ICYMI: Nez Raises $1M in Oct., Crane Under Fire for Living Outside of District
A Tale of Two Campaigns in AZ-2
FLAGSTAFF, AZ — It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In the race to represent Arizona’s 2nd congressional district, former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez keeps putting points on the board while MAGA incumbent Eli Crane continues to flop.
The latest example appears today with the Nez campaign announcing a whopping raise of over $1 million in October alone, as Crane remains under fire for choosing to live in the Tucson suburbs over the district he represents (and is running to continue to represent).
Not only does Crane live outside of the district, CRANE LIVES WAY OUTSIDE OF THE DISTRICT. At 20,000 square miles, the 2nd congressional district is Arizona’s single largest land mass. Still, Crane lives a full hour away from the closest point in the district he represents. When he first announced a run for Congress in 2021, Crane even admitted he wasn’t “super familiar” with the district.
An image published by The Daily Mail claims to show Eli Crane's house outside of Arizona's 2nd Congressional District in Arizona.
Crane’s stubborn refusal to heed the calls of his constituents and actually live alongside them is indicative of his larger refusal to actually govern on behalf of the district. At every opportunity, he chooses his extremist national MAGA base over his constituents.
AZ-2 is a swing district that has trended towards Democrats in recent years. Instead of representing the constituents of his purple district, Crane has campaigned and governed as a hard-right Republican — voting against abortion rights, turning away needed infrastructure dollars in this rural district, indulging in conspiracy theories, and embracing Washington dysfunction. He is one of the most vulnerable members of the House Freedom Caucus.
“With one week until election day, our campaign is powered by grassroots donors and volunteers from all over Arizona’s beautiful 2nd congressional district because they all know that President Nez will fight for them in Congress,” said James Gravitt, Jonathan Nez for Congress Campaign Manager. “Eli Crane is just some guy from the Tucson ‘burbs who wants to play politics instead of solve problems. He’s not one of us.”
Voters are sick of it. Polls have shown that former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez is 14-points more popular than Crane in the district and in head-to-head matchups Nez has consistently gained ground, currently sitting at a 42-42 tie.
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ABOUT FORMER NAVAJO NATION PRESIDENT JONATHAN NEZ
A lifelong public servant, Jonathan Nez was elected President of the Navajo Nation in 2019, where he made historic investments in housing for veterans, infrastructure, and public safety, in addition to negotiating with the Trump Administration to win a critical water access deal for rural Arizona.