New Mexico 8th State Senate District, New Mexico: Populist district. In 2024, voted D+14%. Democratic peak: D+44 in 2008.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+14MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 50,7212024 5-year
- Median household income
- $51,3182024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 48.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 64.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+44 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+14 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 8, NMOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 13,014 | 9,682 | 23,186 | ||
| D | 14,767 | 9,137 | 24,373 | ||
| D | 12,813 | 6,758 | 22,073 | ||
| D | 16,098 | 6,771 | 23,692 | ||
| D | 18,597 | 7,128 | 26,027 | ||
| D | 15,544 | 8,935 | 24,716 | ||
| D | 12,163 | 6,715 | 19,742 | ||
| D | 12,863 | 5,449 | 20,019 | ||
| D | 12,164 | 5,762 | 20,458 | ||
| D | 12,247 | 7,436 | 19,894 | ||
| D | 10,170 | 9,284 | 19,722 | ||
| D | 9,353 | 8,578 | 19,000 | ||
| D | 11,062 | 7,918 | 19,196 | ||
| R | 8,943 | 10,222 | 19,495 | ||
| R | 8,855 | 9,034 | 18,646 | ||
| D | 12,628 | 6,954 | 19,646 | ||
| D | 11,965 | 9,483 | 21,482 | ||
| R | 9,231 | 11,791 | 21,031 | ||
| R | 10,741 | 12,672 | 23,433 | ||
| D | 12,461 | 11,093 | 23,624 | ||
| D | 11,089 | 10,750 | 21,852 | ||
| D | 15,106 | 13,373 | 28,502 | ||
| D | 16,457 | 12,055 | 28,588 | ||
| D | 15,600 | 11,893 | 27,631 | ||
| R | 9,992 | 13,304 | 23,312 | ||
| R | 10,222 | 11,425 | 23,148 | ||
| R | 9,768 | 12,489 | 22,357 | ||
| R | 6,810 | 7,165 | 14,130 | ||
| R | 4,582 | 4,903 | 10,996 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
7.9%
Irish
6.6%
English
6.2%
American
4.8%
Italian
2.1%
French
1.8%
Scottish
1.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 48.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$51,318
State Senate District 8 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 8$51,318
New Mexico$64,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
21.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1832.9%
Working age (18–64)19.3%
Seniors (65+)18.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
63.2%
speak English only
Spanish34.8%
Other languages1.2%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 27.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Covering sparsely populated stretches of eastern New Mexico, this district has delivered Republican presidential margins above 15 points in recent cycles, reflecting a ranching and energy-sector electorate far removed from the state's urban centers.
The Democratic margin in New Mexico 8th State Senate District peaked at forty-four points in 2008. By 1976 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fourteen points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $51,318 sits well below state and national norms, and 22% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 8, New Mexico. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/35008/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 8, New Mexico vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 8, New Mexico voted Democratic by 14.4 points (D+14), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 23,186 votes cast, 13,014 went Democratic and 9,682 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 8, New Mexico's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 8, New Mexico as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 20 times, Republican 9 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 8, New Mexico last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 8, New Mexico voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in State Senate District 8, New Mexico?
State Senate District 8, New Mexico has a population of 50,721 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 8, New Mexico?
Median household income in State Senate District 8, New Mexico is $51,318 — below the national median of $80,734. The New Mexico state median is $64,059.
What is the political history of State Senate District 8, New Mexico?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 8, New Mexico from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 9 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.