Jefferson L. Byrd (born June 16, 1971) is an American 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 ...

. He was an elected member of the

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission or NMPRC is an independent state agency created by the New Mexico Constitution. It is charged with ensuring safe operations and reliable utility services at fair, just, and reasonable rates consistent wi ...

from the 2nd district, which covers Chaves, Colfax,

Curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

, De Baca,

Eddy Eddy may refer to: * Eddy (surname), surname used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families * Eddy (given name), male given name * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fl ...

, Guadalupe, Harding, Lea,

Quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

Roosevelt Roosevelt most often refers to two American presidents: * Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919, president 1901–1909), 26th president of the United States * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945, president 1933–death), 32nd president of the United State ...

, and Union Counties, and parts of

Bernalillo Bernalillo () is a town in and the county seat of Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Bernalillo is part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area. History Wine Festival In the 1620s, the wine g ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...

, Otero,

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

, Santa Fe, and Torrance Counties.

Early life and education

Byrd grew up on his family's ranch in Mosquero, New Mexico and attended Mosquero High School. He graduated 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 ...

in 1995 with a B.A. in agricultural engineering. He worked as an environmental engineer in the oil refining industry for fourteen years and owns two small businesses, including a ranch in Northern New Mexico.

Career

A member of the Republican Party, Byrd ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

New Mexico's 3rd congressional district New Mexico's 3rd congressional district serves the northern half of New Mexico, including the state's Capital, Santa Fe. The district has a significant Native American presence, encompassing most of the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation, ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, both times losing to incumbent Democratic Congressman

Ben Ray Luján Ben Ray Luján ( ; born June 7, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the United States House of Re ...

. In 2018, Byrd won the Republican nomination for Public Regulation Commissioner from the 2nd district over Jerry Partin, 54–46%. He defeated Democratic nominee Kevin Sanders 62-38% in the general election. Byrd's service on the commission ended January 1, 2023 after a constitutional amendment converting the commission from an elected to an appointed body went into effect.

References

External links

Jefferson Byrd – Ballotpedia
profile
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission – official site
1971 births Businesspeople from New Mexico American environmental engineers Living people New Mexico Republicans New Mexico State University alumni People from Tucumcari, New Mexico Ranchers from New Mexico Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections {{NewMexico-politician-stub