The interaction between the most well-funded GOP candidates in the race to replace Steve Pearce in Congress – Aubrey Dunn and Ed Tinsley – has become increasingly contentious in recent weeks, and both men are blaming the other.
The harshest attacks have come from the Dunn campaign, which is accusing Tinsley of being a liberal who supports amnesty and spends much of his time living in
The hostilities come as candidates are battling for delegates in advance of Saturday’s preprimary nominating convention. Tinsley is regarded by many as the frontrunner in the primary race, but strong organization has many expecting that Dunn will win the convention and get a momentum boost.
Dunn’s campaign cites a Feb. 26 letter from Tinsley supporter and former state GOP Party Chair John Lattauzio to all Second Congressional District delegates to the state convention as the first attack. In the letter, which does not state that it was paid for or authorized by the Tinsley campaign, Lattauzio points out that Tinsley “has been a registered Republican since his twenties,” while Dunn registered as a Democrat in 1983, switched to Republican in 1996, then to independent in February 2007 and back to Republican in October.
Lattauzio urges delegates to “think seriously about who the best candidate is in terms of party loyalty, party leadership and the ability to carry the Republicans to victory in November.”
Dunn’s campaign has responded with at least two negative mailers and a letter from a supporter.
“We were attacked first and have responded aggressively because the stakes are too high,” a source close to the Dunn campaign said. “Anyone who doesn’t get 20 percent at the state convention can’t be taken seriously as a viable contender in the primary.”
Tinsley’s campaign pointed out that it didn’t pay for or authorize Lattauzio’s letter and took issue with the strong attacks from Dunn.
“Ed is running a positive, issue-based campaign,” Tinsley spokeswoman Sarah Lenti said. “… Dunn is attacking on the personal front. We’re responding only by pointing out party affiliation, as Dunn has already done, and that’s about it.”
Dunn supporter attacks
In a Feb. 27 letter paid for and authorized by the Dunn campaign, former Lincoln County Commissioner Stirling T. Spencer accused Tinsley of supporting amnesty and attacked him for not living full-time in the district.
Tinsley owns a second home in
The letter also attacks Tinsley for giving campaign contributions to three Democrats in the 1990s, including Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez’s 1998 gubernatorial campaign.
The letter discloses that Dunn gave money to Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign, but states he did that “hoping that
The letter also explains Dunn’s brief stint as an independent as a “time out” that was due to “his frustration with some of our party’s leaders in
Harsh criticism
Perhaps the harshest criticism from Dunn came in a recent mailer that accused “
The mailer refers to a comprehensive immigration-reform bill that failed in Congress last year that would have fined, but not jailed, illegal immigrants and required heads of household, but not other adult illegal immigrants, to return to their home countries to apply for legal status.
The bill was supported by President Bush and a bipartisan group of lawmakers but taken down by heavy pressure from the right. U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, one of the architects of the proposal, eventually dropped his support because of the amnesty question.
Tinsley responded to the mailer and the Spencer letter with a postcard in which he stated that he has never supported amnesty. He cited two news articles – one from 2002 and one from 2006 – that quote him as saying he opposes amnesty.
Tinsley supporters respond
Five delegates who support Tinsley wrote a March 4 letter to the other delegates asking why Dunn “is running what many Republicans say is the most negative campaign in the history of the Second Congressional District.”
The letter states that Dunn “has only been a registered Republican for 4 months.” It points out that Dunn registered as a Republican in October, but fails to point out his first stint as a Republican from 1996 to February 2007. The letter also accuses Dunn of Democratic tactics by launching personal attacks against Republicans and dodging the issues.
“Ed Tinsley is talking about securing our borders with no amnesty,” the letter states. “Aubrey Dunn is talking about where Ed’s two grown children went to high school.”
“Ed Tinsley is talking about making the Bush tax cuts permanent and repealing the ‘death tax,’” it states. “Aubrey Dunn is talking about the fact that Ed owns a second home.”
“Ed Tinsley is talking about leading the charge in Congress for the small businesses that are the backbone of
Dunn and Tinsley are generally considered the most likely GOP candidates to win the nomination because of their funding. As of Dec. 31, Tinsley had $283,890 on hand. Dunn had $275,416 on hand.
Four other candidates are battling for the Republican nomination: C. Earl Greer, Terry Marquardt, Monty Newman and Greg Sowards. Greer won a straw poll in