1996Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1996 election for New Mexico Senate District 9
New Mexico State Senate · New Mexico
Pauline Eisendstadt (D) won with 51.5% of the vote, defeating Virgil O. Rhodes (R) by 3.0 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Pauline EisendstadtDemocrat · winner
51.5%9,152
Virgil O. RhodesRepublican · incumbent
48.5%8,616
17,768 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