District judge rules on redistricting; Republicans will appeal

After a two-day bench trial in Lovington, New Mexico Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Fred T. Van Soelen of Clovis ruled Oct. 6 that while Democrats succeeded in “substantially diluting their opponents votes” in the state’s Second Congressional District, the congressional redistricting map adopted by the state legislature in 2021 “does not violate the (New Mexico Republican Party’s) equal protection rights” under the state constitution.”

The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) said it will appeal the ruling.

The legislature, with Democrats in control of both the state Senate and House of Representatives, approved Senate Bill 1 in a special session, redrawing the state’s three congressional districts based on the 2020 census. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, signed the bill into law.

The new map “altered the previous congressional districts,” Van Soelen said in his ruling, “adding all of Lincoln and De Baca counties and part of Otero County to CD (congressional district) 1. It added part of Eddy and Lea counties to CD 3. It split Chaves County, previously exclusively in CD 2, into all three (3) congressional districts. It also made changes in and around Albuquerque in Bernalillo County, and parts of Valencia, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties.

With those changes, the state Republican Party said in its lawsuit, the redistricting map “deeply fractures” the state’s southeast region by splitting it among all three congressional districts.

In his ruling, Van Soelen, a Republican, agreed that the “predominant purpose in redrawing CD 2 … was to entrench the Democratic in Party in power by diluting the votes of citizens favoring Republicans (and) “the resulting dilution of the (Republican) vote was substantial.”

However, the judge said the way the map was drawn does not rise “to the level of an egregious gerrymander.”

As stated by the New Mexico Supreme Court in a previous ruling, “some degree of a partisan Gerrymander is permissible,” Van Soelen wrote. “It is only when partisan gerrymanders are ‘egregious’ that constitutional protections are indicated.”

“Given the variables that go into predicting future election outcomes, coupled with the competitive outcomes of the only actual outcome held so far under the … map, the court finds that the (state Republican Party) have not provided sufficient evidence that the (Democrats) were successful in their attempt to entrench their party in CD 2,” the judge said.

State Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Doña Ana, told the Bulletin in September the legislature’s redistricting map “is strictly within the boundaries of the law.”

Cervantes, a Las Cruces lawyer and chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted whichever side Van Soelen ruled against would appeal the judge’s decision to the state Supreme Court. If that happens, Cervantes, who was one of the sponsors of the bill that proposed the map, said he is confident the map will be upheld.

The map makes all three congressional districts more competitive, Cervantes said. It more closely aligns congressional representatives with average New Mexicans in their districts and reduces the control of political parties in congressional races.

“The Republican Party of New Mexico believes the fight is too important to accept this setback without contest, a RPNM news release said. “On behalf of all disenfranchised voters in the state of New Mexico, RPNM will be appealing our case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

"Today's decision was bigger than Republican or Democrat,” RPNM chair and former Dist. 2 U.S. Congressmen Steve Pearce said. “It struck at the heart of our Republic, the form of government that allows all beliefs to have a voice. Judge Van Soelen agreed that there was partisan gerrymandering in the district map for CD2, but we disagree with his ruling that it was not an egregious gerrymander. Our legal team presented a clear case that the legislature intended to and, in fact, did egregiously gerrymander the congressional maps to shift the second district by 18 points in favor of Democrats.

“It is no surprise that the New Mexico Republican Party lost its bogus lawsuit attempting to throw out competitive, fairly-drawn maps,” the Democratic Party of New Mexico said in a news release. “NRP Chair Steve Pearce’s defunct Republican Party of New Mexico is merely looking to place blame somewhere for their recent election losses.”