NATIONAL ELECTION RETURNS : State-by-State Election Reports of Key Races and Issues : New Mexico
George Bush captured New Mexico’s five electoral votes and freshman Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, whom Republicans had been calling vulnerable for the past two years, easily won reelection.
In the presidential race, Bush was taking 53% of the vote to 47% for Michael S. Dukakis.
Bingaman, with 63% of the vote, defeated state Sen. Bill Valentine of Albuquerque, who had 37%.
Bingaman, 45, who ousted Republican first-term Sen. Harrison Schmitt in 1982, worked hard to avoid the same fate by broadening his political support and making inroads into conservative ranks.
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