SANTA FE — It's official. President Bush carried New Mexico in the general election by 5,988 votes.
The state Board of Canvassing on Tuesday certified the Nov. 2 general election results for statewide and multi-county races.
Bush received 376,930 votes, or 49.8 percent, to 370,942 votes, or 49 percent, for Democrat John Kerry.
"As was the case four years ago, this year's presidential election was fiercely contested and one of the closest, if not the closest in the nation," said Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.
Four years ago, Bush lost New Mexico by 366 votes to Democrat Al Gore.
Independent candidate Ralph Nader got 4,053 votes, or 0.5 percent; Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik, 2,382 votes; Green Party nominee David Cobb, 1,226; Michael Peroutka, Constitution Party, 771.
The canvassing board is made up of Vigil-Giron, Chief Justice Petra Maes of the New Mexico Supreme Court and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who represented Gov. Bill Richardson.
Overall, 775,301 total voters cast ballots in the general election. However, only 756,304 people voted for president.
The election set a record for the total voters who cast ballots — up from 614,928 total votes in the 2000 general election.
A record share of the votes also were cast before Election Day by absentee ballots or early in-person voting — 51 percent, up from 45 percent in the 2002 general election and 31 percent in 2000.
In one of the closest races in the state, Senate District 7 in parts of several counties in eastern New Mexico, Republican incumbent Clint Harden won by 36 votes over Democrat Bob Frost. Harden received 9,010 votes to 8,974 for Frost.
The rate of turnout was up from four years — 70 percent of registered voters cast a ballot for some office, an increase from 63 percent in 2000.
About 68 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the presidential race, up from 61 percent in the 2000 presidential contest.
Summary of Official Results in Top Races
Final official results for the presidential and top New Mexico races in the Nov. 2 general election were certified Tuesday by the state Board of Canvassing. Percentages may not total 100 percent because of rounding.
President
George W. Bush, GOP (i), 376,930, 49.8 percent
John F. Kerry, Dem, 370,942, 49 percent
Ralph Nader, Ind, 4,053, 0.5 percent
Michael Badnarik, Lib, 2,382, 0.3 percent
David Cobb, Grn, 1,226, 0.2 percent
Michael Peroutka, Const, 771, 0.1 percent.
Congress-District 1
Heather Wilson, GOP (i), 147,372, 54.4 percent
Richard Romero, Dem, 123,339, 45.5 percent
Orlin Cole, write-in, 194, 0.1 percent
Congress-District 2
Steve Pearce, GOP (i), 130,498, 60.2 percent
Gary King, Dem, 86,292, 39.8 percent
Congress-District 3
Tom Udall, Dem (i), 175,269, 68.7 percent
Gregory Tucker, GOP, 79,935, 31.3 percent
Supreme Court
Edward L. Chavez, Dem (i), 414,881, 57.6 percent
Ned S. Fuller, GOP, 305,025, 42.4 percent
Court of Appeals
Michael E. Vigil, Dem (i), 404,887, 56.3 percent
Paul D. Barber, GOP, 313,944, 43.7 percent
Public Regulation Commisison-District 1
Jason Marks, Dem, 87,236, 52.1 percent
H. Ward Camp, GOP, 80,155, 47.9 percent
Public Regulation Commission-District 3
Ben R. Lujan, Dem, 105,337, 61.5 percent
John F. Gonzales, GOP, 66,007, 38.5 percent
Judicial Retention
Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Bosson
Yes: 415,348, 76.5 percent
No: 127,726, 23.5 percent
Court of Appeals Judge Roderick T. Kennedy
Yes: 423,541, 77.9 percent
No: 120,206, 22.1 percent
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