The Democrat defeated the Republican incumbent by 529 votes, overcoming Dow's advantage in Sierra County with stronger results in Doña Ana and Socorro counties.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - Democrat David L. Mooney defeated Republican state Rep. Rebecca Dow in New Mexico House District 38 on Tuesday, unseating a four-term lawmaker in a competitive race spanning portions of Doña Ana, Sierra and Socorro counties.

Unofficial results from the New Mexico secretary of state's office showed Mooney receiving 4,864 votes, or 52.9%, compared with 4,335 votes, or 47.1%, for Dow. The 529-vote margin was enough to deny Dow another term after she returned to the Legislature in 2025.

The results were drawn from the secretary of state's official election export downloaded at 12:56 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. All 2,204 precincts statewide were fully reporting, with none partially reporting.

Doña Ana and Socorro counties put Mooney ahead

Mooney's victory came despite losing Sierra County, where Dow received 1,246 votes to his 876, a 370-vote advantage for the Republican incumbent. But Mooney carried the other two counties in the district, building a combined lead that more than offset Dow's strongest showing.

In Doña Ana County, Mooney received 2,161 votes to Dow's 1,660, giving him a 501-vote advantage. He also prevailed in Socorro County with 1,827 votes to Dow's 1,429, adding another 398 votes to his margin.

Together, those results gave Mooney a districtwide victory and returned House District 38 to Democratic representation after Dow reclaimed the seat in 2024.

Dow was first elected to the Legislature in 2016 and served three consecutive terms before leaving the House to run for governor in 2022. She returned to the chamber in January 2025 after winning the previous year's election.

Mooney, a New Mexico State University graduate with a bachelor's degree in creative media, works as a recruiter for The Outreach Team, a national canvassing and field-operations company, according to New Mexico In Depth's District 38 voter guide. His campaign biography says he previously spent more than eight years working as a political organizer and field director on campaigns across 27 states and Washington, D.C.

Data centers and water policy divided candidates

Although both candidates identified water management as a priority, they approached the issue from different directions, with Mooney emphasizing regulation of large-scale data centers and Dow focusing on restoring forests and watersheds.

In a candidate questionnaire published by Source New Mexico, Mooney called for a statewide moratorium of at least 18 months on large data centers to give lawmakers time to study their effects on water supplies, electricity costs and local infrastructure. He said residents across all three counties in District 38 had raised concerns about the developments and argued that communities should have more influence over decisions about where such facilities are built.

Mooney also told the League of Women Voters of Southern New Mexico that he wanted greater transparency about lobbying at the Legislature, including more disclosure of the interests seeking to influence state policy.

Dow, meanwhile, emphasized managing forests, soil and water resources across larger landscapes. In her League of Women Voters questionnaire, she advocated thinning forests, controlling erosion and removing invasive plants to improve watershed health.

Her legislative record included co-sponsoring House Bill 175 in 2025, a measure that expanded eligibility for state forest restoration funding to include projects creating or maintaining wildfire buffers where developed areas meet wildlands. The Legislature approved the bill, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it into law in March 2025.

Before entering the Legislature, Dow founded nonprofit organizations providing services to children and families in Sierra County, an experience that also informed her public policy work.

Mooney's election will bring a new representative to District 38 when lawmakers convene in January, with data center regulation, water conservation and environmental management among the issues raised during the campaign.

The election results remain unofficial until certified by the state.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.