NM Democrats select Campos as president pro tem

Pete Campos

At the New Mexico Senate Democratic Party caucus on Sunday ,Pete Campos was selected as president pro tem of the chamber to replace Sen. Tim Jennings who lost his re-election bid back in November. 

But while Campos — who’s served in the state Senate for 21 years from Las Vegas — received the nod, it’s not clear whether he has the requisite number of votes to automatically assume the pro tem title when the upcoming 60-day legislative session starts next month. 

The Senate composition will be 25 Democrats and 17 Republicans, which means it would take 22 Democrats voting as a bloc to keep Republicans from having any say in the matter. If Campos falls below 22 votes, it would take a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to select a pro tem.

NM Democrats select Campos as president pro tem