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Attorney General of New Mexico From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hector Hugo Balderas Jr. (born August 16, 1973) is an American lawyer and former prosecutor who served as the attorney general of New Mexico from 2015 to 2023. In 2006, Balderas became the youngest statewide Hispanic elected official in the nation when he won his first race for New Mexico state auditor at the age of 33.[1] Before that Balderas served as a State Representative in the New Mexico Legislature from 2004 to 2006. Balderas also serves as the elected treasurer of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.[2]
Hector Balderas | |
|---|---|
| |
| 31st Attorney General of New Mexico | |
| In office January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Governor | Susana Martinez Michelle Lujan Grisham |
| Preceded by | Gary King |
| Succeeded by | Raúl Torrez |
| 25th Auditor of New Mexico | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – January 1, 2015 | |
| Governor | Bill Richardson Susana Martinez |
| Preceded by | Domingo Martinez |
| Succeeded by | Tim Keller |
| Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from the 68th district | |
| In office January 2005 – December 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Bengie Regensberg |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Garcia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hector Hugo Balderas Jr. August 16, 1973 Wagon Mound, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Denise Balderas |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | New Mexico Highlands University (BA) University of New Mexico (JD) |
In an article published November 17, 2014, Balderas was identified as one of seven Democratic state executive officials who could gain national prominence by leading the party to a national comeback.[3]
Steve Terrell of The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote on May 16, 2015 that Balderas, who won his attorney-general race, was the only Hispanic on the statewide Democratic ticket in 2014. He was the top vote-getter of all statewide candidates that year, winning 1,565 more votes than Governor Susana Martinez.[4]
Balderas was raised in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, a village in Mora County, New Mexico. He is the son of a Mexican father and was raised by his single mother. Balderas attended Wagon Mound High School and participated in TRIO Upward Bound, a federally funded college prep program.
While attending the University of New Mexico School of Law, Balderas served as the council chair of the Graduate and Professional Student Association.[5]
From 2002 to 2003 Balderas served as an assistant district attorney for Bernalillo County. Between 2003 and 2006 he was a special prosecutor for domestic violence cases in the 4th Judicial District of New Mexico.[6]
Balderas ran for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2004, defeating the Democratic incumbent in the primary election and a Republican in the general election.[7][8]
In May 2006, he traveled to Pakistan to support President Bush's war on terror, and discussed foreign policy and United States-Pakistan relations on a top Pakistani talk show.[9]
In his first term, Balderas passed sweeping legislation to strengthen penalties for sexual predators, worked to strengthen drug laws against methamphetamine and date rape drugs, established investment incentives for clean energy and funded virtual education for rural public schools. Balderas also sponsored "truthful interrogations" legislation which gained national recognition as one of the most significant reforms to the criminal justice system. Balderas was nationally recognized alongside then-State Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for passing legislation that requires police to record their in-house interrogations with suspected killers.[citation needed]
In recognition of his legislative accomplishments, Balderas was named Rookie-Leader-of-the-Year by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce for his work on energy development and Outstanding Rookie by the League of Conservation Voters.
During his first legislative term, he was chosen by the Democratic Party of New Mexico to replace Jeff Armijo on the ballot for state auditor and with a shorter period to campaign, won the election with nearly 55% of the vote.[10] He was re-elected in 2010 and earned the second-highest number of votes of any of New Mexico's Democratic statewide candidates.[11]
Balderas was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in 2012 held by retiring Democrat Jeff Bingaman. He lost the Democratic primary to Martin Heinrich.[12]
Balderas was elected as the attorney general of New Mexico in 2014.[13]
Balderas and his wife Denise have three children. Balderas is a special needs advocate and frequent participant in the New Mexico Special Olympics annual torch run; his daughter Arianna was born with Down syndrome.[citation needed]
| New Mexico House of Representatives 68th District Democratic Primary Election, 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 2,788 | 56.06 |
| Democratic | Bengie Regensberg (inc.) | 1,427 | 28.69 |
| Democratic | Severiano Sisneros Jr. | 758 | 15.24 |
| New Mexico House of Representatives 68th District Election, 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 6,655 | 61.76 |
| Republican | Roger Gonzales | 4,120 | 38.24 |
| New Mexico Auditor Election, 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 298,143 | 54.77 |
| Republican | Lorenzo Garcia | 246,225 | 45.23 |
| New Mexico Auditor Election, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas (inc.) | 323,427 | 55.15 |
| Republican | Errol Chavez | 263,008 | 44.85 |
| New Mexico U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Election, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Martin Heinrich | 83,432 | 58.94 |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 58,128 | 41.06 |
| New Mexico Attorney General Election, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 295,008 | 58.27 |
| Republican | Susan Riedel | 211,303 | 41.73 |
| New Mexico Attorney General Election, 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Hector Balderas | 427,583 | 61.08 |
| Republican | Michael Hendricks | 231,296 | 33.04 |
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