Hector Balderas


Hector Hugo Balderas Jr. is an American lawyer and former prosecutor who has been the Attorney General of New Mexico since 2015. 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. 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.
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.
Steve Terrell at 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, pulling 1,565 more votes than Governor Susana Martinez.

Early life, education and career

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.
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.

Political career

State Representative

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.
In his first term as a State Representative from District 68, 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 alongside then-State Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for passing legislation that requires police to record their in-house interrogations with suspected killers.
In recognition of his legislative accomplishments, Balderas was named by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce for his work on energy development and by the League of Conservation Voters.

State Auditor

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. He was re-elected in 2010 and earned the second-highest number of votes of any of New Mexico's Democratic statewide candidates.

U.S. Senate campaign

Balderas was a candidate for the US Senate seat in 2012 held by retiring Democrat Jeff Bingaman. He lost the Democratic primary to Martin Heinrich.

Attorney General

Balderas was elected as the Attorney General in 2015.

Other positions

Balderas and his wife Denise have three children, Hector III, Arianna and Mariola. 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. He also has two siblings and is a practicing Catholic.

Electoral history