This article has been updated.
Brian Colón will resign from the position of chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico on Saturday to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, the party confirmed today on its new blog.
From the party’s blog:
“As many informed Democrats (and those New Mexicans who follow politics) know, our elected party, Chair Brian Colon, is slated to resign as Democratic Party Chair. Although other blogs had stated that this announcement would happen today (Wednesday), Chairman Colon confirmed that he would make his announcement on Friday (August 7) and it would be effective the following day. He is seeking higher elected office with the Party as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.”
Sources confirmed earlier this week that Colón would resign his position as chairman and join the lieutenant governor’s race.
Already in the lieutenant governor’s race are Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, state Sens. Linda Lopez and Gerald Ortiz y Pino of Albuquerque and State Rep. Jose Campos of Santa Rosa, who announced his candidacy earlier today. New Mexico State University Regent Javier Gonzales; Lawrence Rael, who heads the Mid-Region Council of Governments; and former U.S. Navy officer and current law student Matthew Padilla have said they are also considering entering the race.
Update, 2:50 p.m.
The party has changed its blog posting to state that Colón is “considering seeking” the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, rather than stating with certainty that he is running for the job.