Jonathan Nez, a former president of the Navajo Nation, is mounting a strong challenge to Eli Crane, the Republican incumbent in Arizona's 2nd Congressional District.
Cook Political Report previously rated #AZ02 as "Solid Republican." But with Nez gaining ground, the race is now considered "Likely Republican" as of October 22, 2024.
"Tuba City is fired up and ready to send Arizona's first ever Native American to the House of Representatives," Nez said in a post on social media on October 21, 2024, referring to the Western Navajo Fair where thousands of Navajo Nation citizens gathered over the past weekend.
Arizona's 2nd Congressional District includes the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation, as well as the Hualapai Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe. About 22 percent of the residents are American Indian or Alaska Native.
Despite the significant Native population, a Native person has never represented the district. Voters in Arizona have never sent a Native person to the U.S. Congress either.
Crane has served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives so far. He has co-sponsored several pro-tribal bills in the 118th Congress but often does not go along with the chamber's Republican leadership, a stance that has hindered movement on federal funding measures and other legislation of importance to Indian Country.
A sleeper race for most of the cycle, #AZ02 may finally be waking up. We're moving our rating from Solid Republican to Likely Republican.@ercovey on Rep. Eli Crane's reelection challenge: https://t.co/pOe8rkMOaB
— Cook Political Report (@CookPolitical) October 22, 2024