Republican Yvette Herrell Defeats Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small

Republican Yvette Herrell has defeated Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in the race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the election for Herrell around 2:14 a.m. ET as an estimated 90 percent of precincts had reported. As of 1:20 a.m., Herrell led Torres Small by nearly ten percentage points, 54 percent to 46 percent.

Herrell ran a tight race against Torres Small with multiple polls showing the candidates in dead heat with one another as Election Day grew near.

While it ultimately did not work out in her favor, Torres Small was forced to distance herself from comments by former Vice President Joe Biden during a presidential debate when he pledged to “transition from the oil industry.”

“Biden made the comment as he attempted to defend his record on fracking, a technique that allows oil and gas to be extracted by breaking up rock formations deep underground,” Breitbart News’s Sean Moran noted. “During the Democratic primary, Biden pledged to end fracking, but has since backtracked.”