Gov. Susana Martinez

Staff Report:

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez was elected to a second four-year term in Tuesday’s 2014 General Election.

Martinez, a Republican, received 287,812 votes or 57.31 percent over Democratic challenger Gary King’s 214,387 votes or 42.69 percent with the majority of the state’s 1,487 precincts reporting, according the the Secretary of State’s Office.

Following are her election night remarks:

Good evening. 

We did it!

I certainly have a lot of people to thank tonight. First, my family. Chuck, Carlo, Lettie. My brother and sister in-law Jake and Helda. I have the nation’s best campaign team, an incredible staff in Santa Fe, hundreds of dedicated volunteers.

And most of all, a big thank you to the people of New Mexico. 

Hey, and let’s hear it for a great Lieutenant Governor, John Sanchez. He’s been a great partner and was absolutely tireless on the campaign trail.

I stand here tonight humbled by your confidence. And grateful for your trust. 

Thank you, New Mexico, for giving me the opportunity to continue serving as your governor.

I stood at a podium similar to this four years ago and made promises to you. 

Promises that we would do things differently. 

Promises that we would have the courage to take on the status quo. 

Promises to listen and lead. 

Promises to chart a different, and better, course for New Mexico.

We’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we’ve made important progress. And I hope that tonight’s results speak for themselves. Promises made, promises kept.

And I hope they send a strong message — that we want leaders who choose reform, not the status quo. 

Leaders who choose to work across party lines — not point fingers. Leaders who stay focused on creating jobs and improving education.   

No campaign is easy. And this one was no exception. We fought for every vote. And I’m grateful to everyone who believed in New Mexico — to everyone who, like me, believes that tomorrow will be better than today.

I also want to recognize Gary King and the King family for their legacy of public service to the state. The King Family has dedicated a half century to public service, and for that, they deserve our sincere thanks.

I understand that a lot of people will be looking at New Mexico tonight — talking about what it means to have the nation’s first Hispanic female governor win a second term. A Republican, no less, in a heavily Democratic state. 

And yes, it does mean something to me personally.  While no one should ever be entirely defined by our race or our background, I am proud of what this means to people of Hispanic descent here in New Mexico and around the country.  As I’ve said before, “En America, todo es posible.” 

Over the last four years, I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be governor. I’ve learned a lot about leadership — what it is and what it is not.

It is not about me or my party. It is not a personal victory. It is not a Republican victory.   

It is a model for young girls and boys — no matter your background or ethnicity, you can grow up to be anything you want to be.

It is about the power of listening, responding, acting. Each and every day is about helping someone. 

My career has been guided by service to others – an instinctive desire to make lives better. I spent most of my life as a prosecutor fighting for justice for children. Yes, that photo of Baby Brianna is in my office, it’s a very real reminder to me that leaders have the ability to impact lives, to make a difference – every single day.

I’ve learned that being governor means you don’t just represent some of the people — you represent all of the people. I have visited every corner of this beautiful state — multiple times. 

I drive — you learn more that way. I spend time wherever I go. Some people have asked, “Why do you go there? They don’t vote Republican.” But that’s not who I am and that’s not what I believe. As governor, you stand for everyone — no matter where they live, what they think, the color of their skin, or what they do for a living.   

Hopefully, over the last four years, New Mexicans have learned a thing or two about me as well. So when they ask, “Will the governor fight for me? Will she keep her promises?”  They will know the answer … Absolutely yes.  **

Here’s the question before us: Where do we go from here? What is the path forward? My sincere hope is that we have the courage to continue choosing reform. Reforms that are bigger, stronger and ever-lasting. To improve New Mexico, we must choose reform. We must choose to change, to be better, to do things differently – our future depends on it. 

As I said, we’ve made real progress in New Mexico, but there is more work to do. 

We’re starting to turn the corner on education. Graduation rates are up, we’re beginning to close the achievement gap, and parents are engaging with their kids in ways we have not seen before.   

We must continue to measure every reform against one question – does it help our children learn? There’s no question more important than that? Are our children learning?    

And we have to make sure our children can find good-paying jobs here in New Mexico when they finish school.

The days when we could rely on federal spending from Washington are over. We must continue to diversify our economy by creating more private-sector work.

Technology jobs. Manufacturing jobs. Grow our small businesses, and bring businesses from elsewhere to New Mexico. We’ve added over 32,000 new private sector jobs since 2011. But I promise you, we’re just getting started.  

Our state’s financial house is in order.  

We’re tougher on corruption now. The playing field is level. New Mexicans can have more confidence that government is working for them. 

And we’re helping those who need it most. Expanding access to health care, ensuring we have a strong safety net, all while working to lift people out of poverty. 

But we have more to do. 

Voters sent a message this election – they didn’t vote all Republican or all Democrat. They voted for both. They have trusted us to work together. They have asked us to not be Washington, D.C. 

Government still works in New Mexico — we can still find common ground. Let’s keep it that way.

They heard the voices of Democrats across the state who crossed the aisle to support my re-election.

Mayor McKinney in Gallup. 

Mayor Alfonso Ortiz in Las Vegas.

And let’s hear it for a mayor who not only appeared in television ads, but also held concerts for us — Darren Cordova!

These mayors understand we can accomplish great things when we work together.    

We must do it for our children. Our children aren’t Republican, they aren’t Democrat. They are just kids who deserve the very best state and the very best future we can offer.

And it is for those kids that we must commit ourselves to making sure that their tomorrows will always be better than today. 

Thank you and God bless our great state!