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Democrats fended off a Republican attempt to make New Mexico’s First Congressional District special election a sign of a red wave to come in 2022, with Melanie Stansbury projected to win the seat. The presumed victory comes after some help from national Democrats flying in to campaign for her and funneling donations her way.
Stansbury, a state representative since 2019, had more than 60% of the first-counted early votes, enough for Decision Desk HQ to project her as the winner less than an hour after polls closed on Tuesday. Republican state Sen. Mark Moores was trailing far behind. Libertarian Chris Manning and independent and former state land commissioner Aubrey Dunn each had single-digit support.