Pennington has spent most of his life inside of the district he wants to represent.
Carlton Pennington is from an original Spanish family who settled here in New Mexico with the conquistadores in the 1600s. His grandfather Marvin Gonzales and the Gonzales family lived in Tijeras, Albuquerque, and the greater Bernalillo area. His Grandmother Carmen Gonzales de Trevino family was from The South Valley, San Antonio TX and Durango Mexico and Cabazon New Mexico. Carlton Great Great Grandfather Bennie Cordova is in the New Mexico Hall of Fame as a champion Boxer. Pennington, married since 1984, and his wife, Chris live in Moriarty, New Mexico, having moved from the Old Town/Down Town area in Albuquerque where they raised two children. Pennington has five grandchildren.