Earlene Roberts (August 19, 1935 – August 6, 2013) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Background

Roberts was born in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

on August 19, 1935. She moved to Lovington,

, where she was a real estate broker, restaurant owner, and farmer. Roberts served as the treasurer of

Lea County, New Mexico Lea County (, ) is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, its population was 74,455. Its county seat is Lovington. It is both west and north of the Texas state line. Lea County comprises the Hobbs, NM micro ...

for four terms. She then served as a Republican in the

New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...

from 1989 to 2005. During her tenure in the House, she acted as the Republican caucus chair in 1995 and 1996 and minority whip from 1999 to 2002. She was defeated for re-election in 2004 by Keith Gardner. Roberts died in Lovington, New Mexico in 2013.Former NM lawmaker Earlene Roberts dies, at age 77

Notes

1935 births 2013 deaths People from Lovington, New Mexico Businesspeople from New Mexico Women state legislators in New Mexico Republican Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives 20th-century American businesspeople Politicians from Oklahoma 20th-century members of the New Mexico Legislature 21st-century members of the New Mexico Legislature 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians {{NewMexico-politician-stub