# Kathleen Cates

Kathleen Cates is a Democratic member of the New Mexico House for district 44.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: New Mexico House, district 44
- Serving since: 2023-01-01
- Current term: NM 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/73fc9839-619a-4ad5-bbbd-dfaf7f308e09

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/73fc9839-619a-4ad5-bbbd-dfaf7f308e09 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Cates sits at −1.17 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 96% of State House Democrats.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −1.17 (standard error 0.02), from 597 donors and 233 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 3.9% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Votes (NM 2025–26 session)

475 roll calls. Attendance 98.3% (New Mexico House 91.4%). Party unity 98.9% (94.2%). 12 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 17 TV & FILM INDUSTRY TASK FORCE · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM17/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · SB 273 PUBLIC PEACE, HEALTH, SAFETY & WELFARE · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/SB273/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 54 MOBILE HOME PARKS UTILITIES PRC WORKING GROUP · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM54/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 16 NMSU PHYSICAL SCIENCE LAB, IN RECOGNITION · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM16/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 21 "NEW MEXICO FOOD & FARMS DAY" · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM21/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 30 PUBLIC EDUCATION GOVERNANCE STUDY · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM30/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 47 STUDY TEACHER WORKLOADS · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM47/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 14 "NEW MEXICO TRIO PROGRAMS DAY" · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM14/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 35 PEDIATRIC PALLIATIVE & CONCURRENT CARE · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM35/
- 2026-02-19 · voted yea · house passage · HM 31 HOME HEALTH SERVICE DISTANCE LIMITATIONS · pass · https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM31/

## Legislation (NM 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 70 bills: 67 reached committee, 23 passed one chamber, 17 passed both, 16 became law. Cosponsored 0. 32.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (New Mexico House 34.2%; rank 42 of 68).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HB 295: ACCESSIBILITY ACT (passed one chamber, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB295/
- HB 278: TOXICOLOGY REIMBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS (in committee, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB278/
- HM 36: NURSING SHORTAGE TASK FORCE (became law, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM36/
- HB 173: DEMENTIA CARE SPECIALIST PROGRAM (introduced, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB173/
- HB 172: SAFE STAFFING ACT & NURSING HOMES (introduced, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB172/
- SB 65: MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES (in committee, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/SB65/
- HB 136: HEALTH INSURANCE CREDENTIALING (introduced, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB136/
- SB 45: ACADEMIC LIBRARY MANAGEMENT POLICIES (in committee, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/SB45/
- HB 14: DENTIST & DENTAL HYGIENIST COMPACT (passed one chamber, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HB14/
- HM 6: PRIVATE EQUITY INFRASTRUCTURE OWNERSHIP (in committee, 2026-03-24) https://openstates.org/nm/bills/2026/HM6/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $192.5K (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 81% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Members/Legislator?SponCode=HCATE
- Campaign site: https://www.kathleencates.com/
- X: https://x.com/VoteforKathleen
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/QuestaNews/posts/904063518395761/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoteforKathleen/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voteforkathleennm
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrN0i_XKPkuucaCb9tEo2bg
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-holmes-cates-b179831ab/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/73fc9839-619a-4ad5-bbbd-dfaf7f308e09