Rep. Eli Crane (L) Jonathan Nez (R)
Guest post by R.C. Maxwell
Rep. Eli Crane, who defeated a three-term Democrat incumbent in the last election to represent Arizona’s newly drawn 2nd congressional district, faces renewed attacks from Democrats and Arizona’s media establishment amid drama in the House of Representatives over the lack of a permanent Speaker of the House.
Rep. Crane was one of the eight representatives who voted to oust former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
As Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for Speaker ended in failure, a challenger for Rep. Crane’s seat publicly announced his intention to run.
Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation President who lost his re-election campaign for the position, has announced his intention to challenge the Republican.
“Right now, we have major wars threatening stability worldwide, and a House of Representatives paralyzed with no Speaker, unable to act,” Nez said on Twitter.
The race between Nez and Rep. Crane will be interesting considering that the newly drawn district, which narrowly leans conservative, includes 14 of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes.
During his first year in office, Crane has been an advocate of rights for the Navajo Nation.
In the summer, he was welcomed by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren for his work on legislation aimed at restoring mining rights threatened by President Biden’s unprecedented land grab and blockade of mining authority through a Public Land Order.
Nygren, the man who defeated Nez to become the youngest Navajo Nation President ever in 2022 has applauded Rep. Crane for his work authoring and advancing the Energy Opportunities for All Act out of committee.
The legislation, authored by Crane, would “nullify the Biden Admin’s overreaching actions that ban citizens from lawfully exercising the rights over their lands and resources.”
When reached, Nygren declined to comment about the candidacy of Nez or who he would support in a potential general election showdown.
Nez’s tenure as Navajo Nation President was mired by the coronavirus pandemic, his role in restricting freedom on the reservation even as quality of life worsened and allegations that he embezzled over half a million dollars from tribal funds for personal use.
Still, he believes he has a good chance to flip the district and that Crane’s role in voting to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy from Speaker of the House could play a huge role next November.
Lori Klein Corbin, a National CommitteeWoman with the RNC representing Arizona disagrees.
“Eli has been a conservative voice resonating well in his district. He’s a hard worker and I don’t see his foray of advocating for fiscal sanity hurting his chances for re-election since he’s done a great job representing his district,” Corbin said.
In a statement, Rep. Crane welcomed Nez to the race but said “it’s clear that he has spent the bulk of his career cheering on Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and now Joe Biden. The last thing Arizona’s 2nd District wants is a rubber stamp for Joe Biden and the status quo.”
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