Carrie Hamblen is an American politician and former broadcast journalist serving as a member of the New Mexico State Senate from the 38th district.Veronica Martinez
"Carrie Hamblen takes over District 38 Senate seat"
''

Las Cruces Sun-News ''Las Cruces Sun-News'', founded in 1881, is a daily newspaper published in Las Cruces, New Mexico. History The ''Sun-News'' started in 1881 as the ''Rio Grande Republican'' and went through several mergers to become the ''Las Cruces Daily News ...

'', November 3, 2020. Elected in 2020, she assumed office on January 19, 2021. She is a member of the

New Mexico Democratic Party The Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is headquartered in Albuquerque and led by Chair Sara Attleson, Vice Chair Cam Crawford, Secretary Brenda Hoskie, and Treasu ...

Early life and education

Hamblen was born in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and raised in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. Hamblen earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in broadcast journalism from the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

, followed by a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in mass communication and

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

Career

In 1992, Hamblen joined KRWG as a student employee. She later became operations manager of the station and was a regional host of ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' and ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

'' before becoming the host of ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

''. For 15 years, she wrote, produced, and hosted a public affairs program called ''Images''. In the June 2020 Democratic primary, Hamblen defeated incumbent Senate President pro tempore Mary Kay Papen. The defeat has been characterized as an upset. A political progressive, Hamblen criticized Papen for her moderate voting record throughout the primary campaign. Hamblen defeated Republican nominee Charles Wendler in the November general election. She assumed office on January 19, 2021.

Personal life

Hamblen is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. She and her wife were one of the first same-sex couples to apply for a marriage license in

Doña Ana County, New Mexico Doña Ana County () is a county located in the southern part of the New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 219,561, which makes it the second-most populated county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Las Cruce ...

References

Year of birth missing (living people) American lesbian politicians LGBTQ state legislators in New Mexico Women state legislators in New Mexico Democratic Party New Mexico state senators Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century members of the New Mexico Legislature {{NewMexico-politician-stub