Land Commissioner Dunn to run for Senate
Filing day draws paperwork from incumbents, hopefuls
SANTA FE — Three incumbent New Mexico Democrats filed paperwork Tuesday to run for re-election to statewide office, while open seats for governor and two of the state’s three congressional districts drew a robust field of candidates.
Another incumbent, Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, is taking a very different path — he made it official that he’ll run for U.S. Senate this year as a Libertarian.
Dunn was elected to office in 2014 as a Republican but recently changed his party affiliation. He’s one of several Libertarians who filed declarations of candidacy Tuesday, as the party has major party status for this year’s election cycle due to the state-level performance of Gary Johnson — another
Republican-turned-Libertarian — in the 2016 presidential race.
“I think there’s a chance to pick up voters from both sides,” said Dunn, who said he feels he has a better chance to win running for U.S. Senate than he would running for governor. “There’s a middle in both the other two major parties that’s not being addressed.”
The seat he’s running for is held by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a first-term Democrat who is seeking re-election. Mick Rich, an Albuquerque contractor, is the only Republican in the three-way race.
Rich blasted Heinrich on Tuesday as acting like “California’s third senator instead of New Mexico’s senator,” but Heinrich said his top priority is diversifying New Mexico’s economy and creating jobs.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Hector Balderas, state Treasurer Tim Eichenberg and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, all incumbent Democrats, filed the necessary paperwork to land on the June primary election ballot, as did U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján.
The state’s two other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce, are both running for governor.
Pearce will have no primary election opposition, while Lujan Grisham drew three challengers — state Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, former media executive Jeff Apodaca of Albuquerque and political outsider Peter DeBenedittis of Santa Fe.
Their decisions to forgo reelection bids left open seats that have drawn widespread attention. Six Democrats, one Republican and one Libertarian filed Tuesday to run in the Albuquerque-based 1st Congressional District, while five GOP candidates and three Democrats filed to run in the southern New Mexico-based 2nd Congressional District.
Although Tuesday was the official candidate filing day, the Secretary of State’s Office will spend the next week confirming whether each candidate submitted enough verified voter signatures to be placed on the June 5 ballot.
Candidates can also challenge the legitimacy of their rivals’ signatures, with disputes being resolved by the courts.