Casey E. Luna (born May 26, 1931) is an American politician, businessman, and racing driver who served as

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico The lieutenant governor of New Mexico () is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico, ranking just below the governor. Thirty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor ...

from 1991 to 1995, under Governor

Bruce King Bruce King (April 6, 1924 – November 13, 2009) was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in N ...

. He is also a businessman who formerly ran an automobile dealership in

Belen, New Mexico Belén (; ) is the second most populated city in Valencia County, New Mexico, the United States, after its county seat, Los Lunas. The population was 7,360 as of the 2020 Census. Belén is Spanish for Bethlehem. It gained the nickname "Hub Ci ...

Biography

Luna was born on May 26, 1931, to Casimiro Luna and Ruby Armenta. He was born in Canon de Jemez (modern day

Jemez Pueblo Jemez Pueblo (/ˈhɛmɛz/; , ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,963 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. The CDP is named after ...

). His parents separated when Luna was roughly 13, and he attended

Albuquerque High School Albuquerque High School is a public high school near Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is a part of the Albuquerque Public Schools district. Enrollment at AHS stands at 1,741. AHS was named the 43rd best high school in the st ...

, although he did not graduate. He worked as a bicycle delivery boy for

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...

, once personally delivering a telegram to

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948. Also in 1948, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was trained as a medic. His automotive career began when he took a job at a car dealership in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. He later filled in as a driver for a race car sponsored by the dealership, later winning the 1955 and 1956 track championships at Speedway Park in Albuquerque. He then owned a

sprint car Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primar ...

racing team, Casey Luna Ford, from 1985 to 1996. He also owned a car dealership, Casey Luna Ford-Mercury, now known as Melloy Ford. In 1986, he mounted a bid to become

as a Democrat, but did not win. He ran again in 1990 and won, becoming Lieutenant Governor to Governor

. He was not included in King's advisory circle, which frustrated him. In 1994, he challenged King in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but lost. King would go on to lose the general election to businessman

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

. Luna left office on January 1, 1995, and was succeeded by Walter Bradley. He has a wife, Beverly, whom he married in 1965, and at least one daughter. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2019.

References

Living people 1931 births American automobile salespeople Businesspeople from New Mexico Lieutenant governors of New Mexico New Mexico Democrats People from Belen, New Mexico {{NewMexico-politician-stub

Biography

See also

References