A reliable bellwether state in presidential elections up to this point, this was the first election since gaining statehood that New Mexico did not back the winning presidential candidate, and the first time New Mexico did not back the national popular-vote winner until 2024 (in 2000 and 2016, it voted for the candidate who won the popular vote but not the electoral vote). As of the 2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in which Torrance County and Quay County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[2]