout level from the last mayoral election in 2021. Registered Democrats are voting at a slightly higher clip than Republicans, with 36.8% of registered voters in Bernalillo County having cast a ballot compared to 33% of registered Republicans.

In Santa Fe, county clerk Katharine Clark plans to livestream the ranked choice voting tabulation rounds in real time. Santa Fe is one of several New Mexico cities that uses rank-choice voting to determine local election winners, instead of a traditional runoff election. There are eight candidates vying to be Santa Fe’s next mayor, which means it could take several rounds to determine a winner. The Santa Fe County Clerk’s livestream can be found on YouTube or Facebook via this page.

After a slow start to early voting, turnout has steadily increased. As of 2 p.m., almost 30,000 Election Day votes had been cast in Albuquerque alone. That means turnout of registered voters is now up to 28.5%, according to Bernalillo County Clerk’s office data.

Poll workers across New Mexico spent the last few days preparing for Election Day, after a final barrage of campaign mailers and advertisements from candidates seeking election to local office.

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As polls close Tuesday and vote counts trickle in, mayoral candidates will find out if the money invested into their campaigns will pay off.

This election cycle, Albuquerque mayoral candidates received nearly $1.9 million in campaign contributions and spent more than $1.6 million of those funds thus far, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

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Albuquerque voters on Tuesday will be asked to approve or reject 11 general obligation bonds to fund a wide variety of projects, including public safety, affordable housing, museums, libraries, public transportation and street and storm drainage improvements.

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When voters go to the polls on Election Day, one ballot question will be missing.

Approximately 25,000 people had already voted in Bernalillo County by the time Albuquerque City Councilor Joaquín Baca noticed that his resolution, which would let voters amend part of the City Charter, wasn’t on the ballot.

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With just over one week until Election Day, early voting turnout rates in Albuquerque and other parts of New Mexico suggest many voters might be feeling less than enthusiastic about heading to the polls.

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Immigration, President Donald Trump and the New Mexico State Fair were all topics that surfaced during a roundtable discussion among Albuquerque’s six mayoral candidates at an event hosted by the Journal.

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Albuquerque City Council hopefuls addressed issues ranging from increasing police presence on the streets, road safety, creating more bike lanes to affordable housing during a recent candidate forum.

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The balance of power between the two primary factions that make up the Albuquerque Public Schools board is on the ballot this November.

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