Primary Election Day: San Juan County voters join others across New Mexico for the June 2024 Primary Election. These voters cast ballots for their party’s candidates at the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park.
Primary Election Day: San Juan County voters join others across New Mexico for the June 2024 Primary Election. These voters cast ballots for their party’s candidates at the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park.Brad Ryan/Special to Tri-City Record

The unofficial results of the June 2024 primary election are in, and the San Juan County Clerks Office shows that 10,949 votes were cast in Democrat, Republican and Libertarian races, which was 19.6%, according to the San Juan County Clerk’s Office.

Statewide, 152,691 ballots were cast, bringing the voter turnout to about 15%, according to the Secretary of States election results website.

Democratic Party races

There were five locally contested races in the Democratic primary, including the race for U.S. president. President Joe Biden received nearly 81% of the vote in San Juan County.

In the contested Democratic race for New Mexico State Senate District 3, incumbent Sen. Shannon Dawn Pinto of Tohatchi received 70% of the vote, making her the clear winner over challenger Sherylene M. Yazzie of Coyote Canyon, who earned 30% of the vote.

Pinto has been a state senator since 2019, serving in San Juan and McKinley counties. She serves as chair of the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee and is a member of the Senate Education Committee.

A woman enters the Farmington Museum on June 4 to cast a ballot in the New Mexico Primary Election.
A woman enters the Farmington Museum on June 4 to cast a ballot in the New Mexico Primary Election.Brad Ryan/Special to Tri-City Record

In the contested Democratic race for New Mexico State Senate District 4, incumbent Sen. George K. Munoz of Gallup earned nearly 74% of the vote, defeating challenger Keith Hillock of Bread Springs, who earned 25% of the vote.

Munoz has served in he state Senate since 2009 and is chair of the Legislative Finance Committee.

In a three-way race for New Mexico State Representative District 4, Joseph Franklin Hernandez of Shiprock received 54% of the vote, while Christina J. Aspaas of Fruitland earned 30% and Cheryl L. George of Shiprock earned nearly 16%.

Hernandez has a political background that includes being president of the Gadii’ahi-To’koi Chapter Land Use Planning Committee, while Aspaas and George both serve on the Central Consolidated School District Board.

In the race for New Mexico State Representative District 69, challenger Michelle Pauline Abeyta of Tohajilee earned 47% of the vote, while incumbent Harry Garcia of Grants earned 41%. Stanley E. Michael of San Mateo received 12%.

Abeyta ran on the platform of being Navajo and a lifelong member of the Democratic Party. Garcia has served in the state House as vice chair of the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee. He is a member of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

Republican Party races

There were four local contested races in the Republican primary including the race for U.S. president. In San Juan County, former President Donald Trump won 86% of the vote.

In the race for New Mexico State Representative District 1, incumbent Rod Montoya of Farmington received 66% of the vote, while challenger Keith Mitchell Neil of Farmington won nearly 34%.

Montoya has served in the state House since 2015. He is a real estate broker by profession. He serves on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. He serves on the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and on the House Rules and Order of Business Committee.

The three-way race for San Juan County Commission District 3 was too close to call, according to the Secretary of State’s website. In this race businesswoman Sandra Lanier received 41% of the vote; however, there is a margin of 14 votes between her and former Bloomfield Mayor Scott Eckstein.

This race could be recounted, according to Arlenta Horse-Dickie, county clerk’s office manager.

Horse-Dickie said the state will decide whether a recount is needed after canvassing the election and finalizing the votes on June 25.

The seat Lanier and Eckstein were running for previously was held by Lanier’s husband, Steve Lanier, until this year, when he left the seat to run unopposed for state Senate District 2.

Lanier, of Aztec, is the owner of Finish Line Graphics.

Former San Juan County Commissioner James D. Crowley earned nearly 19% of the vote in the race.

In the San Juan County Commission District 5 race, Farmington businessman Sam Gonzales won with 68% of the vote, while Bloomfield Police Department Deputy Chief Randon Matthews earned 32%.

Gonzales, who owns Los Hermanitos Restaurant, has spent years engaging in community projects to conserve water, invest in infrastructure and as a member of the San Juan Regional Medical Center Board of Directors and the Interstates Streams Commission.

The Libertarian ballot

There was one candidate on the Libertarian ballot. Lars Mapstead, who is running for president, earned 58% of the votes cast statewide.

Primary Election Day: San Juan County voters join others across New Mexico for the June 2024 Primary Election. These voters cast ballots for their party’s candidates at the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park.
Primary Election Day: San Juan County voters join others across New Mexico for the June 2024 Primary Election. These voters cast ballots for their party’s candidates at the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park.Brad Ryan/Special to Tri-City Record