Benigno Cárdenas Hernández (February 13, 1862 – October 18, 1954) was the first Hispanic from New Mexico to serve as a full member of Congress.

During his tenure as an elected county official, he also served as a delegate to numerous State Republican Conventions.

He showed a special interest in the construction of an infrastructure for New Mexico, including bridges, reservoirs, dams, and public buildings.

On April 22, 1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed him collector of Internal Revenue for New Mexico.

Hernández held that post until the inauguration of the Democratic administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, when he resigned and retired from active political life at age seventy-one.