Voters ousted Gov. Susana Martinez’s handpicked successor as the district attorney of Dona Ana County.

They rejected Martinez’s appointees to the state Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, electing Democrats instead.

And three Republican district judges that Martinez appointed in Dona Ana County — all former subordinates of hers when she was district attorney — lost their seats on the bench.

After obtaining this email, SFR pored through campaign finance reports, filed public records requests and made countless calls. Efforts to contact the governor’s office and officials affiliated with her campaign committee, her political action committee (Susana PAC) and Reform New Mexico Now were referred back to one man: Jay McCleskey, who is behind all three committees. It’s a stunning example of how, in just two years, New Mexico’s political landscape has transformed.

Although several races remained tight and the outcome uncertain, Democrats expect a net gain of three seats for a possible 39-31 majority. House Democrats currently hold a slim 36-33 edge and there's one independent.

And while Republicans will pick up at least three seats in the Senate from Tuesday’s election, likely trimming the Democratic advantage in the chamber to 25-17, they will go into the 2013 session outnumbered in both the House and Senate – as they have been for the past 26 years. That’s despite sustained efforts by Gov. Susana Martinez and other Republicans to take control of the House for the first time since 1954.

In the event of a tie vote between any candidates in the election for the same office, the determination as to which of the candidates shall be declared to have been nominated or elected shall be decided by lot. The method of determining by lot shall be agreed upon by a majority of a committee consisting of the tied candidates, the county chairmen of the political parties that participated in the election and the district judge. The county canvassing board shall issue the certificate of nomination or election to the candidate chosen by lot.

“It’s not a real big surprise,” Jennings said of his ouster. After all, the district has grown decidely more Republican and Pirtle emphasized on the stump that after 34 years, it was time for a change in District 32. “But I think Susana has created a monster,” Jennings said, “exposing hate and destruction around here just like we’re seeing in politics in other states and on the national level that I think is a disservice.”

Delays were blamed on high turnout and a switch from precinct polling sites to centralized voting centers. [...] Critics also blamed delays on the state's move from straight party voting and a ballot with a number of questions.

“The governor spent several hours between two polling places distributing food and water to weary voters who had been in line for three, four or five hours,” Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said Wednesday.

“She was there to help make them as comfortable as possible, given that they were facing voting challenges that were unprecedented and not occurring elsewhere in the state.”

San Juan County's polling stations processed more than 46,000 ballots Tuesday with only a few minor and isolated issues. The general election was the first big test for the county clerk's Voting Convenience Center model. Voters were able to cast their ballots at any of the 23 centers, rather than being tied to a neighborhood precinct.

Taos County voters gave Democrats a clean sweep of local, state and national races, including overwhelming support of Barack Obama in his successful re-election bid, U.S. Senate candidate Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep Ben Ray Luján.

Over the past few months, KOB Eyewitness News investigative reporter Gadi Schwartz discovered representative Ray Begaye was ripping off taxpayers while traveling to out-of-state conferences and using his power to ask judges for favors. There is still no word on whether Begaye will face charges, but the voters have spoken and Begaye has been voted out of office.

Ulwelling's argument against marijuana for PTSD hinge over the lack of peer-reviewed studies out there that link marijuana as proper treatment for the condition. Still, many anecdotal studies show a positive connection, and most on both sides of the argument agree that federal restrictions on marijuana are to blame for low number of studies.Ulwelling also argues that PSTD sufferers are more vulnerable to addiction and that marijuana is linked to psychosis. Yet studies on both of those arguments are either conflicting or lacking.

“We applaud the Medical Advisory Board’s compassionate and evidenced-based recommendation,” said Emily Kaltenbach, the NM State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance. “We urge the Secretary of Health to promptly accept their recommendation. Patients deserve, above all, the freedom to choose the safest and most effective treatment for their debilitating conditions.”

During its campaign against the minimum wage increase, [New Mexico Restaurant Association CEO Carol] Wight’s organization said boosting the minimum wage and indexing it to the rate of inflation would cause small employers, especially restaurants, to lay off workers.

Assistant District Attorney Kent Wahlquist told KOB that James Sanchez is being released because a judge changed the conditions of his release, removing the $100,000 cash only bond and changing it to $5,000 cash surety.

In honor of this week’s presidential election, I thought I’d take a look at what playlists [still] President Obama and Mitt Romney have been using during their respective campaigns and discuss some of the implications thereof.