1980Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1980 election for New Mexico's 2nd District
U.S. House · New Mexico
Joseph Skeen (R) won with 38.0% of the vote, defeating David W. King (D) by 4.0 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Joseph SkeenRepublican · winner
38.0%61,564
David W. KingDemocrat
34.0%55,085
Dorothy RunnelsIndependent
28.0%45,343
161,992 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
David W. KingJoseph Skeen
$182K
Raised by the campaign
$82.1K
$175.8K
Spent by the campaign
$79.5K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Other candidates' campaigns: Dorothy Runnels $109.6K.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1980.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1980