The path has officially cleared for still-undecided Gary Johnson’s potentially historic Senate bid. (Reason)
New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, the first-ever Libertarian to hold statewide office in a position determined by partisan election, has officially announced his anticipated withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, clearing the path for two-time former governor and presidential third-place finisher Gary Johnson.
“He seems sincerely grateful that I’m offering him this opportunity. I believe he’ll accept it,” Dunn tells Reason. “With Gary taking this race over, I think this is the best thing that could happen to the Libertarian Party of New Mexico. I think that it’s going to cause an unbelievable shift in the way that people look at the Libertarian Party.”
Johnson, who received 9.3 percent and 3.6 percent of the presidential vote in New Mexico in 2016 and 2012, respectively (both results constituting 50-state highs, tripling his nationwide percentages), is still just “strongly considering” a run, even with the general election only three months away.
“He’s not going into the race unless he thinks he can win,” two-time Johnson campaign manager Ron Nielson has been telling reporters. (A year ago, Nielson’s line was that there’s “no doubt that Gary would be a fantastic senator. He would do an amazing job and be great at that task.”)
Until recently, Johnson seemed adamant about never running for office again after experiencing the miserable homestretch of his 2016 presidential campaign.
AAN Staff
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