Judge of the Court of Appeals Position 1
New Mexico
My vote power
Below average
Election date
November 3, 2026 · General election
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: Average · 50 out of 100
This district covers a large share of its state, so each vote carries about average weight — like a vote in a statewide race. About 2,120,246 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(2,120,246 ÷ 2,120,246) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50, measured against a statewide vote in NM (grades: 66+ high, 55+ above average, 33+ average, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Decisiveness: None · only 1 candidate
One candidate is running unopposed, so votes can't change the outcome.
Average representation + an uncontested race → My vote power: Below average.
About this office
- Deciding what state laws and the state constitution mean
- Setting rulings that lower state courts must follow
- Deciding major criminal and civil cases
Affects: Public Safety and Crime Control, Gun Control, Women's Reproductive Rights,
Candidates
Democratic · Incumbent · declared
Kris Houghton is the appointed judge of New Mexico Court of Appeals Position 1. Before joining the court in 2025, he served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Mexico and as a Department of Justice Judicial Attaché in Bogotá.
Records: Legal Competence 3 for, Civil Rights 1 against, Public Safety and Crime Control 1 for
Sources: candidateportal.servis.sos.state.nm.us · sos.nm.gov