{"id":608619,"date":"2018-07-30T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T20:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=608619"},"modified":"2018-07-31T07:26:04","modified_gmt":"2018-07-31T13:26:04","slug":"dunn-quits-senate-race-johnson-hints-at-taking-his-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/07\/dunn-quits-senate-race-johnson-hints-at-taking-his-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Dunn quits Senate race; Johnson hints at taking his place"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_608623\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-608623\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1-771x514.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Johnson\" width=\"771\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1-771x514.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1-1170x780.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/keeper-3-1.jpg 1250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Andy Lyman \/ New Mexico Political Report<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A candidate switch-up is likely in the works for the Libertarian Party of New Mexico\u2019s run for the U.S. Senate. Libertarian Senate candidate Aubrey Dunn announced Monday that will exit the race and asked high-profile Libertarian Gary Johnson to take his place.<\/p>\n<p>In a press release, Dunn said he wants to devote more time to his current role as state land commissioner. Now the question is whether Johnson, a former Republican governor and Libertarian presidential candidate, will take his place. If Johnson decides to run for Senate, it would create a considerable shake-up in the three-way race between Republican Mick Rich and Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich.<\/p>\n<p>Dunn said he fully endorses and personally encourages Johnson to take his place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have spoken with Governor Johnson. He is willing to consider serving as my replacement as the Libertarian nominee and I respectfully request that our Libertarian Party State Central Committee nominate him as the replacement candidate,\u201d Dunn said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/864835\/dunn-out-of-senate-race-johnson-hints-at-taking-his-place\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico Political Report<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit news organization\u00a0focused on promoting a greater public understanding of politics and policy in the state of New Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Even though Dunn has asked Johnson to run, Johnson himself has had little, definitively, to say about entering the race. Johnson did not return a call from\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>, but his former presidential campaign manager Ron Nielson said Johnson is \u201ccontemplating\u201d a run for Senate and \u201cweighing it out\u201d to determine if it seems like a winnable race. If Johnson determines there is a chance at winning in the next couple of weeks, Nielson said, the former two-term governor will decide to run.<\/p>\n<p>Dunn, who left the Republican Party to run for Senate as a Libertarian, said he can\u2019t adequately perform his current job while also running for federal office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is simply not possible to do that job like it needs to be done while campaigning for another office,\u201d Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>Libertarians in New Mexico may be excited about one of their nationally recognized members running for national office again, but there are still a couple of things that need to happen before it\u2019s official.<\/p>\n<h3>Can he win?<\/h3>\n<p>After winning 9 percent of the New Mexico votes for president in the 2016 election, Johnson told\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Anjreu\/status\/796214902482309120\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he was done running for office<\/a>, choosing instead to take ski trips and bike across the country. Even as late as 2017, Johnson told\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/powerpost\/wp\/2017\/10\/27\/gary-johnson-is-back-and-hes-never-running-for-office-again\/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.9041062dfc47\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Washington Post<\/i><\/a>\u00a0he would never run again and called politics \u201ctoxic.\u201d But, last week in an\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thejacknews.com\/politics\/gary-johnson-considering-run-public-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview with Nielson<\/a>, his former campaign manager who also runs a media website, Johnson hinted at running for office again.<\/p>\n<p>If Johnson does decide to take Dunn\u2019s place, the Libertarian Party of New Mexico\u2019s central committee will need to approve his candidacy.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>State Chair Chris Luchini said the party is planning to have a central committee meeting in August specifically to make a decision about Dunn\u2019s replacement or whether to replace him at all.<\/p>\n<p>Central committee member Paul Ryan McKenney said he couldn\u2019t speak for anyone but himself, but had high hopes and praise for Johnson. Specifically, McKenney said, Johnson has a record as an elected official to stand behind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can look at what Gary has actually done,\u201d McKenney said.<\/p>\n<p>Dubbed \u201cGovernor No,\u201d Johnson himself has boasted that he holds the records for the most vetoes as governor. He was also instrumental in privatizing state prisons and advocated \u00a0for a school voucher program. And he was an early advocate of marijuana legalization.<\/p>\n<p>While Johnson has his fair share of critics in the national Libertarian Party, in New Mexico he may have an advantage in name recognition \u2013 and fundraising.<\/p>\n<h3>War chest<\/h3>\n<p>Johnson would start out with a financial disadvantage over his two opponents, if he chooses to run. Johnson\u2019s presidential campaign only has about $2,000 at his disposal. Heinrich has about $4 million in campaign funds and Republican candidate Mick Rich has almost $200,000 at the ready. But, Johnson was able to raise about $12 million during his run for president and has national name.<\/p>\n<p>A Johnson candidacy could also create a fairly competitive three-way race in terms of policy and political beliefs. Johnson, who has previously called himself \u201cfiscally conservative and socially liberal,\u201d ran for president on a platform of a simplified immigration process, pro-marijuana legalization and against any assault weapon bans.<\/p>\n<p>Local name recognition could also become a factor if Johnson decides to run. In the 2016 presidential election, Johnson garnered public support from former Republican state Senator Lisa Torraco and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/85403\/85403\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Darren White<\/a>, a former Republican politician and Johnson\u2019s former Department of Public Safety secretary.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s success in New Mexico also played a key role in the state Libertarian Party obtaining major party status, allowing easier ballot access to their candidates.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Johnson made high profile gaffes, like his now infamous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fOT_BoGpCn4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cAleppo moment\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and his trouble naming a foreign leader in an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/29\/us\/politics\/gary-johnson-aleppo-moment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a>. Those could find their way into TV ads from his opponents.<\/p>\n<p>But Dunn thinks Johnson is the best option to get a Libertarian from New Mexico into the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew Mexicans deserve a choice in 2018 of a candidate who can not only win this race, but put New Mexico and America first before party politics as an independent voice in the United States Senate,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cIt is time for Governor Johnson to again step up to lead this state and this nation to restore Liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A candidate switch-up is likely in the works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":608623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2238,3323,297,3310,116],"class_list":["post-608619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2018-election","tag-aubrey-dunn","tag-gary-johnson","tag-libertarian-party","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}