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Per-judge retention calls inside
The ballot
New Mexico Court of Appeals judges first win their seats in partisan elections (appointees must win the next partisan election to stay), and afterwards stand in retention elections. Retention requires at least 57% YES votes — a simple majority is not enough — or the judge leaves the bench when the term ends. The election is November 3, 2026.
One judge is on the statewide ballot: J. Miles Hanisee. (The compiled roster also carried Kristopher Houghton's name against this court; under New Mexico law a first-term appointee stands in a partisan election first, and Houghton is enumerated in this coverage's partisan Court of Appeals article instead — he is not double-counted here, and he is not on the retention ballot this guide covers.)
The official evaluation comes from the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC), which surveys attorneys, court staff and fellow judges, reviews Administrative Office of the Courts statistics, interviews each judge, and publishes recommendations. For 2026 JPEC evaluated 41 of 43 judges standing statewide — and recommends retaining Judge Hanisee. (Our research file's early note said New Mexico had no official program; that was wrong, and the correction is printed in the Supreme Court guide in this series as well.)
Judge J. Miles Hanisee
- Appointed by: Governor Susana Martinez — twice. First appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2011; he lost the 2012 election to keep that seat, was appointed again the following month to the seat vacated by Chief Judge Celia Foy Castillo's retirement, and then won election in his own right in 2014. On the court, across both appointments, for the better part of fifteen years. He has served as the court's Chief Judge (sworn in October 2019).
- Official evaluation: JPEC recommends Retain — one of the 41 judges evaluated for 2026, all of whom JPEC recommends retaining, on predominantly positive evaluations.
- The campaigns, for and against: The New Mexico Business Coalition / Better Together New Mexico guide — which recommends VOTE NO on both Supreme Court justices in this series — lists Hanisee without a NO recommendation: by the guide's own stated rule, a judge with no position stated is one on whom it found no conclusive evidence or is neutral. In his earlier contested elections he drew newspaper endorsements including the Santa Fe Reporter's and the Taos News's. No organized campaign against his 2026 retention appears in our research.
- Credits: The only judge on this slate who has already faced the voters in contested partisan elections and won his seat outright (2014) after losing one (2012) — his tenure is voter-tested in a way appointed judges' usually is not — plus service as Chief Judge, the court's administrative leadership.
- Dirt: None documented for this retention cycle. The 2012 election loss is history, printed above — voters removed him from one seat and returned him to another; neither fact is misconduct. No disciplinary record or ethics finding surfaced in our research.
OUR CALL
Our rule: Retain is the verdict for a judge with a serviceable documented record; removal requires proven cause — documented misconduct, proven activist judging that breaks faith with the law, or an evaluation failure. Hanisee carries the official commission's Retain recommendation, a chief-judge term, and an electoral record of his own — and even the cycle's organized opposition guide found nothing against him worth printing. Note the 57% threshold: the YES vote has to actually be cast.
Retain: J. Miles Hanisee. Do not retain: none.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources - New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, 2026 — official recommendations (Retain J. Miles Hanisee, Court of Appeals) — https://nmjpec.org/en/new-mexico-judicial-performance-evaluation-commission-recommends-retaining-two-supreme-court-justices-one-court-of-appeals-judge-30-district-court-judges-and-eight-metropolitan-court-judges-in-202/ - Better Together New Mexico, 2026 — retention recommendations (Hanisee listed with no NO recommendation; the guide's stated rule for unstated positions) — https://bettertogethernewmexico.org/2026-judicial-retention-contested-races/ - New Mexico & CA10 Appellate Blog — Hanisee appointment history (appointed 2011; defeated 2012; reappointed to the Castillo vacancy) — https://nmappellatelaw.com/martinez-appoints-hanisee-to-court-of-appeals/ - New Mexico & CA10 Appellate Blog, October 2019 — Hanisee sworn in as Chief Judge; won election in his own right in 2014 — https://nmappellatelaw.com/congratulations-to-the-new-chief-judge-of-the-new-mexico-court-of-appeals-miles-hanisee/?share=print - New Mexico News Port — Hanisee's appointment/election history and 2014 campaign — https://newmexiconewsport.com/hanisee/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.