Haaland leads in gubernatorial poll, NMED officer steps away from Project Jupiter permitting process and more

In the first public poll for this fall's gubernatorial race, former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has a commanding 17 point lead over former Rio Rancho mayor Greg Hull.New Mexico Political Report reports that neither candidate has the support of a majority of the electorate- the poll shows Haaland, a Democrat, with 41 percent of the vote and Republican Hull with 24 percent. More than a quarter of poll respondents remain undecided. --A New Mexico Environment Department officer has recused himself from the Project Jupiter data center air quality permit proceedings.Attorneys from two environmental advocacy groups sought last week to disqualify the officer, Max Shepherd, claiming that he had failed to conduct a fair and impartial proceeding.