1996Flipped from DemocraticFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1996 election for New Mexico House District 44
New Mexico House of Representatives · New Mexico
Judy Vanderstar Russell (R) won with 45.1% of the vote, defeating Robert A. Perls (D) by 2.5 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Judy Vanderstar RussellRepublican · winner
45.1%4,808
Robert A. PerlsDemocrat · incumbent
42.6%4,540
Dennis C. ChavezIndependent
12.3%1,306
10,654 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET