Michael Perry (NYT)

He's got them worried. 

That would be Republican state land commission candidate Michael Perry, the retired game warden of Roswell who has been flagged as perhaps the only statewide GOP candidate who may have a shot at upsetting a Democratic rival in November. 

The worry is spreading fast among the Dems who are already alarmed over former NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce taking over as Trump's director of the Bureau of Land Management. They fret that Perry would team up with Pearce and open the state's public lands to more industry development The NYT pulls the alarm bell:

Perry. . .pitches himself “not as a Republican or Democrat,” but a “New Mexico state land commissioner” obsessed with “collaboration, accountability and responsible land management.”His Democratic rivals see something entirely different: an existential threat. That’s because President Trump has nominated another New Mexico Republican, Steve Pearce, to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, sometimes referred to as the nation’s largest landlord. And with two New Mexico Republicans potentially at the helm of both agencies, dramatic changes could come to a state known as the Land of Enchantment for its breathtaking landscapes and cultural riches.

While Perry has a free ride in the GOP primary, in the Dem primary there is an intense three-way battle for the land commissioner nomination. The candidates are Juan Sanchez, a former political aide to Sen. Heinrich who hails from a ranching family; Santa Fe area state Rep. Matthew McQueen, an ardent environmentalist, and rancher Jonas Moya.

Moya has little money but could draw Hispanic votes that could hurt polling front-runner Sanchez whose new TV ad is energetic. 

Conservation Voters NM PAC (CVNM) is running TV for McQueen emphasizing his commitment to renewable energy, 

This could be a close race and Heinrich, who went all-in for a Dem land commission candidate in 2018 who lost, has a lot of prestige on the line.  

Fundraising has been so-so. Sanchez has raised $201,000 and reported $149,000 in cash in the early May report. However, a dark money Virginia based PAC has just entered the race on behalf of Sanchez with big money and mailers. (Hello, Sen. Heinrich?)

McQueen reports raising $258,000 and cash on hand of $237,000. Moya reported less than $1,000 in cash. 

On policy, Sanchez is more centrist thus the firmer progressive support for McQueen. 

The battleground? As usual it's Big BernCo. McQueen should landslide Santa Fe and vicinity and Sanchez should sweep Hispanic wards around the state.

NOVEMBER OUTLOOK 

Joe Monahan

The NYT painting Perry as a threat to the Dems could help him generate conservative excitement and donations for his uphill effort.   

Perry reports $150,000 in donations for the cycle and $130,000 cash on hand. Pros say he will need to triple that amount for the November election and also get the help of a multi-million dollar big oil PAC which would not be unusual. 

Many observers say New Mexico's top races this year--Governor, Senator, etc.-- are simply not in play for the GOP and if the beleaguered party is going to revive, it needs a win. They see that possibility with Perry and argue for centering party efforts on his candidacy.

Perry has to be rooting for McQueen to win the Dem nod, the Anglo liberal who may be most vulnerable to attack and who would not have the ethnic voting safety net of Sanchez. 

As for the three alarm fire being signaled over Perry possibly winning, Republicans Aubrey Dunn, Jr. and Pat Lyons both served as land commissioner in recent years and didn't burn the place down.  

Land Commission '26--another major race to watch Election Night, June 2. We'll do our watching and reporting from our perch at public radio KANW 89.1 FM. Be sure to join us. 

HAALAND’S WORTH

We may have left the impression that Deb Haaland is in the poor house when writing Monday about the book deal she struck. At least a number of readers thought so. 

We really don’t know her net worth since we don’t have new financial disclosures. Her net worth climbed dramatically to the one to $2 million level, according to the disclosures during her marriage, but she was divorced in 2025 and since then information about her personal finances has not been released. 

Since leaving Interior Haaland says she has engaged in public speaking and writing. Former Cabinet members frequently earn income through speaking engagements, book deals, or consulting work during transition periods. 

 

Haaland is not allowed to use her campaign funds as a salary but most daily expenses are covered by the campaign while she is campaigning. A reader adds:

 

Deb Haaland earned a base salary set at Level I of the Executive Schedule, which ranged from $221,400 annually early in her term to $246,400 in 2024, prior to the end of her tenure in January 2025. Before her appointment as a Cabinet secretary, Haaland earned an annual salary of $174,000 as a U.S. Representative. Her detailed financial compensation and personal disclosure reports are available through the U.S. Office of Government Ethics or by searching her candidate records on OpenSecrets.

 

Here is Haaland's final federal Public Financial Disclosure Report covering her final year as Sec. of Interior in 2024. Here is her 2022 filing showing a married and quite well-off Haaland with a variety of investment accounts. 

What got all of this going was when Forbes magazine reported in 2021 that Haaland had a net worth of zero in large part because of student loan debt. Because New Mexico's financial disclosure requirements are so vague we may be unable to determine her assets in the future even if she is elected Governor--unless she voluntarily discloses them.  

 ATTACK TIME

 It's not a circular firing squad because Gregg Hull has pledged not to attack his rivals but Doug Turner and Duke Rodriguez are going full throttle as they unload on Hull and each other with just two weeks until Election Day.

The Rodriguez attack on Turner centers on contracts Turner’s PR agency, Agenda, has received under the Democratic Biden and Lujan Grisham administrations. 

The Protect Our NM PAC supporting Turner comes with a hit on Hull, calling him out for not being a true conservative, saying he refused to endorse Trump and appointed a liberal City Councilor when he was Mayor of Rio Rancho. 

The pro-Turner PAC also came after Rodriguez, citing his lengthy voting record in Arizona and said "he moved here to run for Governor."

The three way GOP race has muddled along, overshadowed by the Dem contest which is much better financed and therefore more visible--not to mention that this is a Dem state. Even the independents, allowed for the first time to cast ballots in state primaries, are deciding to vote in the Dem primary at a rate of 65 percent in the early voting. 

As for where the GOP race stands and who might be the one left standing Election Night, we turn to a Senior Alligator of the Republican variety for a close-up look:

Doug Turner may have entered the race too late and didn’t hit the accelerator all the way when he did. He could still come on in the final days if he has higher-octane fuel.

Duke got in at a decent time but wasted money on things like billboards (saw one in the Democratic ABQ Barelas neighborhood and has low quality TV ads.  What's worse is that it doesn’t seem like he has many friends in the party. 

Hull has been campaigning for over a year. He made friends across the state even if he didn’t inspire the traditional donor class of oil and gas types. He is a nonoffensive Republican who hits the right notes with the evangelical base and is the only candidate to have an actual political base in Sandoval County where he served three terms as Rio Rancho mayor. The county is an important place for Republicans these days.  

Hull was the leader in the early polling. For what it's worth he is currently getting 73 percent of the betting money on Polymarket; Rodriguez gets 21 percent and Turner 6 percent.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.