By the numbers: Election night

Tuesday’s primary election had few contested races across Curry and Roosevelt counties, and voters mostly stayed home.

A few numbers of interest:

• Statewide voter turnout was at 23%, according to numbers released by the Secretary of State’s Office. In the 2020 primary (COVID year), that number was 42%. About 34% of the state’s registered voters came out for the 2016 New Mexico primary.

• In Curry County, fewer than 15% of the 18,731 registered voters cast primary ballots on Tuesday. That’s compared to 34% in 2020 and 29% in the 2016 primary.

• In Roosevelt County, where four candidates ran for a County Commission seat and three ran for state Senate, Tuesday’s turnout was 25.3%. That’s still low compared to 2020 (39%) and 2016 (27%).

• Donald Trump (3,657 votes) and Joe Biden (616) were, of course, easy winners across Curry and Roosevelt counties in Tuesday’s primaries. Others receiving votes in Curry/Roosevelt: Nikki Haley (187), Marianne Williamson (75) and Chris Christie (54). Libertarian candidate Lars Mapstead had 10 votes from the two counties combined.

• In the 2016 presidential primaries, Trump received 6,152 votes from Curry/Roosevelt counties, while Biden received 1,858.

• Tuesday did see one hotly contested race locally. Elida rancher Pat Boone defeated Roswell attorney Greg Nibert by 101 votes – out of 5,653 total cast – for the state Senate District 27 seat. Nibert won his home county of Chaves by 1,150 votes over Boone. In Boone’s home county of Roosevelt, he defeated Nibert by 980 votes. Boone won the three other counties in the district by a 457-186 count.

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