Aubrey Lyle Dunn Jr. (born 1955 or 1956) is an American politician and banker from the state of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. He served as

New Mexico commissioner of public lands The New Mexico commissioner of public lands is an elected constitutional officer
''NM Elected Officials''

from 2015 to 2019, and was a candidate for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in the 2018 election. Elected as a Republican, Dunn switched parties to

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

in January 2018, making him the first Libertarian holder of a statewide elected office in the United States.

Early life and education

Dunn was born in

Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force ...

, the son of politician Aubrey Dunn Sr and his wife, Betty Jo McClendon. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

Career

Dunn worked for 25 years in the banking industry including 10 years as CEO and president of First Federal Bank of New Mexico. In 2008, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in . He lost in the Republican primary to Edward R. Tinsley, who went on to lose the general election to Harry Teague. Dunn was elected as

New Mexico commissioner of public lands The New Mexico commissioner of public lands is an elected constitutional officer
''NM Elected Officials''

in the 2014 election as the Republican nominee. In January 2018, he left the Republican Party and switched his voter registration to

. Dunn announced his candidacy as a Libertarian for U.S. Senate in early-2018. He withdrew from the race in July, stating that he was leaving the race because he needed to concentrate his time and effort on his duties as land commissioner. He was replaced on the ballot by former New Mexico governor

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

. In 2021, Dunn announced his candidacy for the 2021 New Mexico's 1st congressional district special election, running as an independent. He faced State Representative

Melanie Stansbury Melanie Ann Stansbury (born January 31, 1979) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from New Mexico's 1st congressional district since 2021 New Mexico's 1st congressional district sp ...

and State Senator Mark Moores in the June 1 election. Dunn received less than 3% of the total vote.

Personal life

Dunn Jr. is the son of late New Mexico state senator Aubrey Dunn Sr., who served in the legislature from 1965 until 1980 as a Democrat. His wife, Robin Dunn, ran for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico as a

with Bob Walsh. His son, A. Blair Dunn, ran for

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

as a

Electoral history

Notes

References

External links

Campaign website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Aubrey Jr. 1950s births 21st-century New Mexico politicians Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Colorado State University alumni Living people New Mexico commissioners of public lands New Mexico independents New Mexico Libertarians New Mexico Republicans People from Alamogordo, New Mexico Libertarian Party (United States) officeholders