Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez is again intent on flipping Arizona’s Republican-leaning, Second Congressional District.
He lost the vast, mostly rural district to GOP Congressman Eli Crane by 9 points in 2024, but recent polling shows a tighter race this time around.
And Nez predicts a favorable national climate for Democrats will give him the edge in November.
He says two years of full Republican control of Congress, and the White House, has disappointed voters.
“You could call it buyer's remorse. You could call it broken promises. People were looking forward to America being first. But let me ask folks out there that are listening, do you feel like America's first right now?” Nez tells KNAU. “I went to the grocery store the other day. I took out two grocery bags of food and it was $150. You know, I go to Sam's Club. I go to Walmart.”
Nez says voters have seen the war with Iran push up the costs of gas and groceries and hurt the economy.
He’s tying it directly to Crane, who is seeking reelection for a third term in Congress.
“My opponent has voted for these disastrous legislations and also continues to follow what the president wants,” Nez says.
Crane, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, has expressed mixed views about the war in the past.
According to the Payson Roundup, Crane spoke to a town hall about the issue earlier this year.
“I did vote for President Trump because he has so far done a good job of keeping us out of long, never-ending wars, and I’m just hoping this one wraps up quickly,” Crane said.
The Republican’s campaign didn’t respond to numerous interview requests from KNAU.
But Nez has slammed Crane for votes against bills meant to rein in the conflict, and for his support of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill last year.
Crane has pointed to provisions within that law designed to cut costs for working families, including provisions designed to reduce taxes on tips and overtime pay.
But experts have also warned that the law made long-term cuts to Medicaid that will disproportionately hit rural communities.
Nez says he’s spoken with residents across the vast congressional district that stretches from south of Phoenix to the Utah border and includes the Navajo Nation, who are worried about their health coverage.
“Now, if they get sick, it could bankrupt them, and they might not have a home to live in, they might not have food on the table,” Nez says.
Analysis by the non-profit health policy organization KFF shows rural area health providers could lose out on an estimated $137 billion over the next 10 years following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Experts have warned some medical providers in rural Arizona communities, and across the country, could close as a result.
Those changes don’t take effect until next year and the bill also included $50 billion in state grants to support rural healthcare.
About $167 million of that went to Arizona and was meant to soften the blow of the bill’s long-term impacts.
Nez also highlights topics with bipartisan consensus.
Residents across the political spectrum in Page, Tucson and Marana have opposed data center projects as construction has exploded in the state.
Meanwhile, communities across Arizona have debated the issue of AI license plate cameras, weighing concern over privacy against public safety.
“We also need to recognize that we live in this great democracy and privacy is very important,” says Nez. “And so I understand that some of these cameras are needed to get the bad guys. Yes, but on the flip side too, we've got to make sure that people's privacy are protected in this country.”
Nez also echoes populist talking points and claims Crane is more interested in representing the wealthy than constituents across the Second Congressional District.
“The 1%, the ultra-wealthy in this country, control a lot. And they're making record profits on the backs of hardworking Americans. We're the ones paying the record profits,” Nez says. “I think just people are just fed up with the Democrat [and] Republican partisan games that are being played. And we just need fighters in there.”
Nez touts more than two decades of experience in tribal and local politics. In addition to one term as president of the Navajo Nation, Nez served on the Navajo Nation Council and on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
If he wins, Nez would be the first Native American to represent Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I was raised on the Navajo Nation without running water or electricity, bootstrap mentality, going to college, going to university, getting a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, getting bestowed an honorary doctorate here from Northern Arizona University,” he says. “So I grew up in this district, unlike my opponent, who does not live in this district. He lives in Oro Valley in Congressman Ciscomani's district.”
Even so, Nez has an uphill battle in the race.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates it as a likely Republican win.
That’s despite a poll conducted by Democratic research firm GBAO, which shows Crane narrowly leading Nez by just 2%. That’s within the margin of error in a district that favors Republicans.
As of July, nearly 40% of registered voters in Arizona’s Second were Republicans, while 27% were Democrats.
So the deciding factor in November’s election is likely to be the 30% of registered independent voters.
