New Mexico Senate approves new congressional districts

[TexasTowelie]

Proposal in the Legislature eases the urban-rural divide and puts all three seats within striking distance for Dems


Redrawn congressional districts approved by the NM Senate on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.


The New Mexico Senate passed a new congressional map Friday night, one that gets rid of the state’s urban and rural divisions. It also gives Democrats a better shot at sweeping all three U.S. House seats.

The redistricting map was introduced by Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) and then modified by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday morning. It still needs to find a counterpart in the other legislative chamber and get the governor’s signature before those congressional districts are final. But the bill cleared a hurdle in gaining the state Senate’s approval and represents a major re-thinking of New Mexico’s political landscape.

“I think that this redistricting effort will fundamentally change New Mexico in positive ways,” Cervantes told fellow lawmakers as he introduced the bill on the Senate floor.

The new map divides Albuquerque into two Congressional districts, putting the city’s Westside into CD 2. That district would also contain the southernmost part of the state, all the way into the New Mexico bootheel.

Read more: https://sourcenm.com/2021/12/10/nm-senate-approves-new-congressional-districts/