In the latest results from the Secretary of State’s office, Judge Miles Hanisee, the incumbent and Republican candidate, holds a lead over his Democratic challenger, Kerry Kiernan. As of the time of this writing, Judge Hanisee has 242,367 votes to Mr. Kiernan’s 232,677 votes.
I’m not an election law aficionado, so I don’t know how certain this result is, or whether there will be a recount, or whether Mr. Kiernan has conceded.
But if this result holds, then it appears that Judge Hanisee has pulled off an unusual feat for a Republican — winning a statewide judicial race. Congratulations are certainly in order!
I think we should all appreciate the fact that Kerry Kiernan, a talented lawyer, ran a good, respectful, and ethical race. This is one election where the citizens of New Mexico had a win-win choice.
Finally, our state appellate judges who were up for retention easily prevailed, winning over 70% of the vote in each case. Congratulations to Justice Edward Chavez of the New Mexico Supreme Court, and to Judges Linda Vanzi, Cynthia Fry, and Jim Wechsler of the Court of Appeals!
