![\"Aubrey](\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dunn-Aubrey-336x244.jpg\")
Courtesy photo<\/p>
Aubrey Dunn<\/p><\/div>\n
Dunn said he had no other comment.<\/p>\n
Since August, Dunn has\u00a0been in a public spat with the leader of his party in New Mexico, Gov. Susana Martinez, but whether that was a factor in his decision isn’t clear. The majority of members on\u00a0the State Investment Council, including Martinez,\u00a0decided\u00a0in August<\/a>\u00a0to bar Dunn and three others from participating in\u00a0closed-door meetings because they\u00a0refused to sign a new code of conduct that would prohibit members from revealing what was discussed behind closed doors.<\/p>\n Dunn explained his action by saying\u00a0he was concerned about a lack of transparency. When\u00a0the SIC censured him, he\u00a0alleged that Martinez and her political adviser Jay McCleskey were playing political games<\/a>, a charge Martinez’s office denied. Dunn also accused McCleskey of trying to damage his congressional campaign and said it was “well-known” that McCleskey had a\u00a0role\u00a0the campaign of former Hobbs Mayor Monty Newman, who’s running for the same congressional\u00a0seat.<\/p>\n Dunn’s decision to withdraw from the congressional race will have a significant impact, as he was generally considered the frontrunner in the GOP primary. The Republicans remaining in the race are Newman,\u00a0state\u00a0Rep. Yvette Herrell\u00a0of Alamogordo, and Jack Volpato, a former Eddy County commissioner.<\/p>\n The Democrats in the race are\u00a0David Baake, who once\u00a0worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Las Cruces activist Ronald Fitzherbert; Socorro resident Madeleine Hildebrandt, a Coast Guard veteran and college history teacher; Tony Martinez, co-leader\u00a0of the Las Cruces\u00a0Indivisible group; and\u00a0David Alcon of Milan, the son of a state representative and a political consultant. Former Las Cruces Fire Chief Adolf Zubia was also running but dropped out in August.<\/p>\n Pearce, a Republican, is vacating the congressional seat to run for governor.<\/p>\n The land commissioner seat is also up for grabs next year, and Dunn isn’t saying at this point whether he will seek re-election. That could especially impact Republican Pat Lyons, a former land commissioner and current member of the Public Regulation Commission. Lyons announced in July<\/a> he was running for land commissioner in 2018 because Dunn\u00a0was giving up the seat to run for Congress.<\/p>\n Three Democrats are also running for land commissioner:\u00a0Ray Powell, who Dunn defeated to win the office in 2014; Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation; and Sen. George Mu\u00f1oz of Gallup.<\/p>\n Dunn has run for the U.S. House seat before — in 2008, the last time the race lacked an incumbent. He lost a crowded GOP primary that year\u00a0to Ed Tinsley<\/a>, who went on to lose the general election contest to Democrat Harry Teague.<\/p>\n As land commissioner, Dunn\u00a0takes credit\u00a0for diversifying the land office\u2019s portfolio, increasing its asset base and improving conservation efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cBy setting the right tone at the top, I\u2019ve worked hand-in-hand with exemplary staff to enhance customer service, direct more money to education and the Land Grant Permanent Fund, and bring a commonsense approach to the conservation of our public lands,\u201d Dunn has said.<\/p>\n Dunn, 61, has gone back and forth about his political future for months. He said\u00a0last year<\/a> he planned to run for re-election as land commissioner in 2018. But in May<\/a>\u00a0he said the election of U.S. President Donald Trump had turned the political world “upside down” and he was considering running for three different offices —\u00a0or doing none of that and instead staying home and having fun with his granddaughters.<\/p>\n