Bill Redmond, a 43-year-old Christian minister, scored a surprise victory last month in a special election for the New Mexico congressional seat vacated by U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson.
Redmond, a Republican, had been expected to lose to Democratic rival Eric Serna, but with nearly all votes counted led the balloting by a margin of 42 percent to 40 percent. The seat had been held by the Democratic Party for 14 years, and Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two-to-one in the district, but Serna was hurt by low voter turnout and Democratic defections to the Green Party. Serna tried to paint Redmond as a right-wing extremist.
– E.P. News
