Chaves County Commissioner Michael Perry first GOP candidate in land commissioner race
But the Chaves County commissioner and former state Department of Game and Fish official says he's hopeful his conservation-rich background can lead to a GOP breakthrough in next year's land commissioner race.
"My hope is that people will put politics aside and look at resumes," said Perry, who recently announced his campaign for the 2026 contest.
As the first Republican in the contest, Perry joins a race that currently features three Democratic candidates — state legislator Matthew McQueen, former Biden appointee Jonas Moya and ex-Democratic Party official Juan Sanchez.
The race does not feature an incumbent since current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term. Garcia Richard announced in March her plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2026.
Perry, who currently owns a private consulting firm focused on habitat restoration, worked for more than 20 years with the Game and Fish Department as a game warden and, in later years, as a top administrator overseeing the agency's operations in southern New Mexico.
He then worked for former Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, a Republican-turned-Libertarian, as an assistant commissioner.
In that role, Perry said he worked with sportsmen's groups on access issues, including easements and right-of-way leases for certain hard-to-reach state trust lands.
He said those experiences make his resume unmatched among the candidates in the land commissioner race.
"I feel like I'm a good fit based on my biological background and my on the ground experience," Perry said.
He also said that, if elected, he would ensure companies who lease state trust land for oil drilling or other commercial activities clean up their waste, while also saying he would oppose selling public lands.
The idea of selling federal public lands to build more affordable housing drew criticism and protests in New Mexico, before eventually being removed from a massive budget bill signed this month by President Donald Trump.
"I'm not an advocate of selling lands," Perry said. "I'm for us making money, but it's got to be done in a way that can last forever."
The State Land Office oversees more than 9 million acres of state trust land, plus 13 million subsurface acres, for the benefit of New Mexico public schools, hospitals and other beneficiaries.
The annual earnings recorded by the office jumped from roughly $1.1 billion during the 2019 budget year to nearly $2.6 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with more than 90% of that amount coming from oil and natural gas royalties.
In running for land commissioner next year, Perry will have to forego a reelection bid to the Chaves County Commission. That's because state law bars candidates from running for two separate elected offices in the same election cycle.
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How Trump plans to dismantle the Education Department after Supreme Court ruling
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Tim Walz's South Dakota visit focuses on hope for Dems, ‘petty' jabs for Noem, Rhoden
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Fox News
40 minutes ago
- Fox News
Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Trump's citizenship feud caps decades of taunts and jabs
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O'Donnell — who was a co-host on "The View" at the time — said Trump is "not a self-made man" but a "snake-oil salesman on 'Little House On The Prairie.'" Trump responded to the criticism by calling O'Donnell a "real loser" and "a woman out of control." In 2011, after O'Donnell announced her engagement to then-girlfriend Michelle Rounds, Trump took to social media to share his thoughts. "I feel sorry for Rosie 's new partner in love whose parents are devastated at the thought of their daughter being with @Rosie–a true loser." The next year, Trump made a surprising remark after O'Donnell suffered a heart attack. "Rosie, get better fast. I'm starting to miss you!" he wrote on X (Twitter at the time). In 2014, O'Donnell told People Magazine that the criticism she got from Trump was the worst bullying she had been through. "Probably the Trump stuff was the most bullying I ever experienced in my life, including as a child," O'Donnell said. 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"And the people have been so loving, so kind and so welcoming. And I'm very grateful." "Although I was someone who never thought I would move to another country, that's what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child," she explained. "I miss my other kids," she added of her five grown children. "I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home. And I'm trying to find a home here in this beautiful country. And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming back." The "A League of Their Own" star added that it's "heartbreaking to see what's happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political, as we all know." She added that she was "sorry" to her fans who were worried about her and missed her. "I just felt like we needed to take care of ourselves and make some hard decisions and follow through and now, as we're getting settled, I was ready to post this and tell everybody what's going on." "The Flintstones" star said she encourages everyone to "stand up, to use their voice, to protest, to demand that we follow the Constitution in our country and not a king, not a man and we don't have cruelty as part of our governing style." That same month, President Trump criticized O'Donnell and her decision to move to Ireland during his White House meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin. When a reporter asked Irish Prime Minister Martin why he allowed the American comedian to move to the country, Trump was quick to respond. "Ireland is known for very happy, fun-loving people," a reporter noted to Martin at the White House. "Why in the world would you let Rosie O'Donnell move to Ireland? I think she is going to lower your happiness." Before Martin could answer, Trump chimed in and replied, "That's true. I like that question. Do you know you have Rosie O'Donnell? Do you know who she is? You're better off not knowing." The day before Saint Patrick's Day, O'Donnell published a poem, "Him," on her Substack, commenting on her long feud with Trump White House responded to O'Donnell's poem via an exclusive comment to Fox News Digital with a simple "Good riddance!" Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this post.
